Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-08-03
Prophet Potts Rises to speak.

EDITORS HERALD "A few weeks ago the
present City Council proposed grade for
Bellevue avenue that would have cost, if
carried out, million dollars to cut down
and fill up the street and property af-
fected by their proposed grade; but
through the influence Of few that were
affected the grade was changed, 80 that
now it will not cost over 500 900, but it
will cost at least that amount to have the
street graded and all the lots affected
placed in condition for residences, and
all this the people fronting on said street
must pay but, to my surprise, today l
learned that this same honorable Council
have, for the purpose of paying the
expenses of cutting down Temple street
hill, proposed to levy an assessment on
this same Bellevue property, as also
| other property five or six blocks away in
the hills, all of which have streets that
they must grade and pay for; and all of
| this wild assessment has been brought
about, as 1 understand it, by the wild
and reckless representations of few
individuals, who call themselves the
West End Board of Trade, who represent
nobody in the west end of the city except
few of this guerilla band, who are for
aging round to see if they cannot get the
City Council to compel other unsuspi-
cious people to pay for benefiting their
property. Now l wish to give notice
to the City Council and the West
End Board of Would-be Guerillas,
that the ecple of the West End are pre-
pared to fight any such assessment to the
bitter end, and while contending for our
rights we would not forget that our broth
ers of the East Side on the hill lands
have been subjected to the same arbi-
trary acts by the present City Council
in establishing and compelling grades
ruinous to the property Of those who have
sought the hill lands for the purpose OF
making beautiful homes for themselves
and their families. The intention and
meaning of the city charter is that the
people shall have the right, where no
streets have ever been graded, to estab.
lish such grades as may suit them, and
then if a great public, or few individ-
uals, want better grade, the charter
provides that they may have it providing
those wishing it pay the damages sus-
tanned by such grade. And now, while
speaking of the above arbitrary and un :
| Just acts of the City Council, think that
the people of the West End, and all
other honest, thoughtful taxpayers of
this city, are not in favor and will not
allow a million of dollars of our money
to go into the hands of this short-sighted,
wild, theoretical Council for the purpose
of building or constructing sewers, not
withstanding the fact that very large
majority are in favor of an outfall sewer to
empty into the Pacific ocean. l have al
ready named enough Of the reckless acts
of the present City Council to show to
the taxpayer that they are utterly in
competent to grapple with the great
problem of disbursing million dollars
of the taxpayers money; and although
l know the need of good sewer system
as we'll as any other man in this city, the
City Council has driven me and hun
dreds of others, by it's reckless, arbitrary
acts, to vote and work my level best
against the issuing of the sewer bonds
during the incumbency of the present
City Council. j. w. PORTS.