The herald., 1896-01-11
WHAT OF THE C|TY'S PLANTS
Serious Allegations Against Su-
perintendent Meserve
ARE NO RECORDS KEPT :?
Some Specific Statements Made by Mr..
Charles Winsel
IRE NO RECORDS KEPT ?
Did the Superintendent Loan the Property of
the City to His Friends and Acquaint-
ances?-Othcr Charges

Mr.. Charles Winsel has sent to Till
HERALD the following document relative te
the park superintendent:
II desire to inform the public of few
matters of much interest and Importance
concerning the public parks of the city, to
gether with the greenhouses at Eastlake
park, the management of said park and
greenhouses, the disappearance and de
struction of valuable plants, and the al
legged superintendent of parks. Ny name
is Charles Winsel. l was foreman of the
greenhouses of the city parks for five years
-1SS7-90 and 1S93-95-and am sure thai
know whereof speak. l studied floricul.
ture for three years at the Belgium State
Cultural Institute at Client, Belgium. and
hold a flrst-ciass diploma from that insti-
tuition.
~ am now engaged in business for my.
self on Los Angeles street, near Also.
~ mention these pOinto to show that
may be presumed to know my work thor
oughly, and may judge of the ignorance,
incompetency and gross neglect of duty on
the part of Superintendent Meserve and
others, as herein charged.
"Mr Meserve has utterly neglected to
keep any record of thousands of valuable
plants that were taken from the green
houses to the various parks and to nur-
series belonging to private individuals in
various parts of the city. In his annual
II
port of the number or value of such plants
nor has he said where they went to, or for
what purpose they were transferred. He
has authorized the conveyance of delicate
and costly plants from the greenhouses to
the distant residences of his partic llar
friends for use at weddings, etc., and such
plants have usually come back to the
greenhouses either dead or utterly USE
less.
''In one instance 5000 maidenhair ferns
that l raised at the greenhouses were
scattered over the city, chiefly among nur-
serymen; and some were even sent to San
Diego and Santa Ana. A wagonload of
large date palms that were badly needed
in the parks were sent to Mr.. Lyon on
Broadway.
SIN spite of the advice of competent
florists, he has squandered large sums of
money trying to raise tulips where every
body knows that they will not grow. The
same is true of lilium auratum and many
others. Within the last few days hum
dred boxes of imported German pansies
were totally destroyed by incapable work.
men.
"a fine collection of new Cannas was
foolishly ruined by putting them in the
alkali fatsa Westlake park.
'sFor three months in the warmest part
Of the summer the street sweepings of
the city we're dumped on the lawn at Cen
trail park, till the grass was covered with
that filthy and ruinous compound to the
depth of six inches. About two inches of
viii Q river sand was dumped upon the
aforementioned compound; then a sack of
bluegrass seed was mixed Herewith and a
luxurious crop of malva, devilweeds.
snakeweeds, Bermuda grass, and every
sort of plant except bluegrass, ran riot in
Central park. Mr.. Meserve then plowed
bluegrass seed, which sprouted fairly after
the second sowing, and which Mr.. Meserve
now keeps clean with a carpet sweeper.
HE lately spent two days with six men,
two teams. and derrick and truck in trying
to move Norfolk pine from the Jesserum
place, near Third and San Pedro streets,
to Westiake park, but the whole ball of
the tree was broken and the whole time
and expe nse went for nothing but a dry
stick. large magnolia from the same
place shared the same fate.
'AI this bears strong resemblance to
the experience of Mr.. Meserve some four
years ago, when he imported some thous-
ands OF diseased orange trees from the
Samoan islands and gave the fruit men so
much trouble and caused the expenditure
of thousands of dollars in good tax money
1.-THE HERALD has been doing grand
work by showing up the incompetents and
vampires that fatten at the expense of the
public. AS this city spends about 500, 900
a year on its so-called park improvement S,
l am sure that this report of mine will be
appreciated by the taxpayers and others
interested in the city. CHAs. WINsEL."
The following protest was read at the
last regular session of the park commits
sion:
To the Honorable the Board of Park Com
missioners of the City of Los Angeles:
We, the undersigned, taxpayers and citi-
zens OF Los Angeles, do Indignantly pro-
test against the action of the superinten-
dent of parks, Mr.. Meserve, in not only dis
charging but caiuminously aspersing the
character of one of the most compe-
tent of the employees of the East Side
park. Mr.. Charles Winsel, and we do most
earnestly request you to see that Justice is
done to the above-named gentleman.
Furthermore, be it stated that Mr.
Winsel has always been known to us as a
perfect gentleman and good florist and
landscape gardener.
Signed: Louis Stengel. North Johnson
street; Chas. Reich, 637 Sichel street !:
James Russell, 932 East Main street: A,
S. Teutchel, PHI. D., 1907 East Main street !:
Chas. Anderson. 1909 East Main street !:
III. B. Fasig. 351 Downey avenue; John
Russell, 1917 North Main street: Joseph
Mesmer, 1706 Hawkins street: A. Buis-
seret, 80 Amelia street; j. III. Lepage.
123 South Pritchard street; +. NJ Nickel,
932 Hawkins street: VIM. Smith. 732
Tenth street; Thomas Russell, 625 Sichel
street; b.. P. Ford, 1919 Main street /:
James Chambers, 1924 Grand View
avenue; Henry p. Platt, Third ward |;
Louis Legrand. .ex-superintendent of parks I:
w. Ct. McGaugh. 140o Mission road Jules
Fallandy, 926 Wilmington street: w. B,
'Russell, zoos Main street; James Russell,
jr., 625 Sichel street.