The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-05-24
TEXT OF THE ANSWER
WHAT THE WATER COMPANY
SAYS IN REPLY
II is PREPARED TO SELL
willing and Eager to Listen to Any
Fair Proposition the City's Rep
resentatives Might Make

Following Is the full text Of the water
company's communication to the council:
May 90, 1885.
ssW. q. Dunn. ESQ.,, City Attorney Of the
City Of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CAL:
Dear Sir: Yours Of the 18th instant. adj
dressed to the Los Angeles City Water
company. and accompanied by the resolu-
ton Of the council. passed on May 9Th, was
placed In our hands five or six days ago,
for the purpose of making reply thereto.
I'VE have given 1t all the attention that
has been possible since that time under the
circumstances-two Of the attorneys being
absent. and the other engaged In the trial
Of q case every day. 1t has required con-
situations with the civil engineers and the
members of the board of directors, to en-
able us to ascertain exactly what we can do
with reference to this request.
1--WE note what you say in your letter.
that the council Of the city is not seeking
the information here requested with a view
to purchasing any of the properties of
either your company or the Crystal Springs
Land and Water company, but to ascertain
what improvements are to be taken over
hy the city and paid for under the condi-
tons Of the contract mentioned in said res
olution.'
I'VE confess that this puzzles us little,
for we do not know why we are requested
to take so much trouble and to undertake
such a labor as the resolution will require
of US, II 1t be not with a view to reaching
q settlement of our affairs. We refer to
this clause for the purpose Of saying, that
II underneath it, there is a meaning that is
not clearly expressed, our reply is not to
be taken as in any way consenting to such
meaning. We are too anxious to sell to be
hypocritical concerning the terms in which
the transaction may be expressed. If we
can succeed in making the sale to the city,
we shall be quite content to call 1t by any
name that seems most pleasant. And with
q view to reaching sale, will say in reply
to the resolution Of the council, that II all
Of Its terms are insisted upon, we shall do
our utmost to comply with it and to fur
nish all the information asked. There are
some portions OF 1t, however, which We
are informed could not be complied with
literally. Thus, while record appears to
have been kept Of all the improvements and
all the pipes laid for the past seven or eight
years, yet prior to that time, the record
was not kept. with such accuracy as to en-
able US to give the precise date at which
each particular pipe was laid. A detailed
account, made out in accordance with
this request, contained In the resolution
referred to, we do not believe could be
made in less than two hundred and fifty
pages of typewriter record. The mere
clerical labor OF debating and producing
1t would require eight to ten days. and be-
sides that, 1t will require very much more
hov oIo lob N II a Ia
title of the various companies to the prop
critics which they claim. is contained in
sixteen volumes of abstracts. In view Of
the probability Of contingency occurring
that would make it necessary, we have just
had those abstracts continued down to a
date only three or four days past. and they
have been out of the searcher's office about
three days. The descriptions lie scattered
through these volumes, and it will require
some little time to get them together. We
fear that 1t will require three weeks, or even
more, to get out report that would con-
form exactly to this request; and in view
of the fact that no great deal of time is be-
fore US until the 22d or 23d of July will ar
rive, and of the fact also that it seems to
us that there could be briefer statement
of the matters made, we would respectfully
present to you a partial report at this mo-
ment, with a view more largely to show at
the same time the difficulties that We shall
be laboriug under and the time 1t will nee
essarily take to respond to this resolution,
and also to suggest some abbreviationsrof
the work, which we think will bring us to
the conclusion desired. in shorter time
than it would be possible to give full and
particular reply to this request. And we
desire also to put before the council,
through you, our ideas of the course to be
pursued to end this matter as soon as pos
sible.
1--WE will now give you an answer 10 this
resolution so far as we can at this time,
and will at the earliest possible moment
prepare a more detailed account, and If
some of the suggestions which we snail
here make will be satisfactory to the
council, we think we can complete the re-
port in one-half the time that would be
necessary to answer completely this reso-
luton, as we understand its purporr.
1--WE will first deal with the properties
of the
Los Angeles City Water Company
I'VE claim that company owns the pipes
lying within the limits of the city, several
reservoirs and certain lands. We can
present detailed description Of these
lands, reservoir sites and the title uneer
which they are claimed. within a week.
We say generally here that we claim:
F,irst-The leases and franchises granted
by the city in the agreement bearing
date the Goth Of July, 1868, approved the
end, and acknowledged on that day, and
we claim the pipes reservoirs. etc., con-
structed under that contract. Second
We claim the properties formerly belonging
to the Citizens Water company, and we
claim them under the following title: The
franchises granted by the contract be-
tween the city and P. Beaudry Of date the
18th of October, 1872, made under an ordi-
nance approved October 18th, 1872.
This franchise and the works constructed
In pursuance thereof by P. Beaudry, pass
ed to the Citizens Water COM
pany, corporation organized I'M
der the laws Of the state of California.
That company issued bonds, which were
secured by mortgage upon its
properties. That mortgage was fore
closed in the superior court Of the
county of Los Angeles in an action
brought by James c. Rays. as trustee
against the Citizens Water company and
others, and under decree of foreclosure
the property was sold by the sheriff of Los
Angeles county, and purchased by the Los
Angeles City Water company, and a deed
therefor was executed to that company by
the sheriff on the 18th day of November
1893. which deed is recorded in book sos
nare 1O1. of Deeds Of the Records of Los