The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-12-12
CITY HALL extravaganza
Incident to the Widening Of a
Part of Thirtieth Street
THE ITEMIZED STATEMENT
Against Which a Protest Alleging Elk.
0rbitanCe Was Filed
r1r. I. Hall In a Letter Calls Attention to
Recent Expenditures on City Work.
Giving Official Figures.

I. Hall, in communication to The
HERALD, has some hing to say regarding
the ''extravagance and extortio1, if not
something worse,' incident to the WIDEN
ing of city steeet. The letter in full is as
follows:
The extravaganza and extortion II not
not something worse, incident to the
widening of a street, are illustrated in
rather a glaring light in the case of the
Thirtieth street widening. On the south
side from Maple avenue to San Pedro
street, q distance of about 1900 feet in
which A. e. Meigs, D. p. Riley and Charles
/ Wander uhlen figured as commissioners,
with w. G. Schrleber as clerk, the re-
port hled by the commissioners, con ain.
ed the expense account iteinized as fol.
lows: Commissioners 1925, clerk 500.
advertising $40, sta ionery s., certificate
of title $36, engineer $63.S5, estimated
amount TO close, recording, etc., $73;
making in all $546.S5.
70 these items of expense protest was
He'd. alleging them to bs exorbitant and
extortiona,e. But the city council allowed
tns whole thing without an affidavit or other
proof that the account was reasonable and
just, or any abatement of accoun showing
how many days service was rendered, al
though said commissioners were allowed 81
per day. But this il not ALL Afterwards
the city treasurer against the widening fund
collected, for 90 each, instead OF $75, al
charge d in their report and allowed by the
council, and one for $3.50 to their enter
prising clerk, who seems to keep posses
sion of one of the office rooms in the city
hall. ready to pOunce upon such jobs and
initiate the unsophis icated commissions
ers into the way of big fees, at the expense
Of the unfortunate property owner.
At VI per day, the price fix I'd by the
council for these commissioners, they
matter in order to have entitled them o
500 each. Now, ten davs' honest service
ought to have been ample for all that
matter. The sum of 500 for all the clerk
did. and furnish his own stationery, would
be big fee. mile of street opening at
the first named rates of expense would
cost the app Alling SUN of $4,000 and over.
1t may be, however, that the gentlemen
found it impossible TO use up the IS worth
Of stationery, they charged for in any less
time. And the fact that they surrepti.
tiously appropriated 1928 of the money
lert over. and that much more than had
been allowed by the council and which
should have been returned to the property
owners, may be accounted for, il may be
supposed, upon the principle that If $75
apiece is a good tn ,ng to have 500 is bet
ter.
in conclusion it might be asked: Why
the city council does not exercise a more
rigid supervision over such matters. and
hold the commissio lers to a strict &C
cOuni ability, as business man would in
his own private affairs, and not allow the
citizens tn be plundered and heeced IN any
such way? And why also do they not obey
the law of 1893 and require the board of
public works 10 act as commisslonersI