[58] Calhoun's letter to the Supervisors read: "United Railroads of San Francisco. "President's Office. "San Francisco, May 14, 1906. "To the Honorable Board of Supervisors of the City of San Francisco--Gentlemen: The United Railroads of San Francisco respectfully represents that, notwithstanding its urgent and earnest efforts to provide adequate street railway transportation on the lines being operated, constant pressure is being applied and innumerable requests are being presented to it to increase its transportation facilities. "The company is anxious to please the people, and is willing to do its part in the immediate upbuilding of the Greater San Francisco, but owing to the unavailability of material and machinery for operating its cable systems, as well as the great length of time necessary to rebuild destroyed power-houses and reconstruct its cable conduits, a long time would necessarily elapse before the cable systems could be operated so as to give the required relief to traffic congestion. "If your Honorable Board will permit the use on the cable lines of a standard electric system such as is now used on the company's other lines, we will be glad to put all of our lines in commission, and will agree to have them in complete operation wherever grades will permit as rapidly as the most liberal expenditure of money and the largest possible employment of men will accomplish. The necessary expenditure for labor and materials to do this work will run into the millions, and will afford much-needed employment to several thousand deserving men. "We believe the prompt reconstruction of your lines of transportation will inspire confidence in all investing capital and greatly aid in the prompt rebuilding of your city. "We submit these suggestions for your consideration at the request of many of our citizens from every walk of life. "Respectfully, "PAT. CALHOUN, President." [59] The trolley permit was passed to print on May 14. The Examiner, in its issue of May 15, said: "The United Railroads, with the rapacity for which it has ever been noted, is seeking to capitalize the city's woe to its own advantage. "Before the disaster of April 18 it had been balked in its purpose to make San Francisco a trolley town. The protests of citizens who knew that the underground system is better than the cheap, unsightly trolley system and had been proved safer, had blocked the United Railroads project. And it seemed certain that the scheme to cumber Market street and Sutter street with poles and wires was definitely stopped.