Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-01-12
SUNDAY. JANUARY 1s. 1890.
The Proposed New Water Fran.
ChfDo.


The application of Mr.. Embody for a
fifty years franchise to supply this city
with water is, we presume, made
in good faith. That gentleman may have
the assured backing of Eastern and for
eign capitalists to the extent of three
million dollars, for sught we know, and
he may not intend, through the medium
of this franchise, if he gets 1t, to prolong
the life of the present City Water Com
pany for forty-two years beyond the time
at which its contract expires. Mr.. En-
body says he is not permitted to enter.
into details as to the personality of his
hackers, nor as to the points at which he
proposes to draw his water supply.
Whilst he withholds from the people in
formation of such important value in q
matter of this kind, we may be permitted
to speculate upon his proposition with
degree of freedom which We would not
perhaps be called upon to exercise if he
were more open and candid with US.
The city is just now trying to vacate a
franchise which it granted year ago to
parties who represented themselves to
be operating in the interest of an East
ern railroad which desired to come here.
Those gentlemen, like Mr.. Embody,
were not at liberty to make public the
name of the corporation they were acting
for, but there were no end of assuranceu
from them that they were aeking for the
concessions in good faith.
Now, we had no more reason year
ago for doubling that Scott and Co.
would fulfill their promises than we have
now to doubt that Mr.. Embody intends
and is capable of carrying out his water
proposition; yet We know that the former
have been unable to comply with the
conditions of the franchise granted them
by the city, and that the Council two
weeks ago declared it forfeited.
When Mr.. Embody is prepared to give
sufficient guarantee to the Council that
his associates will spend three million
dollars in specified time in securing
ample sources of water tn snnnlv-t
ssry works for it's distribution, then, and
not till then, will the Council be justified
in granting the franchise asked for.
If it were possible to do so, the people
would also require a guarantee that
the Embody company would not
consolidate with the existing water COM
panies. But we do not see how thst an
be done. Consultations and trusts are
the order of the day all over the land.
Who, for moment, doubts that if the
Embody company should bring water
into the city, and that competition with
ths old company should, as it probably
would, result in war of rates, that the
two corporations would not soon get
together and adjust their differences?
That has been the history of all opposi-
tion water corporations. 1t is the his
tory-and very recent one, too-of gas
corporations in this city.
The contract of the city with the Los
Angeles Water Company will expire in
eight years. At that time the city will
have the right to purchase their works
and supply the public with water itself, |
as it ought to do. But il in the mean
time the existing company should |
consolidate with company hav.
ing a fifty years franchise, what |
show would the city have of becoming
its own water distributor?
We should give no weight whatever
to that part of Mr.. Embody's proposed
franchise which says that the company
will furnish the city water for fires, for
street sprinkling and for it's public build
lngs free. This is not an honest overture.
It cannot furnish free water / o the CITY
without recouplng the cost Of it from
the rate-payers. We are suspicious
If corporations bearing gifts-''timeo
Danaos," e!c.
Let the Council 60 slow.