Los Angeles herald., 1890-04-02
Property-Owners and the
First-Street Grade.
The West Enders Want to Get
Into the Town.
A Difference Of Opinion Prevails as
to the Proper Cut.
Lo. the Poor Indian-The Untutored
Mind Desires a School-Charged
With Battery.

A meeting took place yesterday after
noon at the rooms of the Chamber OF
Commerce, called by the committee on
parks and boulevards, for the purpose of
considering some way of obtaining bet
ter grades to the western part of the
city.
DR.. J. P. Widney was chosen to act as
chairman and G. M. Wells as secretary.
DR.. Widney stated the object of the
meeting. He said ''The heaviest popu-
lation of the city in the future will be to
the west and south. Either an open
way must be cut through the hills to the
west, or else the city will grow only
south. A few years ago the valuable
property of the town was around the
Pico house. Now it is further south.
If First street is opened up, the
business center will be fixed where the
capital is now invested"
g. M. Wells said that he felt disap-
pointed that so few people were present
of the property owners in the central and
northern part of the business section.
They did not seem to take any interest
in movement which was profoundly
for their advantage. On Second street it
was proposed to go into tunnelat
Olive street, making no grade
greater than one foot in twenty
five. The proposition on First
street is nearly the same. The tunnel
would begin at Olive and come out at
Hope But the object of the meeting
was to ascertain to what extent the
people in the business center could be
depended upon to assist in the movement.
City Engineer Eaton was called upon
and unrolled several diagrams of pro-
fles for First street. He gave the esti-
mates for various tunnels and cuts.
He explained why it was less expensive to
make a radical grade along Second street
thar along First.
A M. Hough said that although he
wss q member of the committee that
hat adopted the grade of one in ten, he
was in favor of going into the work on a
more extensive scale. He did not be-
lieve that such a hummock as that on
Grand avenue could be maintained in a
large city. Every dollar that was paid
in should be planted to stay.
HI. C. Wilmer explained the plans and
work of the people of the western part
of the city. He said that they were
ready to combine on either First or
Second street.
M. L. Wicks said that he had favored
a deeper cut than one in ten, but that
was adopted as a compromise.
A. M. Ellsworth declared his belief
that no such grade as one in twenty-five
would ever go through unless some COM
pany bought up the property and did
the work.
Jesse Yarnell said that the people of
the hills wanted to come down in the
center of the town to trade, but as the
grade was so badsthey would ultimately
trade with dealers on Pearl street as the
city grew out in southerly direction.
D. o. Trantum stated that the value OF
property was not increased by heavy
travel The reason why retail trade was
going south was that better class OF
buildings were erected there. Mr..
Trantum made long and very spirited
speech.
DR.. Bryant spoke favoring traffic
grade on Third street. Major Bone
brake, John Kiefer and others followed.
L. N. Breed said that he thought the gen.
eral sentiment of property-owners was
that something ought to be done, and
the proposed grade of one in ten was
better than inaction.
A. M. Hough offered resolution to
the effect that it was the sense of the
meeting that the proposed grade OF First
street was the most advantageous one
under the circumstances. After some
discussion the chair ruled this out of
order on background that the meeting
was not called for the purpose of taking
any such action.
The meeting finally adjourned without
taking action of any kind.