The record-union., 1896-04-19
SANTA MONICA TIE BETTER HARBOH
THE HEARINGS BEFORE THE SEN
ATE COMMITTEE.
Water at San Pedro Too Shallow
and the Channel Narrow
and Crooked.

WASHINGTON, April 1S.-The hear
| ing before the Senate committee on the
respective merits of San Pedro and
Santa Monica as sites for the proposed
Southern California deep-water harbor
was continued to-day.
J. w. Mitchell of Los Angeles was the
| first speaker, and was followed by
James L. Lankersheim and A. Slawson
also of Los Angeles. All spoke in favor
of Santa Monica.
| Mr.. Lankersheim said the present in
ner harbor at San Pedro was an excel
! lent one, but the entrance was too shall
| low for deep5draught vessels, and it
would be impossible to deepen it. The
water on the bar was only eighteen feet
deep and the channel narrow and
crooked, making it difficult for long yes
sells to get in at all, whatever their
! draught.
| He also said that on account of wind
and waves it was impossible to prop
erly load vessels or unload them with
out losing part of the cargo. He con-
| tended also that the growth of Los An
geles was toward Santa Monica, and
| they were practically one city, whereas
San Pedro was twenty three miles dis
| tant
| He also said the commerce of the city
| had grown so rapidly as to render a
deep-sea harbor a necessity Mr.
Lankersheim said he had personally
| favored San Pedro Harbor but had
changed his mind and become con-
vinced of the superiority of Santa Mon
/ lea.
| Senator Berry of the committee asked
| if this had not occurred because he had
concluded that influences operating at
Washington were such as to render it
| impossible to secure the necessary i'm
provement at San Pedro He admitted
| that this was in measure true, but also
| said that his examination of the re-
| ports of the engineers convinced him
! that he had been wrong originally
With a properly built preakwater at
Santa Monica it would be perfect har-
| bor He thought the Government
should expend $2,S00,000 on the Santa
| Monica Harbor, and $500, 600 on the in
| ner harbor at San Pedro. He said he
| believed that nine-tenths of the people
of Los Angeles would support this prop
| osition.
| Mr.. Slawson agreed with Mr. Lanker-
sheim as to the desirability of securing
| both appropriations. He admitted, how
ever, that the people were much di-
vided. 1t was impossible to say with
any exactness how they stood, and the
| Chamber of Commerce resolutions sent
| to Washington had been adopted to
avoid any apparent division. His dele
cation was, however solidly in favor of
the proposition to obtain two appropri-
ations, which would complete the inner
| harbor of San Pedro and also give an
| excellent deep-water harbor to Santa
| Monica.
G. p. Hatch of Los Angeles gave an
| instance of the readiness and careless
ness with which people sign petitions,
even without reading them. He said
| that on one occasion a petition was
| signed by some 200 of the leading citi-
zens of Los Angeles asking that the
| Sheriff hang before the next morning
the highly popular Mayor of the city.
| He described the attractions of Santa
| Monica and the gradual extension OF
Los Angeles to- that seaport, predicting
| that in twenty years Los Angeles would
be port of entry through its absorption
of Santa Monica, while on the other
hand he described San Pedro as a miser-
able little fishing town, where no one
would stay over night if he could possi-
bly, get away.
| Senator White, who had conducted the
| inquiry, and had introduced the several
members Of the delegations, thanked
the committee for it's politeness and at
tention. and Chairman Frye declared
/! the hearing closed.