Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-23
THE FoRT.sTREET CUT.
Colonel Smith Has n Word TO say ON
This Great scheme.


This Great scheme.
EDITORS HERALD-The citizens of Los
Angeles, and especially those residing on
Fort hill should be, and the latter, l am
sure, feel themselves to be much in.
debted to "Pleada" for his earnest protest
against the proposed scheme of cutting
down Fort hill. I am glad, however, to
relieve his anxiety by the information
that there is, in fact, no immediate in.
tention upon the part OF the Council to
attempt this piece OF vandalism. On
the contrary, the vote of the Council in
favor of its expediency, was, in fact, a
practical abandonment of the scheme,
accompanied by the expression of an
opinion that it should be done at some
future day. This, in fact, was a post
ponement OF the scheme for the action of
some future Council, in which, it is to
be hoped, there will be few or none of
the present members to vex our souls
with this and other wild projects.
In this view of the case l speak by the
card, as it will be seen, by reference to
the proceedings of the Council, that no
recommendation as to the so.called ex-
tension OF Fort street was made by the
Board of Public Works, and that MIR.
Frankenfield-to whose kind and consid,
crate action the residents of Fort hill are
so much indebted for this raid upon
their nterests-expressly declared there
was no significance in the official adop.
ton of the map of the proposed Fort
street extension at the present time
The vote OF the Council, therefore, so far
as indicating any intention of cutting
Fort street through Fort hill, was, as
Mr.. Franken6eld observed, altogether
without significance; but, in other re
spects, Mr.. Frankenfield to the contrary
notwithstanding, it has very grave, and
to some of us very sad significance
First. 1t signifies to us who reside
and own property on Fort hill, the
depreciation, and indeed the almost
total destruction, of the value of our
property. For it is obvious that property
over which-as in the case of Mr.. Wills
"a public street is laid out by the official
vote of the Council, or over which hangs
AS is the case with all the property on
the hill, including Mr.. WILTSHIRE
threat of excavating in front of it q
ravine or cafion from fifty to sixty feet
deep, is utterly unstable, and in fact
substantially destroyed. 1t is now over
year that our property has thus been
affected by the Vaccinations of the Fort
street syndicate, between whom and the
Council there seems to have existed
throughout with regard to this
matter a somewhat remarkable
unanimity OF thought and action, and
by this action OF the Council the injury TO
as has been made-so far as the Council
can make 1t so-permanent and per-
petusl.
Second. The Council, or rather those
OF its members that engineered the move
ment through that body, must have fully
understood the disastrous effect of their
action upon the Fort hill property, and
must be held, 80 far as they acted intelli.
gently, to have deliberately intended that
effect. Nor is it possible to avoid the
conviction that they have acted in this
matter either with criminal carelessness
or with the deliberate intention of depre.
ciating the property of the Fort hill
people, with view of reducing the dam.
ages to be paid to them in case at some
indefinite period in the future the scheme
may be renewed. Hence the vote of the
Council, threatening US with this scheme.
has the further significance that it in.
forms the citizens of Los Angeles that
the men entrusted by them with the
duty OF guarding their interests and
rights are capable, either through care.
lessness or deliberate intention, of
violating those rights, and attacking the
property interests of their constituents.
am, however, willing to believe that
neither Mr.. Frankenfield nor any of the
Council appreciated the real significance
OF their action, and to hope that, upon
proper representations bsing made to
them, they will promptly rectify the in.
Justice which they have, trust, mad.
vertently done US; and go much am
persuaded of this that l would
have waited confidently for their
action in the matter, did it not
seem to me that the communication of
Pleada presents favorable opportunity
OF calling the attention of the public to
the proposed scheme, and of discussing
its expectancy or inexpsdiency. On
this point there can be no doubt in the
minds OF disinterested and well.informed
people that the plan OF tunnel, as pro.
posed by Mayor Hazard and advocated
by Pleada, would be far preferable
scheme. The cost of cutting away Fort.
street Including the damages to be
paid to parties injured by the change
OF grade-could not be less than half a
million dollars. A we'll constructed and
well-lighted t1nnel would probably cost
less than half that amount; and would
not only itself be an ornament
to the city. but would pre-
vent the necessity OF DESTROY.
ing the most beautiful, and in all
respects the most eligible residence prop
erty in the city.
But still mere practicable and less
expensive scheme would be to defect
Fort street at a point little to the north
OF Temple street to point on Buena
Vista street, between Temple and Sand.
This scheme, understand, was favor.
ably considered by the Board of Public
Works, and was abandoned only on &C.
count OF the objection of the Fort street
people to be assessed for their share OF
the expenses. With this improvement,
and with a better connection of New High
street with Fort, through Franklin
every reasonable demand for greater
facilities of access to Fort street would
be satisfied.
Your readers, Messrs. Editors, will
however, observe that the gist of our
complaint is not against the cut.
ting of Fort street through Fort
hill, were this scheme actually proposed
by the Council. Ill-advised as it would
seem to us, we would have nothing &c
say. For, if such action were seriously