Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-30
SEEKS ADVICE
OF WATER BOARD
ANNEXATI0NISTS READY FOR
CONFERENCE
Question Of Bond Issue and Owens
River VIII Come Up at POST
poned Meeting to Be Held
This Evening

owing to Misunderstanding on the
part Of the members Of the water board
of request received from the consoli-
datlon commission the conference which
the latter body had scheduled for yes
terday afternoon was not held.
The consolidation commissions idea
was to meet the members of the water
board for the purpose of discussing
various matters connected with the
proposed annexation of certain towns
adjoining Los Angeles, but the request
for meeting evidently was not made
clear, for it was understood by the
water board to mean merely that a
conference with superintendent Null
holland was desired. The result was
that after a short informal discussion
1t was decided to call another meeting
at which the members of the water
board, together with Superintendent
Mulholland and City Attorney Mathews,
will be requested to be present. This
meeting probably will be held tomorrow
evening in the directors room in the
chamber of commerce
At this meeting the members of the
water board will be asked to give their
opinion on a number of important
questions. Among these will be the
ability of the Los Angeles water de-
partment to supply additional territory
with water, provided requests are made
There is at present petition before the
city council calling for a special elec-
tion for the annexation of part of the
Cahuenga valley, and the council has
asked that the views of the water board
and consolidation commission be OBJ
tanned before action is taken on it.
May Delay Bond Issue .
Another question to be considered is
as to whether any more bonds for the
development of the owens river scheme
shall be issued before the question of
anneXing outlying territory is more
nearly decided. The point in this Is
that newly acquired territory cannot
be made to share any part of the in
debtedness already incurred by the
municipality with which it has been
merged. The intention is that those
cities which desire to share in the bene-
fits of the Owens river deal shall pay
their share of the cost of carrying out
that deal, and in order to bring this
about an understanding with these
cities must be arrived at before the
bonds are issuedg
These and number of other ques-
tions intimately connected with the
consolidation proposition as it affects
the water supply will be discussed at
the coming meeting of the two bodies
tomorrow night, and an attempt will be
made to arrive at some fixed policy.
Legislators Tell Reasons
Members of the consolidation COM
mission yesterday received a commune
cation from Tirey l.. Ford of the legls-
lative committee, giving in detail the
reasons of the committee for refusing
to recommend that the Los Angeles
consolidation proposition be included in
the governors call for special session
of the legislature.
The substance of this communication
already has been made public, but in
terest attaches to Mr.. Ford's letter
nevertheless because of the evidence 1t
contains of the pressure that has been
brought to bear on the Legislative conf
mittee by the opponents of the scheme
and Of the willing ear which that COM
mittee evidently has given to such al
legged arguments as the opposition has
been able to present
Mr.. Ford declares it to be the belief
of every member of his committee that
the early acquisition of a sufficient
water supply by Los Angeles is mat
ter for emergency legislation, but at
the same time the committee is Of the
opinion that there does not prevail a
sufficient unanimity of local sentiment
In favor of the consolidation of county
and municipal governments as a means
toward the end sought to warrant the
members in recommending that plan of
procedure.
Indeed" says Mr. Ford, from the
numerous verbal and written protests
made to the committee by representa-
tiyes of the several municipalities ad-
jacent to Los Angeles against any
measure tending to merge their re-
spectiVe governments with that of Los
Angeles city it became manifest to the
committee that there is a we'll defined
antagonism to general consolidation
Take Much for Granted
In this the members of the consolida-
ton commission feel that the legisla-
tive committee is taking a good deal for
granted, and they do not hesitate to
say so.
The friends of the proposition include
many of the leading men in Los An
geles and adjacent cities, and they
think they should have had an equal
show with the knockers" to present
their side of the case.
The point made by the legislative
committee that it Cannot in fairness
pass with it's recommendation to the
governor matter relative to which
there is so great difference of feeling
among those who are most directly
concerned" Is held to be not at all we'll
taken, nor does the commission feel
that the committee was entirely justi-
fed in. refusing to make the recon-
mendation asked for solely on the
ground that ut is likely to precipitate
prolonged discussion and probable dis
sension on the floor of the legislature"