The San Francisco call., 1896-05-10
in Every Way Santa Monica's
Superior Says the Cali.
fornia Senator.
WILL SUBMIT TO A TRIBUNAL.
A Competent and Impartial Board, to
Be Selected by Congress, Is
Suggested.

for deep water harbor on the coast of
Southern California. His argument is to
be answered on Monday by Frye of Maine
as chairman of the Committee on Com
merce, which has incorporated in the river
and harbor bill a large appropriation for
Santa Monica.
1t has been suggested, White said,
that through an esprit de corps the
second board of army engineers had CO.
incided with the first, and therefore he
and his colleague had prepared the
amendment which he had proposed-to
let the appropriation be made and to refer
the determination of the issue between the
two points to an admittedly impartial
tribunal-a tribunal created under some
regulations prescribed by Congress. He
was not committed irrevocably to the plan
proposed in his amendment.
He only wished board composed of
persons of intelligence, of capacity, and
without partIality-a board to which both
sides could look with confidence and on
whose judgment and impartiality men de-
sirous of doing right would be willing to
rely. But the friends of the other side, he
said, declined to accept that offer because
they knew that no impartial and compe-
tent tribunal would decide In their favor.
They boldly and without excuse proposed
to overturn and cast aside those to whose
recommendations they should at least
award decent consideration and to ratify
and carry out the engagements made by
the employees of Mr.. Huntington with
him, and enable them to go before him
and to offer at his feet the great winnings
which they had made from the Govern
ment of the United States.
White read from the report of the hear
ings before the Committee on Commerce a
synopsis of the affidavits made by captains
OF vessels, going to show that the natural
advantages of San Pedro were in every
way superior to those of Santa Monica,
particularly as to the character of anchor
age. These affidavits, White said, were
made by practical men, not by theorists
men who had cast their anchors in that
roadstead and who knew what they were
talking about. White also quoted from
the Craighill report. showing points of
vantage possessed by San Pedro beyond
those of Santa Monica.
The town of Santa Monica he described
as very delightful bathing place, fire.
quented by thousands of people, and he
road tracks between the sea line and the
bluff, where there is now one track owned
by the Southern Pacific Company, would
be absolutely destructive to the place so far
as its present uses are concerned.
White also quoted from statements OF
Colonel Haines and Major Raymond OF
the engineer corps, unfavorable to Santa
Monica, and said: "We are here, pre-
sumo, to enact a law providing for an ap.
preparation to be expended for some useful
| purpose. and under conditions where sue
| cess would be reasonably assured. We
are not here for experiments"
| On the other side of the question, White
had read by the clerk a long extract from
| the report OF Lieutenant II. c. Taylor OF
the United States navy in favor of Santa
| Monica, but Whites comment upon it was
| that there was an air of partisanship
about it.
The opposite view from Lieutenant Tay-
| lor was taken by Professor Davidson of the
United States Coast Survey, and he had
an extract from Professor Davidson's re-
port read, saying that it was very valuable
| from an expert point of view.
AT the close of Whites speech Frye (R.)
| of Maine, chairman of the Committee on
Commerce. said that he was expected to
| present alone the side of the committee,
but he deemed it fair, as other Senators
were to speak on the same side as White,
that he (Frye) should have :he close.
PETER (Pop.) of Kansas favored San
Pedro. He read the conclusions of the
Mendell board, TO the effect that San
Pedro was the best place for the deep
81 I'D ant Of nc
| report by General Casey, who transmitted
| it to the Senate in January, 1892. He
thought it the duty of Congress, if it fol-
| lowed any advice, to follow the advice OF
the two boards of army officers especially
appointed to examine the question.
| At this point Stewart (Pop.) OF Nevada
suggested that as the Senate was very
thin, and as the chairman of the Commit
tee on Commerce, Frye, desired to make
his reply to full Senate, the bill go over
| till Monday, and that suggestion was
agreed with.
The Senate then proceeded to the con-
sideration of unobjected bills. Among
those passed were the following: Senate
bills concerning the weight of evidence in
pension claims, providing that the testi-
mony of a private or non-commissioned
oftcer shall not have less weight than that
of mmissioned officer; providing that
| the absence of an honorable discharge
| shall not debar man from a pension, pro-
vided there is no charge of desertion
| against MIN; to lease to the city of Bis
marck, n. Dak., S bley Island, in the Mis-
souri, River, for public purposes; to vacate
| Sugarloaf reservoir site, in Colo
RADIO and to restore the lands therein
to entry at 81 so per acre; extending the
time within which the University of
Utah shall occupy lands heretofore
granted to it; appropriating $4,000 for a
statue OF Commodore John D. Sloat in
| Monterey, CAL; prohibiting physicians
from giving information confidential in
It's nature in regard to patients; appro-
priating $500, 900 for public building at
Butte City, Mont.
| a bill for the construction of cable and