Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-29

oACNRf AAH HaA tlCis III w llfks HAS Dttii
called IN and the city has received night
and day at the receiving hospital the
services OF able and experienced physi-
clans and surgeons, without any extra
charge TO the city therefor. No one per-
son could perform this service alone,
and still this ordinance provides that
the duties of this office shall be per-
formed by the health officer with the
other duties now required of him, and
in addition he is to be the clerk OF the
board of health. The result is apparent
to all, the health officer cannot do it.
and the receiving hospital must dowith-
out an attendant physician. And all
this on the assumption that it will be
saving to the city of $75 per month, and
in this your honorable body is sadly
mistaken. The piteous cries for help by
those who are mangled and dying and
those too poor to procure medical aid
elsewhere, are to me stronger than
any claims OF economy, and no ordinance
should become law that would
remove from these unfortunate people
that aid which Christian government
should provide for all its subjects.
SUPERINTENDENT OF BUILDINGS.
The present charter wisely provided
for the appointment OF superintendent
of buildings, who has rendered invalu-
able services to the city since his ap-
pointment, in experimenting thee
tion of many public school buildings
constructed the last two years; all con-
tract work with the city has been done
under the supervision of Mr.. Muchmore
in an able and conscientious manner,
the value of whose services cannot well
be estimated in dollars and cents. This
is an officer that l do not believe the
city can very well dispense with, and to
require of him in addition to his duties
as superintendent of buildings the per-
formance of clerical duties would result
in his resignation. This city is getting
too large not to enforce the building
ordinance the danger of permitting any
and all kinds of buildings to
be erected is great in all cities,
ours included, and the ordinance
cannot be enforced without the
constant vigilance of the superintendent
of buildings. To bring about vacancy
in the Office of superintendent of build
ings would be an unwise measure.
CLERK OF THE MAYOR.
The charter provides that the mayor
shall appoint his own clerk, and pre-
fer to perform that duty myself. The
disinterested manner in which you
suggest to me, through the public press,
how can dispense with the services of
Mr.. Robinson and put some one else in
his place betokens that want of courtesy
that should exist between the vari-
Gus departments OF the city government.
Had been consulted in this matter by
your honorable body, or any member
thereof, regarding the proposed change,
| would have been glad of the opportu-
nifty to have done so, and would have
given you my objections thereto in pri-
vate, whereas | am now compelled to
make them public.
Under the charter it is my duty to
pass on and approve the various de-
mands on the city treasury, and to exer-
else careful supervision over the same;
if there be any item included in these va
rious demands which is illegal or inn
proper, it is my sworn duty to return it
to your honorable body with my objec-
tions in writing thereto. II was COM
PEELED to personally examine each and
every one of the multitudinous items, /
would be unable to exercise that careful
supervision l am by the charter direct
ed to do, hence the charter has provided
a clerk for that purpose, and Mr.. Rob
inson, in addition 10 these duties, has
gratuitously performed the work of
clerk of the various boards of commits
sioners, his time being so occupied
thereby that he has no time to perform
any clerical duties for me. His long ex-
perience in municipal affairs has emf
nently qualified him to discharge the
duty OF supervising these various items
OF expenditure made by your honorable
body, which he has done to the satisfac-
ton OF the taxpayers OF the city. With
out the services OF Mr.. Robinson, your
honorable body would be subject to
much imposition and perform many
acts not intended, were it not for his
abundant caution and experience in
that regard. Hardly meeting OF your
honorable body is had in which there is
not some mistake. For instance, at the
last meeting of your honorable body, l
was compelled to return the deed of Ed
ward Amar, which your honora-
BILE body had directed me to sign, in
which the city executed to Amar per-
feet title to the land over which the
main irrigating ditch of the city runs,
viz: the Zanja Madre, without any res
ervation on the part OF the city to run
the zania over this lot. This deed was
ordered by your honorable body to be
signed by me as mayor. This was done
after an attorney was employed to see
that there existed no right on behalf of
the city that would be lost thereby, and
also after the city attorney had carefully
examined it TO see that the city was pro-
tected in executing the deed, both of
whom found that the city had no claim
whatever to the land, and recommended
the issuance of the deed, but when the
deed came into the mayors Office and
was placed in the hands of Mr.. Robinson
he instantly realized the fact that the
Zanja Madre ran through this lot, and
upon an examination of the abstract
accompanying the petition for deed, it
was found that all the right which the
original applicant had to the lot was
based upon his original petition for a
concession in which he agreed not only
to not obstruct the flow of water through
the lot, but agreed to pay the expense
of maintaining the water ditch thereon.
These things are constantly occurring,
and / consider Mr.. Robinson one of the
necessary safeguards to the public treas
ury. He is one of the few officers of the
city government whose services we can
not safely dispense with. The ordinance
being amended as suggested herein, to-
gether with some other amendments
which would not materially affect the
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