The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1896-09-26
THE GAGE O. BATTLE
Is Given to the Water
Company
THE GREAT CONTEST IS NOW ON
Struggle for Municipal Owner.
ship Commenced
THE CORPORATIONS TACTICS
Seeking by Snbteriuye to Obscure the
Real Issue
Every Candidate for Public Office Should
sign a Pledge
If He Desires the Votes of the People of
Los Angeles City, He Should Be
on Record.
Every Candidate for Public Office Should
sign Pledge

The first step has been taken and the
battle is now on.
The action of the city council in in
structing the city engineer to furnish
plans and speciflca lions for building an
adequate water plant for the city of Los
Angeles and directing the clerk to ad
vertise for bids for constructing the
same, meets with the universal approval
Of the people of the city.
Councilman M. P. Snyder introduced
and fathered the resolution, which COW
cred this matter and 1t was carried.
Everywhere upoit thd streets yester-
day the subject was UP for discussion
and words of praise and commentator
for Councilman Snyder were heard upon
every hand. He had pursued bold, open
and manly course and the gauntlet had
been thrown down to the Los Angeles
Water company.
NOTICE IS GIVEN.
Thus Is the great issue of the munich
pal campaign directly opened up. 1t is
also a notice to the said Los Angeles City
Water company that the people Of this
city are alive to the issue and that they
purpose to see to it that no tool of that
corporation is elected to serve the city
as public official from 1897 to 1899.
In the past the Water company, has,
by obscuring the issue, succeeded in
placing in the mayors office and in some
of the aldermanic chairs, men who have
done it's bidding. -
But this year there is going to be a
departure from the rule unless the signs
Of the times are misleading.
THE PUBLIC AROUSED.
The people have had their eyes open
nd Il o1A <aI kx,, ,I>ff
position at the city election unless he
is unequivocally pledged upon the ques-
ton of municipal ownership of the water
works.
Furthermore, no man will be chosen
for public Office whose past record as q
public official is inconsistent with any
pledge he might now make on the water
question.
No man who has a record as a pledge
breaker can expect to have the conf
dence of the people again, either this or
any other year. s -
the past and by his official acts demon
strated the fact that he is not friend
Of municipal ownership Of the water
works, but who has on the other hand,
plainly given evidence of traitorous
friendship and undue consideration for
that giant monopoly. need apply at this
time. Ue tei -ia
The mayor and common council cleo
ted this year in Los Angeles will have to
do with this question which Is really the
only one involved in the approaching
contest.
The present contract with the Water
company will expire in 1898. The cor
poration will seek renewal of that con-
tract. Failing in that, it will endeavor
to sell it's plant to the city at an ex-
orbitant figure. a.
This is the reason why the officers Of
the company desire to control the mayor
and city council about to be elected
They also want one of their men to be
named as city attorney and another as
city engineer.
LINES ALREADY LAID. sLt'
The water monopoly has already laid
the lines to accomplish what it Is after.
1t commenced early and has been as
siduously engaged for months. In the
Republican organization 1t has already
accomplished all it can do thus far. Now
1t Is at work on the Democratic end Of
the proposition. 1t is endeavoring to
name candidates for nomination, whose
alliance with it Is matter of general
public knowledge.
1t is ready to turn loose a sack to
bring out the aim in view-to name the
candidates for mayor and for council
men in the various wards
Every consideration Of right, Of JUS
tice, of decency, demands that these at
tempts of the Water company to control
local politics should be discountenanced
IN such way as to forever put stop to
the rotten corruption that Is thereby in
troduced and, to an extent, popularized.
Every candidate for a municipal Of
flee should be compelled to sign a
pledge to the public something like this:
THIS IS THE PLEDGE.