Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-09-20
Tile Observation-Disclosures.

fires in our city, and to consider our
facilities for contending with the de-
vouring element when it turns against
its master and converts his substance
to cinders. There is great deal Of
talk about the liability to fire and how
effective or non effective is our
Fire Department. The Fire De-
partment is almost powerless in
certain localities, and if we
had ten first-class steamers and ten
more first-class companies, we should
still be lily prepared to fight fire.
What we have not and what we want
beyond all things else, is an abundant
supply of water. 1t is all folly to say
no destructive fire can occur in this
place. Every intelligent resident
knows that with fair start and good
breeze, fire will sweep through the
business portion of this city with the
same ease that it would through Sac
ramento. Suppose fire should break
out at midnight on the second floor in
the center of TEMPLE Block, would
we, could we with our one engine and
limited water supply, save any part
of the block? We certainly could not
IL there chanced to be q strong breeze
blowing at the time. In case of fire,
our Department must use water from
plugs supplied by small mains with
light pressure. None of these plugs
will supply an engine with the requi-
site amount of water for great length
of time. There is not cistern in the
city, so far as we can discover. We
have one steam fire engine and one set
Of hook and ladder implements. Let
us contrast our city with another
not as large. The city of Stockton
contains about II, 900 people. She has
thirty-one large cisterns, which are
kept full Of water for the use Of the
Fire Department; she has three splen-
did steamers, two hand, and one large
sized Babcock engine, besides hook
and ladder apparatus. Her companies
are independent and made up of her
best citizens. Los Angeles has $4,000
people; no cisterns. She has one
steamer and one hook and ladder ap-
paratus. The comparison is not cred
liable to our city. AT present the Un-
derwriters mark Los Angeles on book
4, A. Since the burning of our two
mills has demonstrated that we have
not the means for extinguishing a
large fire, they are considering the
proposition of placing US on book 4,
without the A. This will probably be
done, and an increase of twenty per
cent. added to the risks of this city
making, we are informed, an increase
in the total amount of premiums of
about 81 500 per month. it is even
possible that we shall be placed on
book 3, which would involve an in
crease Of $4,000 per month in the cost
of our insurance. The probability of
this occurring is not remote, and we
would advise our property-owners to
take steps for averting it by immedi-
ate action in the way Of increasing
our facilities for preventing extensive
conflagrations. We have a Water
Company which has entered into a
contract with the city to construct q
reservoir on Fort Hill, and in order to
facilitate the carrying out of this con-
tract, the company was given the use
during the existence of their charter
of six and half acres of land on that
hill. Fort Hill is about 140 feet above
Main street, opposite the Pico House,
and had the company complied with
the contract between them and the
city by constructing a large reservoir
on that elevated locality and connect
ed it with the main in the street below,
would we not have had an abundant
supply Of water, furnished by a means
rendering it thousand times more
effective than could be obtained from
cisterns, from which we should be
compelled to raise the water before we
could use it? The cost of this inval-
liable reservoir would be nothing to
the city and but trifle to
the company. In fact, the necessary
excavating could be done at profit to
the company, as the hill is formed OF
that red gravel which sells at fifty
cents per load and is much in demand
for making sidewalks and garden
pathways. 1t is nonsense to talk
about complying with the oft-repeated
request of the Water Company to dig
cisterns in the streets, and thereby
enable them to evade the fulfillment
of their contract to make this reservoir
and place hydrants at one corner of
every cross street. The requisite
number of cisterns would cost the tax
payers at least 100000, while if the
Water Company were made to comply
with their contract, we should have
all the water needed without cost
Why is it that the Water Company
have not excavated this reservoir {?
and as they have not done so, why is
it that the city has not taken possess
sion of the land and constructed the
much needed reservoir herself?
JUDGE UNDERHILL came up from
Anaheim yesterday and left in the
afternoon for San Francisco. He re-