The San Francisco call., 1898-02-26
Sewage and Barnyard Filth for Which the People
 Have to Pay.
CAUSE FOR COMPLAINT.
But a Few Miles Away Are Pure Mountain Streams Which Might
 Be Utilized.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25.-Seated on a footlog crossing the Los Angeles River, upon which is marked in large letters Property of the city of Los Angeles" which marks the location of the famous or infamous Pomeroy & Hooker tract. a condemnation suit con- corning which has been pending for more than five years while the City Water Company has collected $1, 500, 900 from the people in water rates; sur rounded by mud, brush, horses and cat tie. The Call representative hereby at tempts to give the people of the State of California something of a descrip- tion of the water supplied to the people of Los Angeles.
 The ground over which the stream flows is verdant, which speaks well for the kind of soil, thick loam, furnish ing the best quality of mud. The sur rounding country consists of bogs and lowland swamps, and flowing into this section are numerous channels from the surrounding towns, where the sur face flow of water continually adds to the volume of the stream.
 Burbank is situated about one and a half miles from here, in the upper part of the sloping land. The mountains are about eight miles distant. The land gradually slopes down to the Los An geles River, which is the only drainage stream from all the surrounding cOun- try for a distance of forty miles. Thus it will be seen that the water which flows in the river is nothing more than an outlet for all the surface flow of the entire valley from its mountain source to the ocean, thirty miles distant.
 The water itself has much sediment and foreign matter. The stream for it's entire length is lined with fungous growth and its banks are the pasturage for herds of cattle, sheep and horse, as we'll as the sites of many barn yards. The town of Toluca is situated about two and a half miles up the stream, with other towns and villages farther on, whose sewage can find an outlet only through this river.
 Thus it will be seen that the Pome- roy & Hooker tract is the central part and the diverting point at which this river water is to be transferred from the river bed into prepared conduitS or pipe lines to be furnished as water for domestic purposes in the city of Los Angeles The site or land is situated about $40 feet above sea level, being about so feet above the center of the city of Los Angeles, which is about twelve miles distant. This site is what has been proposed as the future source of water supply for the inhabitants of Los Angeles.
 The Crystal Springs, of which more will be written later, is just few miles below this site and is acknowledged by all to contain an impure, undesirable substance, animal and vegetable mat ter, and is therefore not fit for domes- tic use.
 The Pomeroy & Hooker tract was of fered to the city for $30,000 about six years ago. A committee about that time went to the place to make an in yeStigation of it, with view to having it supply the city with water for do- mestic purposes. The committee start ed from Los Angeles armed with sand WicheS and beer. In impenetrable jun gles of willow, nettles and flags, the committee became confused-yea, in- deed lost, mired down in the mud and stuck fast. A rescuer appeared. Billy" Mulholland Everybody knows him) came along about that time. See ing the City Fathers in such predica- ment, he volunteered to rescue the committee, and it was soon on land, high and dry above the main marshes of the stream. During the confusion, incident to their journey through the jungles the committeeman lost their sandwiches and beer; but Billy" was well armed for the occasion.
 Starting out from the corner of Ala meda and MarcheSSault streets, from the well-filled eXchequer of the water corporation which does business in that particular part of town, he was pro- vided with champagne and turkey, and To, the committee appointed to protect the city's interests and look for a new water supply fell down and worshiped the corporation champagne The com mittee felt so grateful to it's benficent rescuer that all proceedings were im- mediately changed. New plans were laid, and the city, instead of purchaS- ing the lands, proceeded to litigate. A condemnation suit was instituted and the tract that would at that time have cost but $30,000 has already cost it more than $50,000, together with $1600, GOO in water rates. and Providence only knows whether the litigation is any nearer a settlement to-day than when it first began. The people are becoming tired of this protracted lawsuit and it's costs, which, added to the undesirable quality of the water, make the propo- sition ridiculous to continue the case or even 10 consider the tract as a 1eaS- ible source of supply.
 It would perhaps be interesting to the reader to be informed as to the method contemplated for developing water in these low marshes and river beds. The system is known as the per colating system, which consists of a main conduit or underground Hume dis tributing or throwing out branches in various directions beneath the surface of the land desired to be drained. This would necessitate the excavation of a great deal of earth, roots and debris and would be a considerable expense The water percolates through the soil above into these trenches below, the water being conducted into the main conduit, thence to the main trench and then into the reservoirs for distribu- ton. This system is used in the Crys- tai Springs district. and is the means used to provide water to the citizens of Los Angeles
 It seems strange that any sane peo-