The herald., 1893-01-31
THE ART OF HOW NOT TO DO IT.

smitten with the impression that the
city of Los Angeles is being governed
Cor misgoverned, as the reader may
please himself), too much; and that we
are living in an era when people have
ceased to regard public Office as public
trust, beyond what money there is in it.
1t reduced itself down to the proposition
OF the valiant General Ollendorf, in the
Bsggsr Student, when he says: ''After
all, the whole civilized world moves at
the mention of two little words-how
much ?"
For a long time it had been an open
secret that, under Republican rule, the
work of sidewalking the more densely
populated streets of Los Angeles was be-
ing done in most outrageously SLOW
enly and negligent manner, and yet re-
ceiying the approval of the officer to
whose surveillance such work was dele
gated by law. Just prior to the recent
municipal election, the HERALD became
so strongly fortified with proofs to that
effect that it did not hesitate to charge
Street Superintendent Hutchinson with
corruptly accepting work that he knew
to be insufficiently performed and in to.
tai contravention and neglect of the
specifications under which the contracts
for such work was let. Mr.. Hutchin-
sons failure to clear himself of such
fmputations cost him the loss of his
Office, and Mr.. Watson was elected to fill
his place.
Now mark the difference between a
man who suffers himself to become the
venal tool of "shoddy" contractors and
a man who regards his official oath with
some degree of sanctity and respect.
One week ago yesterday Mr.. Watson,
the newly inducted superintendent,
made report to the city council in
which he refused to audit and allow the
claims of Pope and Smith, contractors to
whom had been awarded the sidewalk
ing and paving of Second street, be-
tween Alameda and Wolfskill, on the
ground that such work had not been
done according to specification. The
contractors yesterday appeaied to the
council from the decision OF Superin-
tendent Watson, and, in the hope of in
fluencing some one OF the four Demo
Gratis over to their side, employed Sena-
tor-elect White as their counsel.
The Citizens Reform league, headed
by one Griffith. himself large tax
payer, and further backed up by L. D.
Stinson, L. J. Rose and other substantial
men, got hold of this case through the
instrumentality of J. NJ. Davies, an old
resident and large property owner on
the street in question. This gentle
work is nearly $4,000; and when he
pays out that amount of money he
naturally demands an equivalent. Mr..
Davies examined the paving and found
| it done in sloyenly manner.
Mind, this work was done before
Watson became street superintendent.
On the day the board of public works
visited this street for examination, Mr..
Davies called the attention OF ths chair
man (Mr. Strohm) to the slovenly way
in which this work had been done. Mr..
Strohm said the piece OF cement which
Davies held in his hand was not fair
sample. Davies then got an iron crow
bar with which to sound the sidewalk
in front OF his property and Mr. Strohm
threatened to have him arrested if be
made hole in pavement for which he
was paying $4,000. Mr.. Davies then
laid the matter before the taxpayers re-
form league.
Mr. Griffith took the bull by the horns
and got an expert to examine the work.
The expert reported that the top surface
| Gone inch) had only one-sixth of cement
to tive-sixths OF sand, instead of being
mixed in equal parts; and that the
cement base of the walk, instead of
! being one-fifth cement, had barely one
twentieth. When this matter came up
yesterday an appeal from the contractors
to the council as against Superintendent
Watson, the Republican majority in the
council refused to hear the experts re.
port read and also denied reading of
the, memorial prepared by the taxpay-
ers' union, bearing on the case. "Straws
show which wsy the wind blows" but
the shoddy street contractors, who have
had picnic under the Hutchinson ad.
ministration, might as we'll awake to
realizing sense of the fact that they are
now having to deal with different sort
| of man