Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-16
THE LEGAL SITUATION.

The legal aspect of this matter has
two sides to it, for out of them grow the
rights of the city and the companies
now furnishing water. Primarily it is
asserted that the city of Los Angeles
owns all of the flow of the river from it's
source to the southern boundary of the
city. This is not true, nor anywhere
near the truth. A resolution of the
council, the adoption of charter by the
people, an act of the legislature, could
not invest the city with title to the prop
erty of some one else. If it coulo, and
it was true that the city owns all Of the
water, as claimed, the farms and
orchards now drawing water from what
are called the headwaters, or sources of
.the river, should be paying rental
therefor to the city.
AS matter of fact there never was
grant made by the governments of
Spain or Mexico of the waters of the
Los Angeles river to the pueblo Los An
geles. All the rights acquired by
the people were by the use Of
dealing with this question have
never taken any other view of it. The
city has the right to take from the river
so much of the water as may be neces-
sary for the use of the inhabitants there
of, and not one drop more. Please see
the two cases reported in So CAL, 1879,
and 58 CAL, 1881, growing out of the
water rights of the Los Feliz rancho,
decided by the supreme court. One
case was decided in 1879, the other in
1881. And three years after the last de-
cision, upon the advice of the most in
telligent and reliable attorneys in this
county, that the city had no rights
which would insure supply of water,
the council paid Mr.. G. j. Griffith $780,
900 for his riparian right to the flow of
the river, by or over the Los Feliz ranch.
In other words, the city paid 1000 to
Mr.. Griffith for his right to take from
the river for irrigation ''eight cubic feet
per seGond'-as the supreme court de-
cided he had the right to do. That was
absolutely all that Mr.. Griffith sold to
the city for $4,000. The water which
he sold would never have made the
slightest difference to the city, or it's
water supply. If he had taken it all from
the river. If the city wants to own all the
waters of the river, it can acquire them,
just as it acquired the rights of Mr..
Griffith to his share of the water which
flows by his land.
Ii you will examine my report,
printed January 1. 1892, with the opin-
ion of Judge Shaw, in the case against
the Citizens Water company, you will
find that this subject has been verv
fully covered. The money paid to Mr..
Griffith did not benefit the city to the
value of one cent, as you can see by
reading the deed which he executed.
He was only bound not to ''interfere
with, or lessen by percolation or other
wise, the flow OF water in said river.'
Last summer Gin August) four meas
urements were made of the volume of
water flowing in the river by one OF the
most eminent American engineers. The
upper measurement was made at the
point where the river enters the Los
Feliz ranch. The next was made 200
feet above the upper end OF the Crystal
Springs Water company's bleeding
bitches. The third was made below
the inlet tower of the water com
pany. And the fourth near the lower
boundary line of the Los Feliz
ranch. At the lowest point of meas
urement it was found that the flow
was 1864, 900 gallons more per day than
at any of the points measured above.
But do not want to discuss the wis
dom or folly of the gift by the city to
Mr.. Griffith. am merely pointing to
the water supply. If the city in the
same connection had purchased from
Mr.. Griffith what he afterward sold to
the City Water company it would have
received something Of value; for, to that
company, he sold the fright of way for
laying conduits for taking water from
Crystal springs to the reservoir; also
the right to enter upon bis land for the
purpose Of constructing ditch from the
river to the main ditch belonging to the
Crystal Springs company; the company
to have the right to use all the water
developed by excavation of any bitches
it makes.
This company did this and developed
flow of l0,0O0,000 gallons of water
daily; and yet below the point where
the bleeding bitches run near the river,