Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-12
BLOCKS FINISH
OF BIG SEWER
DYSPEPTlC DOCK SEXES AN
OPPORTUNITY
Sixth Ward Representative Finds He
Has Power to Temporarily
obstruet Completion Of
the Outfall

The progress of the outfall sewer will
be blocked by Dock Houghton. EIe said
so himself yesterday afternoon. He
declares he will take no part in letting
a new contract for the completion of
the outfall until the Bricklayers
union has been given an opportunity to
send a committee through the sewer
and investigate the work that has al
ready been done.
Just before adjournment yesterday
Assistant City Attorney Hewitt asked
the council to hold a special session at
2 O'Clock this afternoon to pass reso-
lutions authorizing the board of public
works to receive bids for doing the
uncompleted work on the sewer. There
are but six members Of the council in
the city. These six are absolutely
necessary to form a quorum and
Houghton is one of them. Chagrined at
his failure to secure an order of coun-
ell for his committee of bricklayers
10 look over the sewer, he declared that
he would not attend today's meeting,
and without him nothing can be done
today. The rest of the councilmen will
meet, however, and adjourn from day
today, until Summerland Blanchard
or Kern, who are on short leaves of
absence, return to fill quorum without
Houghton.
For two hours yesterday afternoon
Houghton tried to induce the councii
to order a committee of the Bricklay-
ers' union to make a report on the pres
ent condition of the outfall sewer, al
though the city attorney advised the
council against committing itself to
anything that did not appear in the
original contract, abandoned by Stans-
bury e. Powell.
Dock Supports Unionists
Three representatives of the union
were present, and when called upon to
speak to the council by Houghton said
that they knew the work on the sewer
had not been done according to Specifi-
ca tions, and that they felt certain that
when the sewer had been subjected to
sewer gas for a month 1t would fall to
pieces in places.
Houghton championed their cause
and from to o'clock talked almost
continuously in his effort to have the
council give the committee authority to
investigate and report.
but the city attorney advises against
this and tells us it properly belongs to
the board of public works" said Coun-
Gilman Smith. II don't care If every
man in this city, union or non-uioin,
came before this council and pleaded
with us to appoint this committee,
would not go contrary W ule duNlCe VI
the city attorney. The completion of
the work under the present circum-
stances is a very ticklish job, and moth
ing could Justify the council in placing
any stumbling blocks in the'way of the
city attorney in carrying out this work
in a perfectly legal way. If this work
is to be done by the city, and it APP
pears that it will be. every union man
will have the same chance to work on it
that any other working man has. But
just now we are not justified in taking
any such action
The bricklayers once before made a
similar Investigate ton and made a report
to the council The council filed the
report without taking any action on
it, The bricklayers are now anxious
that they be allowed to make another
report that will be recognized by the
council