Los Angeles herald., 1890-10-11
KNOCKED OUT.
MAYOR HAZARD YESTERDAY
vETOES TWO ORDINANCES.
The B. o. Carr Electric Railway Franchise
Put in Limbo-The Mayors Reasons
The Broadway Opening Ordinance
Also Vetoed.

Mayor Hazard yesterday prepared the
following veto messages
To the Honorable Council of the City of
Los Angeles:
l return herewith, without my ap-
proval can ordinance granting to B. ..
Carr and his assigns the right to con-
struct and operate an electric street
railway along certain streets in the city
OF Los Angeles -
The franchise in this case is floating
grant to build six miles of street car
lines on any part of the twenty-three
miles conveyed by the franchise. Where
this six miles OF road is to be built no
one knows except the grantees. In the
grant of franchise, | believe the city
authorities should be advised as to
where the road is to be built, that we
may determine the expediency of grant
ing the franchise. A further and serious
objection to the grant of this franchise
in its present form is that after the con-
struction of the six miles of road, the To-
cation of which will be fixed,
there will remain. seventeen miles of
the principal streets of our city tied
up with an existing franchise that may
never materialize, and for three years
will stand as barrier to the con-
terms are made with the assignees OF
this franchise. Why tie up IL miles of
the principal streets of the city without
any consideration whatever, without the
payment of one cent to the city not one
cent to be forfeited in case of a failure to
build any or all of the road? Nopromise
is made to build any of it, and still we
tie it up for them for three years, await
ing their pleasure, whether they will
build any or all of it, and giving to them
the right to say whether any other road
should be built in the meantime. If
they paid anything for this privilege, or
forfeited anything in case they did not
build, we might assume that it was their
intention to do so, but they do
+, not. A blanket franchise like
this ought to be granted only
on such guarantees as gives us assur-
ance that they mean business. Seven
teen miles Of the streets OF the city
should not be blocked from street car
improvement for three years, except for
good and substantial reasons, none of
which are given. lis in this case. We
should leave to future administrations
the right to say whether additional fran
chises shall be granted, and to whom,
when. the proper time arrives to build
The municipal authorizes at the time
will, no doubt, be better qualified to
pass on the expediency of granting fran
chises than we are, besides which in the
meantime, these streets will not be
barred against the construction of other
street car facilities. An example OF the
injustice often done by existing fran
chises is presented on Spring street
between Second and Fourth streets,
where the Pacific Cable COM
pany have interposed objections
to the use OF that portion OF Spring
street by the Wilmer cable road
on the ground that it is already covered
by two franchises, Notwithstanding the
fact. that one of the street car lines, (viz: :
the Fifth and Olive street,, have long
since been abandoned, no cars having
been run over the line for months, but
it is operated to cripple the new road in
its endeavor to dispose of its bonds.
When these people are ready and de-
sire to build any of the extra IL miles of
road, let them apply on proper guaran-
tee, for franchise therefor, and it will
then be time to determine the question
of the expediency of granting the same,
and not till then. If this franchise is
granted in it's present form, it will es-
CdpllSu u Ddu pIcCcucut, VIZ. AOH q
person desires to build small section
of street Car line, he grid
irons the city, including the
section he means to build, and
provides in the franchise that if an
amount of road equal to what he intends
to build be not built in one year he for
feits the balance, he forfeits nothing.
The city, however, forfeits her right to
grant this privilege to others who would
build, and by this means all the streets
of the city might and probably would
be covered by prospective franchises
that become vital only when some one
is desirous of building. Look at the
franchise given to the Los Angeles, Utah
and Atlantic,railroad company its vital
ity became apparent after years only for
the purpose of preventing other parties
from doing what they failed to do.
Another objection to this franchise
exists in the permission to erect any
kind of a structure to support its wires.
1t grants "the right to construct all 'ap-
pliances, properties. structures and at
tachments that may be necessary
for the purpose of operating
said road" The experience our
people have had with the Pico street
: line, extending down Seventh street and
other streets, is such that some
provision should be made in this fran
chise to prevent repetition thereof.
From the beginning of this administra-
ton we have been besieged by the prop