The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-12-08
THE CITY'S ESTIMATE
ATTORNEY DUNN FILES STATE
MENT WITH ARBITRAToRs
The Water Company Will Put Its First
Witness on the Stand
Today

When the board of water arbitrator met
yesterday, after an adjournment OF SIX
days, City Attorney Dunn filed with the
board report on the complete properties
oil the water company which are involved in
the water controversy. This report which
covers almost seventy typewriter pages,
Is the result OF the investigation made by the
clty's engineers. The document, Mr.. Dunn
informed the board, was complete with the
exception of the final valuation, which the
city was unable to compute until more eX-
tended examination mad been made as to
the depreciation in value OF the pipe.
Although the report was filed with the
board and copies were handed to the at
torneys of the water company, the board,
ignoring the fact that it was holding a pub
lie session, decided that the contents OF the
report should be withheld until the arbitra-
tors had investigated it.
The session opened with Superintendent
Mulholland on the stand. AT the request
of City attorney Dunn, he presented two
volumnous tables relative to the pipe in
the company's plant. its size, quality and
quantity and the time the various sizes were
laid. The table also showed, first. how much
of the pipe laid since 1883 was laid to take
thN paw VI pib PiPt. III tuc CARY scS0loHN
of the board Mr.. MulhoIand testified that
the company had laid in all l,100,653 feet
of pipe, the sizes varying from two inches
to thirty inches. When questioned as to
whether this was the total number of feet
OF pipe now used by the company, the wit
ness replied that many feet of the pipe laid
years ago had been replaced by new sections
and that the old and new had been added
Yesterday it developed that the system was
several thousand feet shorter than the first
figures
Attorney Chapman, after looking over the
report, inquired if the schedule gave the
number of feet of fumes. The witness stated
that it did not, but referred only to the
pipe. Mr.. Mulholland volunteered the state.
ment that up to 1885 the Buena Vista reser-
voir had been supplied by the power ditch
and this ditch is still in use.
After few other questions along similar
lines, Mr.. Dunn excused the witness on the
part of the city, and asked if the water
company cared to cross-examine. Mr.. Chap
man replied that the company did not care
to break in until all the evidence which will
be offered by the city is in.
Mr.. Dunn at this juncture seemed at loss
to know what to do. The witness had been
excused and the experts which he had hoped
to put onEhe stand were not present. An
other matter that seemed to trouble him
greatly was the fact that the experts before
they could give testimony on the deprecia
ton Of the companys pipe needed time
He estimated that it would require ten days
to gather the information necessary, and
made a motion that an adjournment be
taken for that time.
Mr.. Chapman was of the opinion that as
the witnesses which would be put on by
the city had been through long court
trial, the time asked was too long. After
general discussion, Mr.. Dunn remarked
that Engineer Schuyler intended to leave the
city on Friday and would not return for
week.
Colonel Mendell remarked that this wal
unfortunate, but that the board would com
ply with every reasonable request. He
added, however, that ten days appeared tc
him as a rather longer delay than was nee
essary. An agreement was finally reached
whereby the board agreed to adjourn unit
2 o'clock today, at which time the water
company will place its first expert witness
on the stand, Wyerhoof Kersted