Los Angeles herald., 1892-10-20
A CLUB TO TRUMP A. HART,
The Cudgel Was Figured by
Mayor Hazards Logic.
The State Attorney-General Appears
in Bad Light.
He Fails to Explain His Uncalled- Fol-
Interference in Local Affairs-His
Peculiar Replies to the
Mayors Questions.


him, and greatness for which he was
in no wise responsible, that man is At
torney- General Hart, whose christian
name is supposed to be that of the hero
of Tippecanoe, who bequeathed his hat
to the present chief magistrate OF the
United States. Don't suppose for mo-
ment, however, that any heirloom
sombrero would fit the legal officer OF
Governor Markham's cabinet. Not
bit of it. 'Thet bell-teazer OF Thomas
Jefferson would not suffice nor would
the shake of Won Moltke make
smoking cap for him. He really has got
ABAD CASE OF ENLARGED cABEzA.
By way of showing what fool Benja-
min Franklin was, in adopting as his
motto the four little words, mind your
own business, )" the attorney-general, on
Monday, addressed to the mayor and
city council, letter, in which he in
formed them that the Issue of the $780,
600 of city bonds for sewer building pur-
poses, was wholly illegal, and warning
them of the possibility of an injunction
suit to restrain their issuance.
The letter had about as much effect
as q shower bath upon the dorsal feath-
ers of full-grown Muscovy drake, for
the council Immediately passed the Or
dinance selling the bonds to Messrs.
Blair & Co., OF New York, who are
among the leading fnanciers OF Wall
street, and employ the ablest lawyers in
America to advise them with reference
to investments of like nature to the
one in question. There could be no
doubt but Blair & Co.'S. attorney had
sufficiently apprised them of the consti-
tutionality of this issue OF bonds. which
they had bid off at figure which has
advertised our city all over the conti-
nent.
AN UNwARRANTABLE INTERFERENCE.
r The mayor, city attorney and council
alike viewed this letter as an imperti-
nent proceeding, Notwithstanding the
high office of the writer. And the con.
sequence was that, on Tuesday morn
ing, the mayor and city attorney ad-
dressed the following joint letter to the
Encouragement:
Los ANGELES, Oct l8, 1892.
Hon. W. H. H. Hart, Attorney General:
SIR-Your communication of the
18th, addressed to the city council, in
reference TO the 1896 900 outfall sewer
bonds, was by that body referred to US.
All of the proceedings in reference to
the issuing OF said bonds are in the rec
ords of the city, in the city hall, and are
open to your inspection; and we would
be pleased to meet you at any time at
our offices in the city hall, and to give
you any information you may desire
upon the subject. Very respectfully,
HENRY 7. HAZARD, Mayor.
%. MCFARLAND, City Attorney.
Neither one of the two municipal off,
GERS whose signatures are appended to
the above letter ever dreamed of such
thing as the attorney-general's calling
on the mayor after being subjected to
such snub as the above letter con-
tanned. But, about IL 80 yesterday
morning, in he walked. and the city at
torney sent for Mayor Hazard, and the
matter was discussed in the city at
torney's Office, in manner more spirited
than deferential.
THE POWER BEHIND THE THRONE.
Nobody believed for moment that
the attorney general had done this
thing of his own volition. Here he was,
over 500 miles from his official desk, and
interfering, without any apparent solic-
of the most vital import to the sanitary
well-being of large and rapidly grow
ing city. With a very defective sewer
age system, and the possibility of visit
from the Asiatic cholera in the early
spring, there could be no doubt that
every day of delay in the COM
pletion of this work was
day wasted. And hence the best wish
ers of our city wers anxious to see the
sewer completed as early as possible;
and therefore the city officials could
only regard this proceeding as arbitrary
and unwarrantable. So the converse
ton opened something like this:
81 am somewhat astoniehed, general"
began Mayor Hazard, ''that you should
have made matter of this Importance
the subject of gratuitous attack, which
you have done unadvsedly, as you ad-
NIT. What was the motive for such a
course on your part?"
AN EvAsIvE ANSWER GIVEN.
The attorney general cleared his throat
of an overnight cobweb or two and then
replied that he had written the letter
upon information received from lead
ing citizen OF this place.
"Will you kindly favor me with his
name r. asked Clc mayor.
''No sir, it is not, the custom of my
Office to divulge the informant's name.
And, by the way, where, was the neces-
sity of your giving publicity to my letter
concerning the illegality of these bonds ?"
was Mr.. Hart's reply.
''Simply because it does not pay US to
conceal anything" replied the mayor.
"The same secrecy which hedges about
a portable attorney generals Office,
which you are carrying in your breeches
pocket from one end of the state to the
other, in refusing to give us the name of
this outraged citizen, does not apply to
the administration of affairs in Los An
geles. What would have been said of
our council and myself if, with such
letter az yours lying in my desk. we
had gone to work and contracted debt
of 1896, ,000?"
All OF sudden the attorney general
began to realize that he was getting very
red in the face.
The mayor continued: "Men would
have asked where is this letter that |
dare not show? My word for it, sir,
your letter then would have accom-
plished the very purpose for which it
was written-and the fear on our part of
disclosing it would have resulted in the
injury of our credit abroad"
PLACED UPON THE DEFENSIVE.
The attorney general felt positively
uncomfortable. Here he was, the lead