Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-08-20
A Calm view of the sewer Ques.io,


EDITORS HERALD-In common with
every good citizen, the writer desires to
see the prosperity of this, our fair city,
abundant as the waves of the sea, but
feeling that this proposition to vote 30
much money for sewers, which is now be-
fore the people, will, if carried, becloud
all the future and dim the prosperity of
Los Angeles for many years to come, l
wish, by your permission, to say some
thing against it.
One thing is certain that nearly every
| one is willing to make every necessary
provision, even in these hard times, for
taking care of this sewage matter, so that
| it be done in the wisest and most econo-
mical manner, but unluckily this matter
80 stands now that to vote for
the bonds one has also to vote for
what many regard as an unwise
and wholly wasteful disposition of said
sewage, by reason of the route selected.
! In order to get something we do want we
are compelled to sanction a great and
overwhelming mistake, and take also
something that we do not want and can
| by no means afford to take upon us at
| this time. In other words, the Council
|
to speak, an incubus, "an old man of the
sea-" to this question which is too much
for the people to carry, and which, if
they are wise, they will entirely reject.
But are they all wise, and do they all
yet thoroughly understand this question
I think mott and the position take is
this-that if these bonds do carry, and
this calamity is 30 saddled on this COM
munity, it will be by the votes of the
people and the laboring classes, who have
not much discussed this question, and
who are being cajoled with promises and
cheated into the belief that as soon as
these bonds are voted they will get job
on this sewer work at once. Never was
| there a more unfounded delusion, and
yet so many with whom the writer has
conversed are resting upon it, that the
writer is convinced that these men should
| be met in open-air meetings before elec.
tion and have it shown and demonstrated
to them how that, if this work is once
commenced by the Ballona route, that
Santa Monica stands ready with an in
| junction to bar the way, and for many
yeare, perhaps, to tie up this work with
litigation. Good speakers, who under
stand this, should be selected, and this
fact should be made clear to every
one of them, who is now designing
to fix on his neighbor this too great
burden of taxation, in the vain ex-
pectation that it will give him imme-
diate employment. This is the PIVOTAL
point of this contest with a large number
of persons, who should have a chance to
hear discussion of the folly of such an
Expectation. Rather let such be shown,
and that clearly, that work will come to
them quicker by voting down these
bonds, SO that scheme and work on in
ternal sewer improvements, which are a
necessity, and on which everybody is
agreed, can he set on foot at once, when
we can go forward wisely in the matter,
and shun this great mistake that we are
now in danger of making-of incurring
all this unnecessary and overwhel ming
debt to burden US and our children for
ever. In hard times municipalities, like
individuals, should ego slow"and measure
their expenses to their circumstances.
In this discussion it has been proved
more and more clearly every day that it
would be an unwise thing to build this
outfall sewer over the route selected, at
such tremendous expense Gas also these
storm .drains), when it involves such
wastage of a valuable fertilizer and water,
which so many south of the city are now
greedy to get, and even pay for, and
which, if so used, would if it did nothing
more, add millions of dollars to the tax
able property of this county. The writer
has considered this question closely, and
considered all the arguments, pro and
con, and concludes that there is every
reason why these bonds should be voted
down. Hoping that the majority will
sanction the position taken by the
HERALD on this question, I remain,
respectfully, G. WHITE.
Los Angeles, August 10, 1889.
| Cbas. A. Baskervtile. Notary Public