few cities are bettor provided with the means to care for the victims of accidents. Of literary, scientific, and other societies there is an unusual number. Among the most prominent may be mentioned the Academy of Sciences, Astronomical Society, Geographical Society, Mechanies' Institute, Pioneers of California, and Technical Society. There are 98 public schools, including four high schools. The attendance in 1903 reached 57,603. In addition there are numerous private educational institutions. The Roman Catholics maintain a system of parochial schools. The attendance at private schools in 1903 was 14,002.
Theatres, Clubs, and Hotels. The leading playhouses are the Columbia, the California, the Alcazar, and the Grand Opera House. The Orpheum and Fischer's are devoted to vaudeville. The Tivoli presents opera in some form every night in the year. There are several low-priced theatres, the most conspicuous being the Central and Grauman's.
The clubs are numerous and well housed. The Bohemian, originally founded by artists and literary people, has a world-wide reputation for entertaining noted visitors. Its rooms are crowded with excellent pictures, many of them gifts of artist members. The Pacific Union is composed chiefly of wealthy citizens. The Jews have two prominent organizations—the Concordia and the Verein. The number of women's clubs is large. The leading ones are the Century, Sorosis, Forum, Outdoor Art League, and California. The members of the last two take an active part in civic matters, but the others are devoted chiefly to social and literary work.
There are many hotels of all classes. The most prominent among these are the Palace and the Occidental. The Saint Francis, a modern 12-story building of steel and stone, is admirably situated on Union Square.
Suburbs. San Francisco, like all large American cities, has felt the influence of easy communication. The multiplication of street railway facilities has caused its population to spread out over the greater part of its area. These transportation conveniences have resulted in reducing the average number of persons in a dwelling to 6.4. The ease with which the trans-bay cities of Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, San Rafael, Sausalito, and Belvedere are reached has also contributed to that result. The places named are all within 40 minutes' ride of San Francisco, and their population of over 100,000 is mainly composed of people who to all intents and purposes are San Franciscans, most of them being engaged in business in the city. The three last named are largely made up of summer homes. The small towns on the peninsula are also largely inhabited by San Franciscans. Burlingame, a fashionable resort modeled after Tuxedo, is 25 miles south of the city. Menlo Park, near by, contains the residences of numerous wealthy men. Palo Alto, the seat of Leland Stanford Jr. University, is on the peninsula about 30 miles from the city, and the California University is situated at Berkeley. Both of these great universities have intimate relations with the city, the latter, a State institution, maintaining several affiliated colleges within the city's boundaries. A part of the great endowment of ‘Stanford’ is in San Francisco.
The famous resort, the Cliff House, from whose piazza hundreds of seals may be seen disporting in the water and on the rocks, and the near-by beach, are visited by many thousands every Sunday and holiday. Mount Tamalpais, situated in one of the trans-bay counties, is accessible by ferry and train in about two hours. Its elevation is 2392 feet, and it commands a view of the city, half a score of towns, and the bay and the ocean.
Commerce and Industry. The importance of San Francisco is due to its position on the bay of that name (q.v.), which is accounted one of the finest harbors in the world. The area of the harbor is 450 square miles, and its width varies from 5 to 12 miles. It is navigable by the largest vessels for a distance of over 40 miles from its single opening to the ocean, the famous Golden Gate, the entrance to which is a mile in width. There are several steamship lines to China and Japan, Australia, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands. An active coastwise commerce is carried on with Alaska, the ports of Puget Sound, and those on the southern coast of California. There is also regular communication with the ports of the Atlantic. In addition, a large fleet of sailing vessels bear to Europe the surplus grain and miscellaneous merchandise of California, most of which passes through this port.
In 1902 the exports by sea to foreign countries and Atlantic ports were valued at $47,601,422, and the imports at $36,078,270. A great deal of treasure passes through San Francisco, the exports by sea in 1902 being $14,851,789, and the imports nearly $12,000,000. The exports of wheat have reached as high as 24,802,095 cwt. in a single year. In the freight year ending June 30, 1902, there were 13,205,812 cwt. shipped. In 1902 6,636,186 gallons of wine and brandy were exported by sea, about one-sixth of which went to foreign lands. In the same year 793,156 cases of salmon were exported. Coffee is largely imported from Central America, Ecuador, Mexico, and the East Indies, the quantity in 1901 being 43,614,350 pounds. A great part is for distribution in the States and Territories west of the Mississippi. Imports of tea from China and Japan were 5,781,204 pounds in 1902. The receipts of customs amounted to $7,850,705 in the year ending June 30, 1903. Five years earlier they were only $5,393,753. The activity of trade is reflected in the bank clearings, which aggregated $1,373,362,025 in 1902. A great increase has been noted since the Spanish-American War.
San Francisco is rated as the tenth in importance of the manufacturing cities of the United States. The census of 1900 credits it with 4002 establishments, 41,978 wage-earners, $80,103,367 capital employed, and an output valued at $133,069,416. Sugar refining, slaughtering, and meat packing, and the manufacture of foundry and machine shop products are most important industries. Shipbuilding has made considerable progress. Battleships and merchant vessels are constructed in San Francisco yards, the Oregon and the Olympia being noteworthy examples of the former.
Government and Finance. San Francisco is governed under a charter adopted by the people, which went into effect January 1, 1900. With the exception of some bonds issued in 1874-75 for the acquisition of a park, now nearly matured, and to meet which a sinking fund exists, the city is
