Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-13
UP TO THE CITY COUNCIL

Upon a showing by the city attorney
that the street Improvement bills re-
Gently passed by the city council were
for street work begun prior to the date
when the board Of public works law
became operative Mayor McAleer has
consented to approve certain bills in his
hands covering that subject.
So far so good. But what Of the next
batch Of street Improvement measures,
originating in work begun since the
first of January?
And what of the owens river project?
The city attorney inclines to the
opinion that the payment of option
money upon deeds i'm escrow prior to
January 1 is about the last official
connection the council committee Of
public works can have with the owens
river work Then what?
Last year the people adopted an
amendment to the city charter which
provided for the creation and establish
ment OF a board Of public works, whose
members should be appointed by the
mayor and the appointments confirmed
by the city council. This amendment
was indorsed by the Legislature. Under
its provisions the board should take up
it's labors on January l. 1906, ana
thereafter all questions and subjects
appertaining to the public work therein
described should be passed upon by
such board
just prior to January I the mayor
appointed a board of public works. but
the appointments were referred to COM
every disposition to take no action
| thereon. 1t leaked out that during the
owens river junket there was some sort
of understanding that the mayors ap-
| pointments to the board of public works
| should be ignored-for a year, If pos
sible. The council hoped by this means
to retain the public work in its own
| hands until Mayor McAleer's term shall
| expire.
! But meanwhile the new law has be-
come operative, taking such power
| from the hands of the council. Mean
while, also, the owens river project has
come into activity and the city attorney
agrees that it is a serious question
whether any authority outside of the
new board of public works may here
after take cognizance of that splendid
scheme.
! Still the council balks and neglects
to act. Probably if public sentiment
were consulted the vote would be nearly
unanimous in favor of leaving the
Owens rive, proposition wholly in the
| hands of the water commission, but
before this water project became fact
the people were desirous of taking the
city council and giving it to a specially
created and appointed board. In a
spirit of reform the amendment was
adopted. All the consequences must
go with it and the city council is prac-
! tically violating the law by presumiug
| to hold up the mayors appointments
! and thus endeavoring to thwart the
expressed will of the people. Involved
in this course of procedure is the liabil-
ity to confuse and frustrate the plans
for the Owens river water project, the
greatest movement yet inaugurated by
Los Angeles and one of the greatest
ever undertaken by an American mu-
nicipaity.
In view of all these facts the city
council is taking great deal of re-
sponsbility on its shoulders, for which
it may never be able to give any ade-
quate return or accounting. If the
mayors appointments are bad, turn
them down; if they are good, confirm
them. The council should do something
to show its recognition of law which
has become operative by direct vote
of the people.