Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-21

screed with his full name, not necessarily for
publication but as guarantee of good faith.
Reservoir No. 4-WhaI the Attorney
Thinks of the Title to These
Lands.
EDITORS HERALD: 1 extract from
your issue of Tuesday, the 10th instant,
the following remarks upon the proceed
ing of the Council of the previous day:
"The Council also sat down heavily
and properly on a project by which
several we'll intending citizens of Los
Angeles proposed to get deed from the
city to some SO acres OF land, worth a
round million dollars according to that
excellent authority on city real estate
yalues, Councilman Ben. Cohn. The
city claims to own all the land involved,
on which is located Reservoir No. 4, and
it was invited to accepts deed to 81 acres
and give a deed to 93 to Messrs. Tom
Keefe and Others"
In your issue of to-day you correct the
above by substituting the name of Mr..
Kelly for that of Keefe.
Being the attorney of the gentlemen
referred to, and feeling sure that you
would not Intentionally do injustice,
either to them or to myself, beg leave
to submit to you and to the public
through your columns, brief explana-
ton of the transaction; from which it
will appear that you have been misled
as to the nature of the transaction.
The water in reservoir No. 4, when
raised to the highest level which the
present dam admits of, covers tract of,
l think, something less than twenty
acres; but it was originally designed to
raise the dam ten feet higher, and when
this is done it will cover about nins ty-
three acres of land. The city does not
claim, and never has claimed, to own
these ninety-three acres of land, or any
part of it. Whatever rights it has there
| in were acquired some years ago by pur-
chase from the Canal and Reservoir
Company; and that company, many
years before, had conveyed all of the
| lands included within the said ninety
three acres to various parties, reserving
merely the right to overflow them with
the waters of the reservoir. At the time
of the purchase by the city, the title of
the Reservoir Company to these ninety
three acres OF land was examined by Mr..
Henry T. Lee, a prominent lawyer of this
city, who had been employed by the
Council for that purpose; and he re-
ported that at that time the Canal and
Reservoir Company had no right what
ever in any of the lands, except merely
the right of overflow; and it was
perfectly we'll understood by the Council
that all that they purchased was merely
such right of overflow. The abstract was
| filed with the petition of Messrs. Kelly &
| Co., and was examined by the present
City Attorney, who made the same re-
port; and, indeed, the matter is so plain
that any one, whether lawyer or not,
that will take the trouble to look at the
deeds, will find that there can be no
doubt whatever about the facts as | state
them.
OF the ninety-three acres of land re-
ferred to, the portions covered by lots 5
and 6, block Al, and lots and of block
40, were purchased, many years before
the title of the city accrued, from the
Canal and Reservoir Company, by the
predecessors in title Of Messrs. Kelly q
Co., and the title is now unquestionably
vested in them, subject only to the right
of overflow. AS the matter now stands
the right of the city consists simply in
the privilege of raising its dam so as to
food the lands in question. but it has no
right to excavate, or even put a pick into
any OF said lands.
The proposition of Messrs. Kelly & Co.
was to convey to the city in fee simple
all of the land lying South of Park
street and west of Montana avenue, and
| block 5, and thus to vest in it the abb
soiute title, on condition that the Coun-
Gil would quitclaim to them its right of
overfowing the lands to the north and
east of the streets referred to. The lat
ter right is of no value, as the water
that could be stored in that part of the
reservoir would be 80 shallow as to
amount to very little, and the result
would be that these lands would be
alternately overfowed and left uncov-
| cred, and would thus serve only to breed
| fevers and disease. On the other hand,
the city would acquire the absolute title
to the land lying south and west Of the
two streets referred to, and would be
able, either to improve it by excavating
the shallow parts, or, in case of the
abandonment of the reservoir, would be
able to devote it to such purposes as it
thought proper. Supposing that the
same arrangement should be made with
the parties owning the land under the
Western part of the reservoir, the result
would be that, instead of a right to over
flow the 93 acres, the city would obtain
the absolute ownership of 81.
There can be no doubt that this would
be an extremely good bargain for the
city; and, no business man, standing in
the position of the city, would hesitate
moment to make the trade.
| The trouble is, however, that the right
of overfowing lands which it never has
overfowed, and which, under no cir
cumstances. will it ever be desirable to
overflow, casts cloud upon the title of
Messrs. Kelly & Co., and prevents them
from in any way utilizing the land. For
the city to refuse to make trade so ad-
vantageous would therefore simply be to
repeat the role of the dog in the manger
and, while such policy will be injurious
to the gentlemen referred to, it will be
equally injurious to the interests of the
city.
was present at the meeting of the
Council in question, and l was aston.
ished at the assertions which Mr.. Cohn
permitted himself to make, and which
seem TO have very considerable influ-
ence upon certain other members of the
Council. Those assertions were (frst).
specifically, that the city was asked to
deed away, for nothing, ninety-three
acres of land, worth $1,000,0 900; and
(second), generally, that it was thiev-
ing transaction.
AS the whole area of the reservoir is
OnlV ulnetv-thraa acres and the nitv hx,