Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-03
THE NEW-C0UNTY MANIA.

The rage for county division has
reached its highest point in thespresent
legislature. The schemes for carving
new counties out OF Los Angeles, San
Bernardino and San Diego are appalling.
The latest side-show in the game is a
petition OF people residing in Norwalk
to the supervisors of Orange to be cut
off from Los Angeles and attached to
that county. This must have been got
up by practical joker, and as we first
hear of it from Sacramento, the object
of its author was possibly to complicate
and ridicule the efforts of the division
lists at the state capital.
Riverside is one of the new counties
proposed; but the bill which monopo-
Lies the greatest attention is that of
Senator McComas, to create the county
of Pomona out of Los Angeles and San
Bernardino counties. The great fight OF
all the county divisionists is made upon
this measure; for it is believed that if
successful in this all the other division
schemes, from Colusa to San Diego, will
go through. But the latest news from
the capital upon this subject is to the
effect that reactionary sentiment has
set in, and it is now more than probable
that the bill will be defeated.
The assembly committee on coun-
ties and county boundaries is
beginning to give signs of antag-
onisam to the Pomona bill, and the op-
ponents of division believe that ma
jority report will be sent in against its
passage. Whilst that might not be the
death blow OF the scheme, it would be
apt to make it pretty sick.
The fact is this county division busi-
ness is becoming an evil which the peo-
pie are beginningto appreciate at its full
enormity. The true principle that
should underlie a demand for division
is lost sight of in the clamor of politi-
clans whose only object in creating new
counties is to increase the number OF
Offices. No county should be divided
until the population of the old county
becomes so redundant that the in
terests OF all the people would be bene-
fited by the division.
We believe that if the question of di-
vision were now put to the people of
Orange they would vote against it. They
realize that as scheme OF public econ
omy, their separation from Los Angeles
has been a colossal mistake. The tax
payers Of that county find that they
would have saved twenty-five per cent.
of the money they are now called upon to
dlsburse to the tax collector if they had
never gone into the county business on
their own account. Should the Pomona
scheme 60 through, the people who find
themselves in the new county will also
realize, when too late, the great mistake
they have made.
But there is aiquestion of justice in
these division matters which is entirely
lost sight of by the men who become
crazed to secede from their old counties.
Take Los Angeles, for instance A few
years ago the supervisors from all parts
of the county agreed that a new court
house was required. The plans and cost
of that edifice were made to confofm to
the size and the. opulence of the county
at that time. Since then the southern
portion of the county has seeded, and
now the eastern portion wants to go; so
that with such further partitions as may
be effected in few years, we may find
ourselves with courthouse altogether
out of proportion, both in size and in
cost, to our needs. e.
What is the result? The old county,
with decreased resources, is left to pay
for $3.50, 200 structure, when one that
would cost $25O,0O would answer all her
An absolute injustice is thus
done to the taxpayers who are left in
the old county. And all for what? To
create more Offices for politicians who
must otherwise stay out in the cold.
WE LEARN by the San Jacinto Regis
@1,a+ M-A L