Los Angeles herald., 1890-09-12
B0NSALL EXPLAINS.
HE ATTACKS ONE OF MAYOR HAz-
ARDS vETOES.
The Hooker Contract Matter Explained
Is the Mayors Position Tenable-The
Points of the Case.

following communication to the council
Los ANGELES, Cal, Sept. 10th, 1890.
To the Honorable Council Los An
geles, Cal.
In a message from the
mayor at recent meeting of the coun-
Gil, in which he returns unsigned the
contract with j. d. Hooker for pipe on a
portion of the woolen mill ditch, he
took occasion to use the following Ian
guage: "By the terms of this contract
it will cost the city $3614.25. 1t is only
three years since sheet iron pipe was
laid by the city along the same route,
and now we are called upon to replace
it with new pipe" Is it necessity?
ment to say that it should not be re-
paired because the pipe was laid several
years ago. How does it affect the con-
sumers of water out on, and adjacent to
FIgueroa street, or in other portions OF
the city, whether the pipe was laid ten
years ago, three years ago or three
months ago, if the fact remains that the
city is compelled to keep up the supply
of water? In order to do so it is neces-
sary that new pipe be placed in that
portion of the system between the Sec
ond street park and Beaudry avenue.
The system supplies the West Lake park
and other reservoirs. Also the woolen
mill and the large area of country ad-
jacent to the Figueroa street ditch, and
from which the city receives revenue.
understand the Woolen Mill company
have some claim to a permanent supply
of water, but as to this | have not in
vestigated fully If it be the purpose to
contest this right and to abandon a sup
ply of water to the other districts named,
then the necessity to repair is done away
with. All admit that the city must do
one or the other. If abandoned, it
means the abandonment of the entire
system, which includes also Reservoir
No. A, in addition to the district named.
So far as the people of Second street
are concerned, no doubt they would.
like to see it abandoned, for along their
street, recently graded and for which
they paid hard cash, runs considerable
stream of water, making it a bog and
mire, and menace to life and property.
One OF the important branches of the
sewer system, for which so much of the
taxpayers money was recently voted,
is laid under this running stream of
water. A doubletrack cable car line is
about to be laid upon this portion of the
street, which cannot we'll be done on ac-
count of the water Add to these the
fact that it will cost the city thousands
OF dollars to repair the street, if the pipe
is not fixed.
These facts 1 stated, substantially, on
the floor OF the council, at the time the
mayors veto message was read, and in
cidentally mentioned fact which |
thought might not be generally known,
that the citizens out there paid $500,
nearly four years ago, so that the por-
tion for which repairs were now asked
should not be considered as having cost
the city dollar in the first place.
The mayor comes back with
second message, in which he has the
astonishing and ndunblushing presumption
and arrogance to state positively in so
many words, that my information is OBJ
tanned from mere street rumor. He does
not advance the idea as his opinion
merely but states it as fact. This too
in face of the fact, that l have lived in
the vicinity between four and five years,
am on the street and see it several times
every day. = He admits that the $4,000
was paid by individual citizens (and the
record shows it was paid January 18th,
1887, nearly four years ago. but he goes
on and gives some figures as to what
was paid Frck Brothers for work done
north of Temple street Gan entirely
different neighborhood, but on the same
system), also to Burlingame for ex-
cavating the entire route, together with
the bill of pipe for the entire line. Had
he extended his examination of the
''record' or gone back a greater number
Of years. he might have found that the
system had cost even more than he states;
but the part under consideration does
not include the whole system, only
that small portion between the Second
street park and Beaudry avenue, which
the zanjero and the zanja committee
have several times stated to this council
in written reports, was absolutely in
need of immediate repairs. Every cit
izen who knows anything of its condi-
ton is forced to the same conclusion.
Admitting that the repairs are needed,
how is anything accomplished or what
argument or reason is there in the
mayors saying 81 won't sign contract
to repair that pipe because a new pipe
was put down there several years ago."
This would indeed be an easy way OF
settling our liabilities, but one that
would leave us without bridges, levees,
zanj jas, fire hose, streets and everything
else.
Other manufacturers and agents of
pipe tell me that the bid we now have
is lower than the pipe can be made for,
dIlu III We IcduNcIblSO bllC ClUy Will ioNO
to pay much higher price for the
same.
If were really the intention OF the
mayor to refer to the defective character
of the original work, he might have
vented his spleen upon a former coun-
Gil, underwhose administration the pipe
was laid, instead of endeavoring to get
little cheap notoriety by throwing it
upon the present administration, who
only seek to make some necessary re-
pairs. In that case, his inordlnate de-
sire to write veto message would have
been gratified.
have no particular fondness in this
direction, and regret being compelled to
make this statement.
Respectfully submitted.
WIN. H. BoNsALL,