Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-29
Mayor Hazard and Retrench-
ment.
He Approves of the Main Fea-
lures of the Ordinance.
But Thinks Certain Details Would
Lead to Serious Loss.
The Reasons for the Veto Given In Full.
Suggestions Which the Mayor
Thinks Would Lead to Bet
ter Proposition.

be presented TO the council tnlS morn
ing. 1t was furnished the papers at a
late hour last night:
To the Honorable Council of the City of Los
. Angeles:
1 regret my inability to approve the
accompanying ordinance, because in the
main it is correct, but in my judgment
the ordinance, if it should become law
in its present shape, will involve the city
in serious loss in many particulars.
The reduction OF the salary of the en-
gineers in the fire department from 800
to $S5 is serious mistake. This is
service that requires a skilled mechanic
who is required to be constantly on duty
twenty-four hours out of every day,
charged with the responsible duty of
keeping his machine always in readiness
for fire every day in the year. They
have the care and custody of these fine
engines that have cost the city large
sums of money, and the least temporary
neglect would seriously injure them.
These salaries have already been re-
duced, and further reduction is dam
gerous experiment. The niggardly
amount of $420, which we take from
these seven engineers in one year, will
be lost many times over by changes
which the enforcement of this reduction
will bring about, and the Indifference
which will be engendered there
by. The small amount of money
you save thereby is out of all proportion
to the loss that will result therefrom.
The efficiency OF the fire department
should not be menaced insthis manner;
five divide the twenty-four hours they
are on duty every day by eight, the time
fixed by the law ofthe state and the or
dinances of the city as days labor,yo
will see that they get pay for one-third
ofthe time they are actually employed;
this would give them $50 per month for
eight hours labor for every day in the
month, Sundays included, and this you
propose to reduce; l must decline to
give my approval to such an act OF gross
injustice. III the fire department of this
city is costing too much, procure good
chemical engine, as the fire commission
ers have time and again requested your
honorable body to do, which will do as
much work as three ordinary steam en-
gines, owing to the rapidity with which
they can reach the fire, and the readi-
ness with which they can act. When
there, they are not dependent on a
water supply, but can be quickly taken
into the hill districts and other remote
localities of the city. where the water
supply is inadequate; where our
people are at present practically
without any fire protection; by
this means the efficiency of the de-
partment can be increased, which will
enable you to do away with some OF the
present engine companies, if a saving
must be made in this department, and
the expense OF running the same will be
reduced, because the care OF one of these
engines is much less than an ordinary
fire engine.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
We have an official keeper OF the city
hospital against whom no complaint
has ever been made, so far as I have
heard, who has resided with his family
at the hospital (pest house) for four
years, taking care OF patients when
there, and of the property of the hos
pital when there are no patients, and
has received $50 per month therefore
this is reduced to $50 /; of course no man
with family can live on that price and
provide himself with the necessaries of
life. and he will resign; no one who
would accept it at $50 per month, pro-
viding for himself, would remain there
one minute after patient had been
sent there, that being the time we
would particularly need his service. Can
we afford to place persons afflicted with
infectious diseases under the care of
such person? We know now, as well
as to wait until this gross injustice
is perpetrated, that anyone who can af-
ford to do this work at that price is un-
able to care for the sick and afflicted.
The manner in which this pest house
has been kept for the last few years has
protected the city from the spread OF ep-
idemic Diseases place being ready at
all times to take persons afflicted. To
reduce it to $50 per month is to abolish
it, trains of cars coming in daily, bring
ing many cases of smallpox from Mexi-
co, without any provision whatever to
isolate and care for them, will be the re-
suit OF an unwise policy that would do
away with the city hospital. The exper-
iment of removing an efficient officer to
make place for someone else, sand that
will undoubtedly be the result of the en-
actment of this ordinance, if anyone can
be found to take the place with the re-
duced salary, was made when Mr..
Krumdick was keeper of the city hos
pital in 1879; when Mr.. Hayes was ap-
pointed to succeed him, within month
or so after his appointment, smallpox
patient was sent to the hos
pital, and Mr.. Hayes proceed
ed to vacate forthwith, and there
was no one to care for the patient, and
the authorities were obliged to replace
Mr.. Krumdick. Besides, what provis-
ion would there be for the receipt and
care Of female patients in case a person
were appointed without his wife to
assist him, as is the case with the pres
ent occupant, whose wife, being an ed
ucated nurse, has assisted him in nurs-
ing and caring for all patients without
any charge therefor, as the salary which
you propose would not provide the
necessary provisions to support the two
people?
POLICE SURGEON.
Again, this ordinance abolishes the
Office of police surgeon, one of the most
important offices OF the city. An in
spection of the last annual report of the
police surgeon, embodied in the last
report of the board of health, will show
that DIR. Morrison, the present incum-
bent, treated 3515 cases with signal
success during the year ending Novem-
Der 80, 1890, or an average of ten cases
per day, requiring the constant at