Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-25
THE COUNTY ROADS.
General Complaint Of the
Lax Work Done.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COZ
An Inspection Of the Highways Be
gun-What q "Herald" Rep
resentative Found.

Some DAYS ago Mr.. T. Valdez, late
road master of the Ballona District, in
conseouence of the HERALD's agitation
of the road question, stated that the ex-
penditures of the road fund under his
supervision was efficient and to the sat
isfaction of those who travelled over the
roads of which he was overseer. The
HERALD promised that at an early
opportunity it would have the
work and methods OF Mr.. Valdez
investigated. This has been done. The
HERALD's special commissioner has
driven over the greater part of the dis
trict which was under MIR. Valde1's
charge. The route taken led out OF the
city by Washington street. Mr.
Valdez's line begins at the b.
nita Meadows on the road via
the Pssms to Santa Monica. The
district through which the Meadows are
reached is the Rosedale and the road
overseer is Mr.. w. @. Coverly. The
road is fairly good one until Rosedale
Heights are reached just beyond the
cemetery. Some excellent work has
been done on the ascent leading to the
heights, but hence the roadway is bad all
along to Washington and Pico Heights. At
the junction of Western avenue, the
people residing thereabouts say that in
wet weather the road is all but impas-
sable. There we're those who said also
that whenever work was done on the road
it was carelessly done and cost them more
than it ought to. In some past time the
road has been we'll thrown up, but con-
slant traffic has worn down each side
until sharp ridge uprises in the center,
and upon which it is impossible for an
animal to travel. For two miles, or
until Bonita Meadows are reached, this
ridge projects, and shows no evil
dence of ploughshare for 10!
these many months and perhaps
wears. 1t will be remembered that Mr..
Coverly's share of the road fund was
So, 1856. AS before mentioned Mr.. Valdez
boundary begins at Bonita meadows. A
steep but short hill is found just beyond
here, and this is gutted by rains and
rutted by heavy teams until it has OBJ
tanned the appearance of a by-way prime
val. To the Big Pear Ranch the road is
poor. For quarter of mile along
by the old slaughter house, now the Sem
tons Brothers., considerable work WAS
done by Mr.. Valdez. 1t is low place,
with a black adobe soil that let in the
wheels of wagons to the hub. The road
was thrown up, and about six inches OF
mesa soil was put on top. The fault of the
work was that the road was made
too narrow and that gravel should have
been used instead of mesa soil. The
topping of mesa dirt is already sinking
through in numerous places and is but
temporary expedient. At the time the
work was in progress at this spot COM
plants were made to the Board OF
Supervisors that the work was
done in hap-hazard way and
in the most costly manner. From here
to Grips place, distance OF about five
miles the road is very good, and thence
to Santa Monica about as nature provides
for. Mr.. T. Valdez expended $2,946 Of
the road fund.
There are two Valdez, the one spoken
of and Mr.. Jose Valdez. They
are father and son and they
have worked together in remodeling
the county thoroughfares. Mr.. Jose
Valdez was and has been reelected road
overseer of the Laurel Road District.
This highway leads from Santa Monica
and enters the city at Seventh and at
Ninth streets after leaving the line of
Sixth street through the Cahuenga Dis.
trict, but Mr.. Valdez superintendency
ends about mile this side of Gilmore
and Carter's ranch. From: the beginning to
the end this highway is in miserable
condition, and in wet weather must be
nearly or quite impossible for heavily
loaded, or even ordinarily loaded
teams. Along this route the consensus
of the opinion of the residents is that no
efficient work was done by the road.
master during last year. The road
ia not graded, with but an excep-
tional stretch, which will be noted
further on is winding way of ruts and
a succession of thank-you-marms which
preclude anything but crawling pace
for even the lightest road wagon. The
only work which is apparent to the most
experienced eye that has been done ap-
pears here and there in the trodden straw
or the scattered manure which has been
used to fill up some dangerous chuck
holes. This makeshift method all along
the line has been pursued instead of real
stable work. For mile perhaps east of
Gilmore and Carter's the road has been
graded, but as this was done last sum-
mer, and having no rain to
pack it, the teamsters have made
a road alongside it, and the
grade is unused and stands an example
Of useless expenditure of the road fund.
Mr.. Jose Valdez used $1,018 of the
county funds. Mr.. Henry Denker, whose
large ranch is on the Laurel road, was
very outspoken in his views of the Laurel
Road Overseer and roadmasters in gen.
eral. He said:
"The building and repairing of the
county roads should be done by contract.
The office of road overseer is an elective
office. and has it's emoluments, and is
therefore sought for by small farmers,
who, when they have nothing to do on
their little holdings, turn to road making
for their rewards. They generally have
light and poor teams and hire poor
laborers. They are road masters for
the benefits that accrue to themselves
not for the purpose of benefitting the
community at large by making good
roads. For instance, MIR. Valdez did his
work in the summer time when it should
have been done between rains so that
the earth would pack. In the stretch
of grade which he made by Gilmore and
Carter's place and which has never
been used, he expended half of the road
fund to his account. The other $500 was
as uselessly expended in filling up bad
places and chuck holes with straw and
manure. The straw is soon chopped up
and valueless, and the first north