The herald., 1897-10-06
STORIES OF OLD TIMES
INDULGE IN SOME
ANCIENT "REMINISCENCES
The Lately Formed Society Has AL
ready One Hundred and Nine
teen Members

In point of membership the Society Of
Pioneers of Los Angeles county which
was organized only month ago is al
ready success. The second meeting
Of the organization was held last night
at the assembly room Of the chamber of
commerce and was attended by crowd
which filled the hall. Judge Eaton, pres
ident of the organization, called the
meeting to order and Immediately ap-
plications for membership which had
been secured since the last meeting be-
gan to pour in upon the secretary's
desk. These were at once referred to
the membership committee, which re-
ported later that there were eighty-nine
Of them, making the total membership
of the organization 119.
There was no stated program for the
committee was examining the applica-
tions, several members We're called upon
to relate experiences of the early days
in Los Angeles. Ex- Mayor Workman
was the first speaker. He told of his
coming here at the age of fourteen years
and engaging in work as a newspaper
man. He held down a case on the old
Californian, owned by Colonel j. D.
Wheeler In addition to setting type
he was expected to get all the news he
could. In support of his assertion that
the newspapers of that day were not
behind the times he related an incident
that occurred in 1855. A vigilance COM
mittee had been organized some time
before the time Of the incident and one
day they decided to hang five desper-
ADDE'S then confined in Jail here The
tri-monthly steamer for San Francisco
left at 10 o'clock in the morning and the
hanging was to begin promptly at 8
o'clock that afternoon. Mr.. Workman
got up his story of the hanging. the rec
ords of the victims of it and descrip-
ton of the scenes set it up himself and
run off the paper in time to send it out
to the world on the steamer. MY only
regret was that could not illustrate
the story" said Mr.. Workman, in con-
clusion.
Judge Eaton, Captain Thorn and
others spoke briefly L. Roeder recounted
how political meetings were conducted
in former years. He said: II reached
Los Angeles November 2S, 1856. The
steamer on which came from San Fran
cisco brought the news of the election
of President Buchanan. Mind you, Los
Angeles was an out and out Democratic
place then, there being only six or eight
Republicans in the place. The Demo-
Gratis took that old cannon that has been
standing in front of the old court house
for the last forty years and carried 1t
to the top of the hill where the new court
house stands Their purpose was to
shake the city and spread the glorious
news. OF course on all such occasions
Democrats get little dry, so they left
their gun and came down to get a drink
AS you all know, the Republicans are
always looking for an opportunity to
annoy them, even to this day, so while
the Democrats were drinking the Re
publicans spiked the old cannon and
thus spoiled the celebration. The Demo-
Gratis spent the rest of the afternoon in
trying to get the spike out but did not
succeed, in spite of all the Democratic
whisky in the place"
AS there are numbe of old residents
of the city who desire to become char
ter members of the organizat lion, it was
decided to leave the charter list open
until the first week in January.
The necessity of a program commit
tee was suggested and on motion the
president appointed Messrs Quinn, Gill
lett. Eaton, Barrows and Workman to
act To them was referred the matter
of securing a permanent meeting place
for the organization. Provision is to
be made later for the admission of hon
orary members. All the new members
were requested to sign the constitution,
thereby becoming eligible to office and
to the voting privilege.
All prices of wall paper greatly reduced.
A A Eek rom 224 South Sra,.ir -