The herald., 1896-10-20
A SUDDEN AWAKENING
Long Dormant Rights of
the City
They ARE 70 Be Settled At LAST
The Water Company Has Been
Having a Soft Snap
THE CITY ATTORNEY BOBS UP
No Surprises the Oldest Inhabitant by
His Position
Wants to Force the Water Company to
Pay Up
THE CITY ATTORNEY BOBS UP
ns Surprises the Oldest Inhabitant by
His Position
Wants to Porce the Water Company to
Pay Up
Action That Should Have Been Taken
Long Years Ago, If at All, Is at
Last Ordered-Political News
and Notes

There has been sudden awakening
at the city hail. The city attorney has
ascertained just at this particular mo-
ment that possibly the municipality has
some long dormant rights upon which
it has been sleeping and which rights the
Los Angeles City Water company has
not respected.
The city attorney has presented res
olution to the council and that body has
adopted the resolution. 1t is printed IN
full in the report of the proceedings of
the city council elsewhere in this issue.
The resolution may be all right but
the question occurs: If it is all right,
why was it never presented before?
Why has it been held Off until this late
day?
The city attorney has kept this whole
matter under large-sized bushel bas'
ket and then suddenly springs it on the
city council and asks for immediate ac-
ton upon it, He requests that the reso-
luton be passed The city attorney now
appears to the forefront as great cham
pion of the people. He actually wants
the city,to commence battle with the
Water company for the rights of the
people.
For over twenty eight years the Los
Angeles Water company has been using
as much of the water of the Los Ange-
les river as ii saw fit. and under its con-
tract it had paid to the city the munih-
cent sum of $400 per year
The contract stated that the company
was limited to the use Of a head of ten
miner's inches under four-inch pressure:
so it is claimed.
And now comes the city attorney with
I. the request that the council order the
Water company to pay to the city 40 per
cent of the gross receipts accruing from
all water it uses except that consumed
for municipal purposes and that includ-
ed in a head of ten miners inches under
four-inch pressure.
This may be all we'll and good enough.
But if the city is entitled to this revenue
now it has been entitled to it for some
years past Why has the settlement Of
this proposition been delayed on thirty
years contract until the contract has
lived for over twenty eight years? Why
has the question as to- the rights of the
city never been determined in this mat
ter before now?
The first term of the present city attor-
ney Is about to expire. He was in the
office as assistant ever since the adop-
tion Of the new charter along back in
1889. He has been fully conversant with
the whole subject matter of the rights
of the city; why have these rights never
been enforced as against the Water COM
pany?
The gentleman who was city attorney
for three terms-Charles Mcfarland
left that Office and thereafter became an
attorney for the Water company. The
people of Los Angeles are now fully
aroused to the fact that for years they
had been weighed down by the unjust
burdens put upon them by the Water
company The rights of the people un-
der the contract with the Water COM
pany have been denied them and there
never has been any attempt made to
compel the corporation to do justice to
the people
tl,1 Tow. Nv
has been able to control the city coun-
Gil and such of the city officials as it de-
sired 1t could not control Henry T.
Hazard, He defed the corporation and
its stockholders as individuals. AS
mayor of this city he did make manly
fight against the monopoly. He saved
the cityss title to Elysian park or rather
he insured the title Of the city to this
eighty three acres of land by pursuing
courageous and independent course
and by taking the matter right into the
courts over the head of Charles McFaI-
land and his assistants in the city attor-
neys office. But the Water company de-
dicded that Mr.. Hazard was an unsafe
man and the corporation and its allies
succeeded in downing him. The Water
company has had clear sailing in the
municipal elections, barring the two
terms of Mayor Hazard, until It ran
against Councilman M P: Snyder. who
made the kind of fight that Henry
Hazard did as mayor. The only diff
ference was that Mr.. Snyder fought to
reduce the water rates Then the at
torneys and the stockholders and the
officers of the water company started in
to browbeat and bulldoze him in the
same manner and by the same methods
used in the case of Mayor Hazard.
BY the attorney of the water COM
pany Mr.. Snyder was threatened with
political extinction if he did not cease
his efforts for reduction in rates. But
he did not take the bluff. Mr.. Snyder
continued the struggle and accom-
plished everything he could for the peo-
pie. This settled It, Mr.. Snyder had
earned th3 opposition of the water com
pany, and he has ever since received it.
The corporation exerted itself to defeat
him for the nomination for mayor on the
Democratic city convention. 1t en-
deavored to defeat him at the primaries
In both instances it failed and now it is
endeavoring to defeat him at the polls
Admit that the resolution presented
by the city attorney and adopted by the
council yesterday is the right thing. il
has all along asserted to be true. r,
proves conclusively that the city has
rights which have never been asserted
and which. have never been enforced as
against the water company.
The reason for it Is plain. The COM
pany has always been able to elect its
subservient tools to public office in the
municipality in almost every case.
OF course there have been men whom,
it has never been able to secure bu,
as soon as possible the influence Of the
corporation has been strong enough tc
retire those men.
The corporation has ascertained that
1t cannot control M. p. Snyder, and fol
this reason 1t wishes to bring about his
defeat for mayor
If Mr. Snyder was the weak man that
the Times, the organ Of the water COM
pany, declares him to be, that paper and
the corporation 1t represents would not
be endeavoring to secure his defeat 70.
mayor. They would be taking no part
in the struggle whatever, for then they
would not care two straws whether Mr.
Martin or Mr. Snyder was chosen.
The fact that this resolution was
~ see