The herald., 1897-02-15
THE OIL NUISANCE


The derricks in the oil district of Los
Angeles are a nuisance. The "sump-
holes" in the oil district, full Of black
and filthy refuse. smelling to high
heaven, are a nuisance.
The horrible, greasy. sticky slime COW
ering the grass and shrubbery and sweet
flowers is a nuisance.
The engines, burning oil which emits
sickening odor, and making night
hideous with their screeching noises and
sleep impossible In their vicinity, are q
nuisance.
The filth which is washed down from
the oil district by every rain into the
fairest portion of Los Angeles, making
many of its residence streets impossible
to pedestrians, is a nuisance.
The escaping gases close to school
rooms crowded with innocent children
and sweet-voiced women, and compel
ling the shutting of windows, are nuis-
ance.
The oil wagons, passing through our
principal streets, leaving trail of black
slime over crossings to be trod by fair
women, are nuisance.
| All these things have made a portion
of Los Angeles uninhabitable for many
people; uninhabitable because the
sights, and sounds, and smells are disa-
greeable and, sometimes unendura BILE
these things combined are nuisance.
1t is plain law of municipal govern
ment everywhere that nuisances must
be abolished. A nuisance is something
which infringes on the rights of many
people, and, being an offense, it should
be abolished by law.
But the erection of derrick; the bor-
ing of hole in the ground; the pumping
out of oil which may gather in every de-
preston or in prepared sump-hole; the
running of an engine and the burning of
oil in that engine to furnish it power,
and the turning of the waste from these
pumping plants into convenient sink
holes, are none of them, of themselves,
nuisances. All these things may be
done with impunity in Puente, or in
Newhall, but when done In close proxim-
ity to pretty, vine-embowered cottage,
within the limits of the city of Los An
geles, their character changes and they
become clearly illegal things.
Nevertheless, though all these things
oil industry in Los Angeles, developed
originally by few men who dared to
risk their money in what seemed to be a
foolhardy enterprise, has proved of
some benefit to this city and to South
ern California. 1t has proved that we
need not depend on New Mexico and
Australia for coal; that we have in
Southern California fuel as cheap as it
can be obtained anywhere in the world,
! and that by reason Of this cheap fuel we
| can manufacture here cheaply many ar
ticles of commerce which it has been
deemed necessary in the past TO
import from beyond the desert. The
oil development in Los Angeles has
served as a connecting link be-
tween Santa Paula and Puente, in
dicating that there is an oil bear
ing stratum beyond the city limits The
oil development in Los Angeles has in
duced the railroad companies to change
their locomotives from coal to oil burn
ers, and it has induced many users of
power to put in oil burning appliances,
thus giving an impetus to oil develop
ment in Southern California outside of
Los Angeles, which would not have been
reached otherwise in many years. In
this respect the oil wells in Los Angeles
while an intolerable nuisance to the city
itself have been a benefit to all of South
ern California.
However, comparatively little oil is be-
ing pumped today from the congested
district where the derricks tread on one
another's heels, and in the new territory
southwest of the city limits and toward
the ocean plainly indicated by the latest
western development there would be no
interference with homes or schools, no
washing down of black grease into resi-
dence districts, and no danger Of fire
from closely planted derricks.
Therefore, let further development Of
the oil territory go hence. Let us ban
ish this nuisance from the city by pro-
hibiting the boring of wells within 1900
feet of any residence. AS to the wells
now in operation, let us put them under
such restrictions as will reduce the nuis-
ance to a minimum and the last one of
them will peter out" in a year or so.
THE QUESTION OF EMPLOY.
MENT
If Los Angeles as a municipality, or
if individuals provide ways and means
to rive emplOyment to men in need if