The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-07-16
Senator White Has Direct Assurances From
President Mckinley
INTERESTING LETTERS FROM
UNCLE COILS AND ALGER
cREDUL0Us CONTRACTOR
John T. Gaffey Tells Of Scheme for
Two Breakwaters Which Did Not
Materialize

Materialize
yours of the 9th is received, and
. note what you say of the improvement
. of Port Los Angeles and San Pedro. 10
hardly think anything can be done at .
. THIS session, but will write to my
. agent at Washington and ask him to .
favor the passage Of such a bill as you
. suggest."-Extract from letter from
. c. p. Huntington to Contractor AK
. man of San Pedro. o.
Who Mr.. Huntingtons agent at Wash
ington is who takes instructions to favor
certain bills is not exactly known, but it is
not likely that he will have a chance to do
much with the proposal to build break
water at both San Pedro and Santa Monica,
for the people here will probably find them
selves satisfied with San Pedro
John T. Gaffey has just returned from
Washington, where he went to see what the
situation was of the harbor fight. That
matter Is treated at length in an interview
with Senator White printed elsewhere, but
Mr. Gaffey unearthed some of the schemes
of "Uncle'' Coils while he was there which
will be found interesting. 1t seems that
contractor, Axman of San Pedro, was in
Washington at the same time as Mr.. CAT
fey, and he had the cherubic innocence 10
try to get Gaffey to stand in on scheme
to build a breakwater at Santa Monica I'M
der the pretension that another would af-
forwards be built at San Pedro, and to let
Uncle" have the contract for the work.
Gaffey, In the guileess style peculiar to
him, succeeded in getting from Axman the
letters from Huntington and Alger on the
subject, which are interesting. Mr.. AK
man assured Gaffey that Secretary Alger
was in favor of the plan and even was de-
luded into believing that Mr.. Kerens Of the
Terminal road was also willing to accept
the scheme, but 1t will be noticed that
"Uncle," in one of his letters, does not al
low himself to be caught with any such
chaff.
Mr. Gaffey's statement of the matter is
as follows:
Two Letters From AIger
"Mr. Huntington's plan evidently was to
interpose obstacles to the construction of
the harbor under the present plans until
such time as the people of Southern Cali
fornia would lose heart and finally accept
either the two harbor propositions or a
single harbor at Santa Monica. His state
ment in his letters to Mr.. Amman of San
Pedro, who was in Washington at the same
time I was and which will give you, say
ing that he did not think that anything
could be done at the present session of cor
gress, really meant that he preferred to
keep the matter in the condition in which
it now rs until after Senator White went
out of Office on March 4, 1899 In fact, the
only hope he had of getting through the
resolution providing for the construction
of the two harbors was that it might be
passed. during the absence of Senator
White.
To show Mr.. Huntington's and Secre-
tary Alger's attitude, have some docu-
ments which obtained while at Washing
ton from Mr.. Amman, who is from San Pc
dro, but who is Huntington man, and who
was foolish enough to try to secure my ap-
prevail of his projects. The first of these
are the letters from Secretary Alger dated
November 2 and October 2, 1897, to Mr.. AK
man. which are as follows:
"'wAR DEPARTMENT,
"'Office of the Secretary,
WASHINGTON, October 2, 1897.
"'Dear Sir--I have received your letter of
September 18th. The reason 1 did not at
once advertise for the breakwater alone
was that 1 believed it was the intent of
congress to create-as you suggest-a
breakwater and also a harbor of refuge.
1 cannot see how breakwater alone, with
no facilities for loading or unloading at a
wharf or quay is going to help the COM
merce that centers at San Pedro, and I
would be glad indeed, as a matter of infor-
ma m no nal 70 oil
if you will outline plan and state Just
what you can do for the appropriation,
whether we are able to use 1t finally or not.
VERY truly yours,
r. A. ALGER,
"'Secretary of War.
Compared: r. P. TROY
"'WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON. November 2, 1897.
"'Dear Sir-I have your letter of Ne
vember LIST. You practically ask the same
question as was asked by me of the attor-
ney general, that is, could I advertise for
the whole work at San Pedro, to which he
answered no. and at the same time stating
1 could under the law advertise for the
breakwater alone. 1 suggest, however, that
you make two bids, one to cover the whole
and one to cover the breakwater, and let
us see how they look.
"'Of course you understand there is no
appropriation available for this work. The
work was authorized by act of congress for
a sum not to exceed 81, 900, 900, but the spe-
cific appropriation necessary designating
how much shall be expended each year, was
not made; therefore, nothing can be done
in the way of expanding any part of the
So 9OO, 900 until the money Is appropriated
by congress at the coming session of con-
gress, and unless a special act is passed
that money will not be available until the
end of the present fiscal year, June 30,
1898. r. A. ALGER,
Secretary of War.
mr. Rudolph Axman, president Axman
Improvement Co., San Pedro, Cal.
"'Compared: r. P. TROY"
"This shows that Alger did not intend to
abide by the opinion of the attorney general,
but asked Amman to make bid covering
the harbor propositions. In response to this
letter and others which he claimed to have,
Axman ~went,t to washington and after con-
sulting, as he claimed with certain senators
and Huntington's agent, Boyd, and with
Alger, he filed the following document on
the 14th of March, 1898, with the secretary
of war:
Santa Monica Breakwater
"'SAN PEDRO. CAL, March IA, 1898.
" Hon. r. A. Alger. Secretary OF War,
Washington. d. c.:
-