The herald., 1898-08-02
ANOTHER INJUNCTION
CITY AGAINST THE WATER COM
PANY THIS TIME
A RECEIVER IS ASKED FOR
City prays for Possession of Plant
Crystal Springs and Ala
Broad Action

This time only the expected has hap
pened. The Herald had foretold its COM
Ing, and the filing of a suit by the city
against the water company yesterday was
not In itself surprise. However, the broad
stand taken by the city's counsel is some
thing more than was expected. A suit to
restrain the company from collecting the
water rents was looked for, and it was not
regarded as impossible that the city should
ask for the appointment of a receiver. but
the action not only seeks the accomplish
ment of both of these. but also asks the
courts to give the city full, complete, quiet
and peaceable possession of the plant. In
short, the city not only takes the bull bv
the horns, but grabs him by the caudal
appendage as we'll
The title of the case Is the City of Los
Angeles against the Los Angeles City Wa
ter company the Crystal Springs Land and
Water company, the East Side Spring
Water company and S. G. Murphy. 1t was
filed yesterday afternoon and Judge Shaw
Immediately issued temporary restraining
order as prayed and ordered the defend
ants to appear in court on Thursday to
show cause why a receiver should not be
appointed and the temporary injunction
made permanent.
The plaintiffs complaint is one of those
voluminous legal documents which requires
at least three days study to give one a
fair idea of all the subject matter. 1t re-
hearses the history of the water plant from
1868 to the present, the several contracts
under which different companies have OPP
Grated, the facts surrounding the organiza-
ton of the Crystal Springs Land and Water
company and the recent events which led up
to the suits now pending in the various
courts. The plaintiff alleges thatit was the
intention of the parties to the contract of
July 20, 1868, that the water works then
were and always have been the property
of the city and all improvements which
might thereafter be made by the company
should be leased and leased only; that at
the expiration Of the contract the company
as tenants, should turn the property over
to the city, as landlord, and be paid the
full value Of the improvements as fixed by
the arbitrator provided for in the contract
Another allegation of the plaintiffs states
that as the end of the term of thirty years
of the contract began to draw to an end
the Los Angeles Water company, in 1885,
conceived the fraudulent design of prevent
ing the city from acquiring all of the i'm
proyements, and with this object in view or
ganized another company known as the
Crystal Springs Land and Water company
This company had the same stockholders
as the original Los Angeles City Water
company, had the same capital stock, d.
vided in the same proportions, and the same
officers The Los Angeles City Water COM
pany then made pretended transfer of GER
tain lands and conduits, according to the
plaintiffs allegation, to the new company
and shortly after. in order to further their
fraudulent designs, the new company ex-
ecuted lease of these same lands and con-
Quits to the Los Angeles City Water COM
pany, the consideration being 40 per cent
of the gross receipts of the latter company.
Plaintiff therefore alleges that all of the
property of the Crystal Springs Land and
Water company was paid for out of the
water rates received by the Los Angeles
City Water company. Then follows a de-
scription of the property as scheduled by
the Los Angeles City Water company and
submitted to the city council on June H.