Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-20
BOARD DELAYS
SUBWAY PLAN
PUBLIC WORKS EXPERTS ARE
AIDING HEWITT
Council Lays over Hartman Franz
chises Day Because City Attor-
ney Is Not Ready to
Report Bills

Progress on the passage Of the Harri-
man subwa.- and extensive rapid tran
sit measures is not as rapid with the
city council as the men Interested in
the development of the gigantic plans
wish.
At yesterdays session Of the council
the city attorneys office again asked
for more time and when the council
adjourned it was for day-tlll 2
o'clock Thursday.
Those well informed say 1t is doubt
full whether the report on the form of
ordinances will then be ready.
The cause of the delay is understood
to be the entry of the board of public
works as factor in the situation, that
body claiming voice in the delibera-
tons.
In other quarters 1t is said Leslie
Hewitt. the city attorney and
now assistant city attorney has given
a semi promise to the board to finally
confer with that body on all matters
that are referred to him relating to
franchises, transportation and similar
subjects of civic interest.
Conference Postponed
Acting on this understanding Mr..
Hewitt made an engagement for a con-
ference with the board yesterday short
ly before the called meeting of the
o'clock but Mr.. Hewitt had been called
away and another engagement was
made for this morning.
In the meantime the board went out
to Vermont avenue in an auto with
City Engineer Homer Hamlin. 1t is
conjectdred that the object was to
study the Vermont avenue and Flower
street grade features of the proposed
ordinances.
The Los Angeles-Pacific and the In
terurban line officials, in making their
application for tunnel franchises, speci-
fed that they wanted to cross on grade
at both Of these thoroughfares and on
this point some opposition has arisen.
Some opponents believe that the COM
pany should depress it's tracks suffi-
GENTLY to permit of the building of a
Viaduct over them as a safety plan.
Others think that the entire tunnel
plans should be altered by digging it
deeper, so that the necessity of grade
crossing at Flower street can be avoid
ed. This would add hundreds of thou
sands of dollars to the expense.
Flower Street Problems
The company's engineers have dis
covered that there is a storm drain on
Flower street which extends to within
six feet of the surface and its floor is
twenty feet below the street level. This
difficult, if not impossible.
Property owners and prospective pat
rons at Flower street have also asked
that an entrance to the tunnel be drift
ed or built from the hill at Flower
street to the street so that passengers
can get on and off cars at that point.
If a grade crossing is finally adopted
at Flower sctreet it will be necessary
to bring all trains to full stop at
that point and to put in gates; because
of the danger to traffic. 1t is intended
that stops, except at long intervals,
will be avoided as much as possible in
order to make lightning time to the
outlying sections and the beaches.
These questions have all arisen since
the original ordinances, as proposed,
were filed with the city council, and
nothing was said about compensation,
either.
For Cheaper Fares
Though there is demand in some
quarters for a 25-cent rate to the
beaches, there and back. the movement
has no friends in the council At least
one councilman favors eXacting a per
cent gross tax on the receipts after five
years.
One financier has appeared, it is stat
ed, who will agree to build the tunnels
and maintain them provided he can
collect a percentage on every fare 60
ing through the tunnels and subways
and he agrees to pay the city por-
ton.
When the ordinances come up final
ly for disposal the compensation must
he inserted and on this point much de-
bate is anticipated.
Judge John D. Pope and staff engi-
neers were at the city hall yesterday
with maps prepared to explain the little
understood points. The engineers are
opposed to footways through the tun-
nels, as they claim the rush of air
from passing cars will be so powerful
as to knock pedestrians off their feet
unless an intervening wall is built.