Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-07-19
THE HIGHWAYS OF THE PEOPLE.

the HlGhWAfS Ut me PEUPLE.
The People Aroused and Indignant
The Condition OF the Roads Tho
Damage TO the Farmers and
Others
There is constant indignation expressed
among the people about the condition Of
the roads both in and out OF the city.
A butter.maker at Downey City, who
comes to the city about three times q
week with his product. yesterday de-
clared that there was no suitable and
safe road leading to the city; that the
old roads or trails were being plowed up
and the new paths made circuitous and
Infamous, SO that with all the great inn
provement going OH in the county, of
which we are SO justly proud, the roads
are now worse off than they were six
years ago, and growing worse all the time.
He offers to give 500 to help make a
road to Downey, as his part of the tax.
Another citizen over the river offers to
give 500 for ths same object The
farmers are angry and are cursing the
Supervisors for their policy OF supreme
neglect. There is not single decent
road leading out OF the city to our rich
and growing suburbs. 1t is time for ac-
ton. Our Supervisors are now in sess-
Ion, and the question is daily asked II
they cannot add to the tax levy some.
thing to use in making roads. The
farmers denounce the Supervisors
and curse the City Council.
Their grievances are well put.
They say that in the eastern country
they could take. load Of produce to
market with two horses. while here they
have to use six animals 10 do the same
work. This keeping four horses all the
year round, extra, in consequence Of the
grade and condition of our roads, is
really very heavy tax on the farming
community, and they are thoroughly
aroused, as well they may be. They
complain on every side. The only roads
that are tolerably straight have railways
on them, which make them dangerous
for vehicles. The road TO Santa Monica
iy contemplate, while the grade of the
roads to Cahuenga are SO steep that teams
have to be trebled to move load Of
grain TO or from the city. The road to
San Rafael is sandy and full of chuck.
holes and rats. The two roads to Pasa-
dena are an abomination; wagons are
from time to time upset along them, and
the passage is all the time dangerous in
many places. No team can haul load
over either of these wretched highways.
The roads to Los Nietos and Downey
are simply execrable. They are really
dangerous. The old crooked trails that
were tolerably passable, are being rapid.
ly destroyed by the spread of grain
fields and orchards, and no good roads
made in their places. The hills are steep
in the eastern part of the city, and
many deep barrancas yawn to receive
the benighted team that gets caught
in an evening fog when coming into or
going out of the city. Occasionally a
team falls into the deep gulches and
gets killed, and still nothing is done.
Take the great highway that leads by
the Evergreen Cemetery to old Los
Nietos, Rancho la MERGED and Puente.
This should be one OF the most travelled
roads in the county, and IL graded as il
should be, would be lined with teams;
but everybody knows that this road is
dreadfully bad. No span of horses can
haul a load up the grades, and no team
can hold load in going down, unless
the brakes are firmly set. while the
wheels are in danger of being broken by
the sidewise slanting condition of many
places ON the trail.
The people at Pasadena turned out
and plowed, and narrowed, and turn.
piked and rolled miles of road when there
were but twenty-five settlers in the col
ony; but it Ia reserved to the city of Los
Angeles, with $4,000 people, to refuse
to grade road in decent manner to
the city limits in any direction. 1t ia
humiliating to be obliged to make this
statement, but the disagrecabla duty
must be done, and tho quicker it is done
the better. There ought to be sense
Of shame in the breasts OF the City
Councillors at the thought that little
villages il other States grade their
highways. while we, with more wealth
belonging to SINCE individual than all
the wealth of the people Of those sepa.
rate villages. are too penurious to make
a single road.
The result is that business is going
elsewhere that would eoma here il sui
able roads were made. All round the
c ty are great grainfields with 500, 900
ousne's OF gram that must be shipped.
Dut the owners are not fools They
VIII naui their grain 70 other depots and
avoid our dangerous grades. They VIII
naui 20 San uaDrlel, sepuiveda' DOW
ney' Florence ana fark station, where
thew can 90 at lass axnenaa and r;.k
and our tradesmen OF all Kinds will lose