Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-29

but they were just as determined that
he should have 1t.
| Acting President Blanchard set the
proceedings in motion by saying:
'It appears that 1 was in error last
Monday when I stated that the
ordinance had passed the council, as
| Councilman Houghton changed his vote
after l had announced the result
Councilman Houghton then moved
that the minutes be amended to read
that the ordinance Monday had been
lost by vote of to 2, six votes be-
ing necessary to carry it.
This was done and it was then moved
| that the entire proceedings be filed.
AS the ordinance had been lost there
was no parliamentary reason for filing
| the proceedings and this may have
been bluff on the part of the council
to persuade those in the lobby that
they were through with the franchise
question and had pigeonholed it. If
| such was the intent it failed to work,
| for not single man in that lobby left
| his place.
Harmon Resurrects Measure
The council fiddled around with
some unimportant questions entirely
| foreign to the franchise case, but find
ing that its guests refused to be con-
WINGED that something would not be
done about the franchise, it grew des-
perate and the franchise was taken up.
! Attorney Hervey, who represents Mr..
| Gilmore in this case, laid a document
on the clerks desk. This was pre-
sumably a copy of the ordinance that
the council voted on last Monday, and
Clerk Wilde announced that it was the
| ordinance granting a franchise to Mr..
Gilmore. He read the introduction to
the ordinance but that was all.
There was a silence thick enough to
cut when Councilman Hamon arose
and said:
"Since the last meeting of the coun-
Gil when this was put up for adoption,
1 have received information from an
authoritative source that this franchise
is for a competing transcontinental
railroad and 1 therefore move that the
| rules be suspended and the ordinance
placed on it's passage"
This was the move that those in the
lobby had been awaiting and they
seized the opportunity to tell the coun-
Gil plainly and frankly what they
thought of its action.
Mr.. Willard Makes Objection
c. D. Willard, secretary of the Mu-
nicipal league, was the first one of
that large crowd to express disapproval
of what it seemed certain the council
was about to do. He stated that he
spoke for the Municipal league.
You have noticed the estimates in
the various newspapers made by rep
utable men of affairs that this fran
chise is worth between $1,000,000 and
S1,500000. 1t has also been stated that
this franchise cannot be sold. This is
not true. The city can receive pay
for this privilege which it seems you
are about to give away and it should
Iuh he frar ie.
The city's funds are badly depleted
and we need the money"
Houghton here arose and rudely in
terrupted Mr.. willard:
II would like to know If it is true
that you made the remark attributed
to you in one of the morning papers
that a 100000 melon had been cut here
up last Monday?"
Crowd Laughs in Derison
"I did not say exactly that"
was misinterpreted. What l said was
that it looked like a melon of that
size had been passed around the coun-
Gil and what 1 meant was that in
eastern cities when affairs of this kind
are rushed through by councils $780,
600 melons are cut.
'The action of this council is GER
ldIlly dllu Sdlu IlldL IL
had the same appearance. l did not
say, nor did I mean to intimate that
any member of this council received
any money for it's hasty action. 1 have
as high an opinion of the honesty and
integrity of every member of this body
as any in the lobby'-here he was in
terrupted by derisive laughter that
plainly told how high that opinion of
honesty and integrity was among the
prominent citizens in the lobby; even
members of the council could not re-
frain from joining in the general laugh
IF I had said anything that could
be misconstrued as being a reflection
on the honesty of the council I would
most certainly apologize" he contin-
ued.
Houghton Incoherent as Usual
"There are, however, various legal
questions involved and it is no more
than right that these questions should
be submitted to the city attorney" He
concluded in a burst of uproarious ap-
plause.
Then it was that Dock Houghton had
to butt in again. He tried to answer
the remarks of Mr.. Willard, but con-
cluded in a rambling haze that no one,
not even himself could follow. He was
nervous and greatly excited.
'I have the highest respect for our
legal department" he said. 1t was
evident that he was trying to find