The herald., 1897-10-27
Star Chamber Session of
Lighting Committee
EVERYTHING SCALED DOWN
MOONLIGHT SCHEDULE FOR
ANOTHER YEAR
No Additional Lights No All Night
Service-The Old Contract to Be
Renewed-Cline on Hand


Thore will be no change in the manner
in which the city is lighted for at least
another year. There will be no addi-
tional lights placed in any of the wards;
no more lights in any of the annexed ter
ritory; no police inspection and reports
as to the lights which are not burning
and which are charged for the same as
if they were; no all-night service nor
service until II oclock-in short, the
present order of things will prevail un-
der the contract for lighting the city
for the next year, with the single and
unimportant exception that the city
electrician will be empowered to meas
ure the strength of the current whenever
he wishes to do so and will report the re-
suit of his Investigations to the council.
All of this was decided upon at star
chamber session of the gas and light
committee of the city council, held last
night in the committee room at the city
hall.
There was every effort to keep the fact
of the meeting secret, it being intended
to amend the specifications for lighting
without the people having a chance TO
know what was intended before the
specifications were ready for adoption.
The several members of the council were
quietly told that the meeting was to be
held and were given to understand that
there would be much of Importance cor
i - fl,1 ,,,.il
President Silver and Mr.. Toll We're pres
ent when the session was called to order.
President Cline of the Los Angeles Elec-
trio company, which seems to have the
city just where it wants it so far as the
lighting contract is concerned, was also
in attendance. 1t was a stormy ses-
sion from beginning to end, and for
time it looked as if the new specifica-
tions and the high bid thereon made by
the company would be accepted anc
again reported to the council with ma
jority backing it.
Councilman Grider appeared to be the
champion of the company and was
heartily in favor of the adoption of the
specifications under which the recent bid
was made In this Mr.. Blanchard was
many words. Mr.. Baker, the third mem
ber of the committee, fought for specifi
cations that would make it possible to
live within the appropriation for light
ing. He pointed out that the city
finances would run behind as it was, and
that there should be no greater shortage
than that already in sight. Each of the
members present took part in the de-
bate, and after a great deal of talking
they agreed that the specifications
would have to be changed SO that the
city would pay for. the lights without
large deficit at the end of the year.
Mr.. Hutchison sat at one of the side
desks and spent most of the time writ
ing, now and then interposing an OBJ
lection to some proposition or making
suggestion calculated to assist in a
settlement of the matter Mr.. Nickel
took sides with Mr.. Baker in the matter
of keeping within the appropriation and
Mr.. Ashman agreed to anything that
twas for the best interests of the tax
payers" Nearly ali of the councilmen
wanted to retain the ten additional
lights in their respective wards if that
was possible, but when shown that it
was not Messrs. Nickel and Mathuss
stated that they would rather have no
additional lights than have a fewer
number than ten. Mr.. Mathuss was
very much in earnest in his desire for
additional lights in his ward. He made
the statement that he would donate the
sum of S100 out of his salary to secure
two lights, but this offer was not jumped
at because it would not pay for that
number of lights for one season, to say
nothing of a year.
Several of the councilmen who held
out for all the lights that had been pro-
vided for in the specifications dropped
in their estimate, first to six lights for
each ward and then to four. but finally
after nearly three hours of wrangling
it was agreed that all of the additional
lights should be surrendered and the
same number as are now in service
should be advertised for Then the
matter of the police inspection of lights
came up and after some debate that pro-
vision, too, was taken out of the speci-
fications. There was a disposition on
the part of some of the members TO
strike out that part which provided for
the test of the current by the city cleo
trician, but this matter was left as if
was. the president of the company saw
ing that the city was welcome to make
such a test if it so desired. This left
the old specifications just as they were
with the one exception noted and they
were finally adopted
AS to the price of lights much was
said during the meeting, but President
Cline did little of the talking on this
subject. He intimated, however
enough to lead the councilmen to be-
lieve that the new bid of the company
would be about sS per light per month.
At this figure the cost of lighting the
city will come well within the appropria-
tion, it is thought, the difference being
$1.75 per light for each month. The COM
mittee will make it's report at the next
meeting of the council and it will he
adopted. New bids will be advertised
for and there is little if any hone of
there being more than one bid for the
contract.