The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-05-12
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THR GRAND JURYsS REPORT.

The people OF this city are under o0l-
| cations of gratitude to the grand jury
| for the second instsllment of their re-
port. 1t shows that that body has been
arduous and searching in the perform
ance of its duty, and has laid bare to
the public q chapter about the conduct
of some of our city Offices calculated to
make the average taxpayer squirm at
the way in which he is being looted by
recklese and inefficient efioe-holders.
The Office OF superintendent of streets
ia the focus and center OF the most
sweeping impositiens upon property
holders. The owners of lots on streets
where improvements are ordered are
bound hand and loot aad delivered over
to the merciless robbsries OF the con-
tractors. There is NO mere guess-work
about this, for the grand jury show con-
clusively, as the result of careful expert
examination, that expensive lines oil
street work in various parts OF the city
have been done in utter disregard OF the
terms of the contract and that the
work was accepted by the superintend-
emit, leaving the victims bel pless of re-
dresa and with no escspe from the pay
ment of demands that are infamous
robberies.
The report cites one short piece OF
work in which the poor homestead own
ers whose property sligns the street
were cheated out of $2s96.40 by with
holding the material called for in the
contract. Similar felenious scrimping
is shown in many other contracts, and
enc case is pointed out in which the
contractor accepted from one handy
property holder 500 as a compromise
for his assessment of $1,000. Nothing
could be more glaringly suggestive of
dishonesty than such transaction. AS
we go on wsding through this mass of
evidence of the way in which our tax
payers are robbed through the collision
of the street superintendent, or at least
through his connivaRce, with the un-
scrupulous contractors to cinch the lot
owners, we are amazed at the extent to
which this crying evil has reached. In
deed, the grand jury sum up the i'm
mensity of this street work iniauity by
saying that they have had testimony
before them which iustifes the charge
that little, if any, OF the street work ever
done in this city has been completed
according to contract and specifications
Property-owners ought to have pro-
lection from this kind Of piracy. The
contractors are "out of the woods" when
tho superintendent of streets accepts
their work, and the superintendent OF
streets acts with perfect impunity in the
acceptance OF work because there is 20
legislative machinery provided to 'bring
him to book" for what he may claim to
be an exercise of discretionary power &C.
cerding to his own judgment. But every
man of sense and observation knows that
there is little joker" behind this ex-
ereise of discretionary power. When
that power is exercised with constant
invariability that is significant so as to
enable the contractors to rob the prop
erty- holders, there can be but one infer
enee. If there 10 not "divvy" behind
it, the loose man of the world would put
down the official who would thus lay
himself open to suspicion as an honest
fool. Even with this strained conclu-
sion there would be no escape from the
fact that such an official should be ma
rooned by public execration, and driven
from Office as an incompetent or an idiot.
In every growing and improving city
scandal and robbery have been the con-
comitants OF street work. The report
shows that Los Angeles has been in the
hands of the street pirates ever since we
have extended the populous limits OF
our city and entered literally upon the
work of improving our streets. Our
people have been robbed with impunity
and many have bean assessed out Of
thsir homes by thieYing street improve
ments. Let us insist, now that our eyes
are opened to the enormity OF the
wrongs we are subjected to under the
present mode of control OF street i'm
provement, that the city charter shal
be 80 amended that we can have honest
work for fair pay.