The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-02-23
FORMER wRALrH OF Los ANGELES.


The patrimony descending to Los An
geles from her proud Spanish ancestry
was no less than some sixteen thousand
acres of good pueblo land. This was in
deed princely inheritance. Those
lands were always worth. present or
prospectively, a great deal OF money,
and have been growing more and more
valuable ever since the country was first
settled. Such wealth has rarely fallen
to the lot of an American city. Grandly
and richly endowed was the City of the
Queen of the Angels. Los Angeles is
still young, but what has become OF this
magnificent patrimony?
Unfortunate city; she is today in
debt and possessed of very little proper
ty, real or personal, her most valued
possession being now her good name.
She has not even land enough left, it is
said, for burying- place; certainly not
enough for respectable cemetery. She
can count upon few little remnants of
her former extensive possessions, which
are called by courtesy parks, but they
are not parks in any proper sense, being
too small, unless we except the one
known as Quarry hill, or Elysian park,
and even that is claimed, or at least a
large part of it, by private parties. Two
hundred and forty acres Of it out of the
middle, comprising the best portion,
have in some way slipped away
from the city like the rest Of the
pueblo lands. What is left in that out
of-theway locality, after deducting
these numerous fine acres, is but poor
apology for park. The choice portions
Of the tract have been gobbed up, SIS
usual, but the balance constitutes the
best park the city has left. Owing to
it's being of little or no value for other
purposes in the eyes of our enterprising
citizens, accounts for its still belonging
to the city. Had it been regarded as
worth possessing, it would doubtless
have gone the way of all other pueblo
lands.
There ia something exceedingly grim
about the wsy the city has been Invested
of these thousands upon thousands OF
acres of valuable domain. They have
gone. apparently, for little or. no
consideration; have been acooped up by
Tom, Dick and Harry, Jacob, Peter and
John, barely for the asking. The city
has not realized enough out of them to
build public hall or school house, or
even Jail in which to punish those who
have defrauded the city.
These lands are now worth many
millions, but the city has nothing to
show for them; not a nickel. This
once rich and blooming heiress has not
lost this rich patrimony by dissipation,
nor yet by misfortune: it has all been
frittered away by her trusted agents.
whose narrow foresight, to put it mildly,
blinded them to the city's need for
parke, places for corporation buildings,
SCHOOL he~sas. e~.saato-i~-, l~~s-i4-~-Is--
streets and avenues. 1t seems strange
that former city officials should never
have thought of these things; but the
truth is, times were-we trust they are
now forever past-when public places
were places for public plumber, when
the public was not served by its agents,
but was robbed by them; when private
interests we're paramount to the public
welfare; when the rights of the munich
pality were disregarded by its trusted
servants, and as result this once rich
heiress has been stripped of her patri-
mony.
T.. L.
honest portion of this community in the
pact: that the combinations to secure
city lands were so strong that the people
in despair gave up the fight against the
grabbers. feeling that peace and good
government could not be had as long as
the city had rood of land which rings
wanted.