Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-11
Notice to Mail su ubscribers.
FRIDAY, JANUARY ~, 1859.

Z. ipNoxihle AYERS d LYNCH.
FRIDAY. JANUARY ~, lSe9.
where Did the Money 60?
The fiction of money expended on the
roads of Los Angeles county is specially
funny to that unfortunate who (1) Knows
something about roads; and, t2) who
has seen these aforesaid roads OF Los
Angeles county. Any one who has
chosen to glance over the County Audi
tors report, published in the HERALD of
yesterday, will see that nearly one hun
dred thousand dollars of the taxpayers
money purports to have been spent on
these thoroughfares. To be exact, the
sum is placed at $97, 1886 s4. AS mat
ter of fact, the roads in this county are
poorer than they have been at any time
in our history. 1t is simply adding in
suit to injury to point the Angelefio to
his bad roads and to this large item OF
current outlay. We had better roads to
Downey and Anaheim and the other
Southern points of Los Angeles
county, to Santa Monica, to Pasa-
dena, to the San Gabriel valley
via the Five Mile House, to Wilmington
and to the Cahuenga, ten years ago
than we have now; and, if any man had
dared to hint at an expenditure OF
$50, 1000 Oh the roadways Eve are not
writing of bridges) in those days he
haov, rv,v nr1f Of tho nOrnfv
and if haste had been thought desirable,
he would have been chased into the deep
blue sea. Think of it, men and breth-
rem, taxpayers of Los Angeles county !!
You are supposed to have expended
this $97, 1864 and have not so much as
the suspicion of boulevard or a good
roadway to take the curse off of this most
inordinate outlay
The fact is that, with the money which
the county has spent on roadways during
the past ten years, even if half of it had
been stolen, with anything like
intelligent conception and super
vision of work, we ought to have
had mum Der of long drives which would
have been the admiration of tourists.
We could readily have had double
avenue, with good macadamized road
ways, from Los Angeles to the Sierra
Madre range and to the sea both at
Santa Monica and Wilmington. What
was there to hinder it At Riverside the
Arlington people constructed drive of
incompatible beauty, seven miles long,
with double roadway, double row OF
trees down the center and a double line
of trees along each side. They did it at
. time when they were a feeble commu-
nifty in numbers, and when even the ex-
penditure of q few thousand dollars
yearly wsuld have been great tax.
Why cannot these things be done in
Los Angeles county, especially when, in
q single year, We are confronted with an
outlay of nearly $4,000 on roads? The
HERALD is in earnest in this matter,
and so should the taxpayers be unless
their am bition is to be robbed, with con-
tumely added. If the taxpayers of this
county were to show any real interest in
their affairs they could have their beauti.
full country intersected with splendid
roads, which would of themselves 60 far
towards making the experience of East
erners and other tourists here highly
agreeable, and which would be big
step in advance in creating here the con-
ditions which make the Riviera of Italy
60 attractive to invalids and people of
leisure and wealth.
Let every man who is sweating under
the goad of the tax collector fasten his
eyes on that tremendous item of $97 ,936.S4
supposed to have been expended on
county roads, and ask himself if he de-
sires to be robbed? Let him ponder over
q system which depletes the treasury
and leaves the man who puts up the
money to founder through quagmires
and Sloughs Of Despond. We promise
to devote the energies of the HERALD
staff to an inquiry directed towards ascer-
taining all the ins and outs of the "How
Not to Do 1t" road-making and road
overseeing bureau Of Los Angeles county.
The good money of the taxpayer ought
to result in moneys worth or some ex-
plation should be handy as to why it
don't.