Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-29
WHERE Los ANGELES sTANps

It is quite time for Los Angeles to
express its sentiments, in plain Eng
lish, concerning the various knockers
Of its consolidation project. The fact
should be made plain as q pilSestaff'
that Los Angeles Is not n suppliant
for favor at the hands OF Governor
Pardee, the San Francisco so-called
Legislative committee" nor the poll
tioians Of any of the northern cities
which have chronic habit of knock
ing the southern metropolis, I'm sea-
son and out OF season."
Likewise 1t. should be understood
plainly, and once for all, that Los
Angeles is not worrying itself over the
probabilities, or the possibilities, OF
what certain neighboring cities may
conclude to do concerning the consol-
idation offer.
In regard to- the Janus-like action of
Governor Pardee in the matter of pro-
viding for consideration Of the COM
solidation question during the special
session of the Legislature, but little
the classic deity alluded to, in his con-
sideration of Los Angeles, only i'm re-
spect to the points Of the compass.
Janus was represented with his double
face looking both east and west; Gov
ernor Pardee is seen as looking both
north and south. The governors final
turn-down Of the request of Los An
gelcs, after having doubly assured the
city's representatives that he would
provide for Legislative consideration
of the consolidation matter, is quite
characteristic. 1t is the elimination
of his gratitude to this city for pulling
him through i'm the race for governor,
by narrow margin.
TO the legislative committee in San
Francisco, which arrogates to itself the
prerogative of saying what the legs-
lature may do and what it shall not
do, Los Angeles should speak without
the bill providing for a constitutional
amendment that would permit of con-
solidation, could not interfere with the
legislative purposes of the San Fran
cisco committee. There would be no
cause for opposition to the measure
and it could be disposed of quickly. 1t
is a puerile argument that it would
jeopardize San Francisco Legislation.
The attitude of the San Francisco
committee must be attributed, there
fore, as in the case of Governor Par
dee, to a peculiar kind of gratitude for
what Los Angeles has just done to
aid San Francisco in its dire emer-
gency.
1t is scarcely worth while to advert
to the anmus manifested by Oakland,
Sacramento and to some extent few
other northern cities The cause is the
same old envy with which these COM
munities long have been taking the
dust left behind by Los Angeles on
the road of progress
Base envy withers al another's joy.
And hates that excellence it cannot
reach
Neighboring communities that have
been considered in the tentative plan
of consolidation should remember that
the situation mas been tersely and ac-
curately expressed thus: LOS An
geles could not if it would, and would
not if it could take any of them into
the consolidation fold unwillingly. And
as to the effect of their coming in, The
Herald has heretofore explained that
the autonomy of each of the commun-
tiles brought into the fold would be
preserved intact. Their name and To-
cal governments would remain as at
present. The consolidation would be
for the purposes of mutual interest, in
which eacn participant would have
much to gain and nothing to lose.
And finally, be it remembered by
"all whom it may concern" that Los
Angeles is not suffering for consolida-
ton. Neither northern knockers nor
southern kickers will cause the pro-
gressive gait of this city to ''slow
down" one second per hour.
The only question of Importance is
one for the sister communities, not for
Los Angeles, to consider 1t is, whether
these communities shall take advan-
tage of the opportunity given them to
join Los Angeles at the head of the
procession, or trail along in the rear.