Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-10

7
long a resident Of this beautiful city.
count myself a pioneer. And you
know how pioneers are at times-great-
| ly preiudiced in favor of everything
that is and that happens in the COM
munity they have helped to build up.
/ am ready to fight whenever 1 hear
anybody condemn anything in Los An
geles, though l must confess It is so
seldom that criticism is heard that
/ don't have to keep in fighting trim all
the time.
But this week a fellow-pioneer tried
my patience He took me around the
corner and whispered into my ear the
awfullest things. This is what he
said:
''Say, old man, this fad business in
Los Angeles is getting to be rank.
First It was the recall. You know
what a mess we made of that. we ex-
changed Davenport for Houghton, and
for that indiscretion we are receiving
our punishment.
"Then we took up the initiative and
referendum and heaven only knows
us. Next we wanted voting machines.
Don't need them at all. any more than
we do baby's rattle. but a man came
along and told us we ought to have
| 'em and so we bought 'em. 1t turned
out we didn't have any money to pay
for them and the mayor had to plead
poverty and the baby act in order to
get out of the agreement-just as we
do when we let book agent sell us
ninety-seven volumes of some encyclo-
| pedia at 81 a month when we don't
know where the next meal is coming
from. That's great stunt we are do
ing. Even the city council doesn't
know enough to quit and 1 hear it is
still crying for the baby rattle and en-
deavoring to find the money to buy it
with. 1t makes me sick.
1--WE are building a garbage crema-
| tory at one end of the town and
human crematory out on Pico heights
just because somebody told us that all
well-regulated families had such things
and we couldn't be up-to-date or at the
head Of the procession unless we had
'em. Doesn't 1t make you tired?
"And now come these Gothenburgers
I-geemeny Christmas, is there no end
to it? Los Angeles is a good thing, all
right. If you have any bright tinware
that you can't sell to anybody else on
| earth, just unwrap it here, and down
we go into our old socks for the coin.
You can sell anything to Los Angeles,
| from an old pair of pants to n red
| chug-wagon. We like fads. We want
| something new all the time and must
have something doing every minute.
| BAH"
! Now that's just the way with some
| people-standing in the way of progress
and human betterment, blind to the
civilization of the future, deaf TO the
call of the enlightened age. ] would
have licked him. on the spot, as a mat
ter of pure patriotism; but wasn't big
enough.
| have noticed recently that even the
street car conductor has his troubles.
| The other day the First street car was
| just dipping down the incline from
Boyle heights when a woman rushed
forward, valise in hand and signaled
the car to stop. 1t stopped all right
after the motornan had thrown his
weight on the air-brake and the wheels
had grounded an inch deep in the steel
track. The woman pointed her finger
| at the sign on the car and addressed
| the conductor:
Does this car go to Broadway"
| "Yessum; get aboard"
II mean is this the First street carr"
"Yessum; get aboard"
"Then it doesn't go to Boyle ave-
nue?"
"Nome. Want this car, lady? Get
aboard quick if you do"
Nav, I want the First street car
going east. Is this car going"
| "Yessum."
And the car left her standing there,
| justly indignant at the break in the
conversation.
Farther along a prim little woman,
gray-haired and handsomely dressed,
who occupied a rear seat, motioned to
a man standing near.
There's lady running to catch this
car" she said.
"Mum?" he inquired.
81 say there's lady running to
catch this car"
"What of it? I'm not the conductor.
I don't care"
Then the conductor came back and
the little woman shook her finger at
| him.