The herald., 1895-03-03
Schemes for Oil Pipe Lines are
Getting Numerous
ALL WANT THE SAME ROUTE
The City Attorney Has a Plan to Stop
Speculation 10 Franchises
The Council Should Grant Every Petitioner q
Privilege and Charge Them All
An Equal Sum

The city is doing fine oil pipe lint
franchise business just now. The marke
for oil pipe line franchises is firm and thu
demand increasing. The only difficulty
with the business is that the supply
threatens to run short.
The reader will remember no doubt,
that there was an active demand for oil
pipe line franchises some two months
ago. At that time the city disposed Of
three in bunch to the three highest bid
ders Then the market appeared to be
glutted for while and there was no more
demand.
Two weeks ago the Pacific Oil Refining
and Supply Company asked that the
Council put another franchise on the
market. The route asked for was like
this: Commencing at the intersect on OF
Court street and Lakeshore avenue, and
running thence along Lakeshore avenue
to First street, thence across First street
to Second street. thence along Second
street to Pearl street, thence along Pearl
street to Third street, thence along Third
street to Flower street, thence along
Flower street to Seventh street, thence
along Seventh street to the Los Angeles
river. Also from Lakeshore avenue east
cry dlOllS OOuIt SlTttt W avenue
thence along Beaudry avenue to an inter
section with the above named line on
Second street. Also from point on the
first above named line at the intersection
OF Seventh street with Mateo street and
along Mateo street northerly to Palmetto
street, thence along Palmetto street east
erly to Santa Fe avenue.
The franchise was to last for twenty
five years, and there were lot of other
conditions regarding size of pipe, depth
it was to be laid keeping the street in re-
pair and other minor details.
The Council advertised for bids, and on
Monday last they were opened. J. H.
Bradbeer bid $306; the Union Oil Com
pany bid $17S, and the Pacific Oil Rein
ing and Supply Company, which had
asked that the franchise be exposed for
sale, bid only $780, The Council referred
the matter to the Board of Public Works,
and that body recommended that the bid
of J. H. Bradbeer be accepted, as it is the
highest of the three.
There were some peculiarities about the
bids which did not escape the Board OF
Public Works The lowest bid and the
highest bid were both written on the
same kind of paper and by the same type
writer, and there was similarity of ex-
preston about them which led the men,
bers of the board to believe that they
emanated from the same source and it
was openly limited in the meeting of the
board on Friday that Mr.. Bradpeer, who
is an architect and has no oil wells or oil
property, has already sold his franchise to
the Pacific Oil Refining and Supply Com
pany.
When the Union Oil Company learned
that the Board of Public Works would
recommend the acceptance of the bid of
J. II. Bradbeer, its representative asked
that another franchise over the same route
be put up for sale. At the same time E.
L. Doheney presented a petition for a
franchise over the same route. The board
began to grow weary of the oil pipe line
franchise business when these two re-
quests came in, and sent for City Attor-
ney Dunn. Now this Mr.. Dunn is a man
fertile of resource and in short time he
had suggested to the board a plan which
will probably be followed, and which will
tend to stop any more speculation in
franchises.
The last two franchises are asked to ex-
tend over period of only twenty three
months. The petitioners believe that at
the end of that time they will have been
q BILE to procure franchise.
City Attorney Dunn suggests that the
city sell the franchises along the same
route to the two different parties apply
ny, for strange as it may seem, the city
officials think there are but two genuine
bidders for the franchises, and charge
both companies the same sum, 1906. Then
there will be no chance for trouble and
the city will get double the money for the
s1lr thino