The San Francisco call., 1898-02-07
: | OPPOSED 59T;]1I TO
 THIEVERY Takes Up the Fight for the People of
 Los Angeles. Rev. MT. Bliss Strikes at the Water Company
 Ring. Immense Crowds Hear Him Deal With the City's
 Despoilers. MONOPOLY ORGAN SCORED Takes tho Express to Task for De- claring That 30 Gents Day
 Is Fair Wage.
Immense Crowds Hear Him Deal With the City's
 Despoilers.
MONOPOLY ORGAN SCORED
Takes tho Express to Task for De- claring That 30 Gents Day
 Is Fair Wage.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6.-The church people of this community, under the leadership and direction of Rev. w. D. P. Bliss, the Episcopal divine, who is propagating and advancing the doc Urine of Christian socialism, are be- coming enlisted in the water fight, and aligning themselves with these who are endeavoring to bring about municipal control of the distributing plant. This fact has been recognized by the water company press of this city, for it has utterly failed to give the lectures of Rev. MT. Bliss, held in various churches in this city, any attention or notice Nevertheless, the crowds that gather to hear MT. Bliss have increased, until this afternon he addressed the largest crowd that has yet assembled to hear him. The Los Angeles Theater was packed from pit to dome. There was not even standing room left. Upon the platform were representatives ot al churches Jewish, Catholic and Protestant. Among the number were Bishop George Montgomery of the diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles, Bishop Johnson of the Episcopal Church, Rabbi Solomon of the synagogue and numerous local pas tors.
 Every reference Rev. MT. Bliss made to the water question, in which he SUD- ported the stand taken in behalf of the people, was enthusiastically applauded.
 One member of the syndicated water company press-the Evening Express also received attention at the hands of MT. Bliss. Some time ago the Express had a difficulty with the newsboys, upon whom it endeavored to force a purchase price of 8 cents copy for the paper. To people who called at its office to purchase the sheet, the Ex- press charged only cents a copy. The newsboys formed union. and refused to sell the paper as long as they were unjustly discriminated against. For eleven days no copies were sold. In the meantime, the Express advertised Tn all the syndicated dailies for men to sell the paper for two hours and a half each evening, they to receive 50 cents for their service. no matter how many papers they sold. Only two men came around, and when they heard what was desired of them they refused to accept employment. Then the Express came out, and editorially stated that the men in Los Angeles out of work were a lazy lot and deserving of no considera tion. It said that it had offered men 50 cents a day for work, and that it could engage no men. The editorial added that 50 cents day was all a man needed to live on, and argued that there must be no men out of employment.
 Rev. MT. Bliss in his lecture referred to these facts and said that he was grieved and surprised to know that there was such daily newspaper as the Express in this community-a paper that actually argued that 50 cents a day was enough for a laboring man, for the reason that it was all that he required to gain him enough to keep body and soul together. MT. Bliss went on to condemn the proposition advanced by many that as long as the workingman received enough to procure for him and his family bare livelihood, he should be satisfied. The lecturers remarks with regard to the Express called forth vigorous applause.
 In the City Council tomorrow Coun- cilman Hutchison will again introduce the resolution he introduced at the last meeting to give legal notification to. the water company that the city will expect it to make no further improvements to the municipal plant from now on to the expiration of the lease, beyond those absolutely essential for continued oper- ation of the system. The water com pany is making large number of i'm provements to the plant, which are not in accord with the plans of the city's engineering department for the new and enlarged system when it passes un- der municipal control. It will expect the city to pay for these Improvements, and. in many cases, they will be of no value.
 The citizens in mass-meeting asked the Council to take the action outlined in Hutchison's resolution. At the last meeting the Council arrogantly refused to act. At the session tomorrow the body will be given another opportunity to show its independence of water com pany control by complying with a re- quest of the people.