Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-25
MAYOR CLASHES
WITH COUNCIL
SANTA BARBARA OFFICIALS AT
SWORD POINTS
Trouble Comes Over Location Of City
Dumping Ground and the cltl-
zens Arc Ready for
Legal Battle
Special to The Herald.

Special to The Herald.
SANTA BARBARA, March 24.-The
breach between the mayor and the city
council, which has existed ever since
Mayor Woods efforts to have the coun-
meetings held in the afternoon were
turned down Is undoubtedly widening,
and Will probably come to a decided
issue within few weeks when the
city attorney will be asked by the
council to decide who Is to have the
right to run the city government, the
mayor or the city council.
At the present time the situation is
strained, to say the least, and the police
department Is up against a unique
proposition.
The present deadlock has occurred
because of faction in condemning the
city dumping ground on San Andreas
street. For several years past the city
has been without a satisfactory dump
ing ground and neighboring property
owners having protested so vigorously
from time to time that one dumping
ground after another has been aban-
doned.
Soon after Mayor Wood came into
Office the matter came up for consider
alton and a portion of San Andreas
street, between Figueroa and Anapamu
streets, which is considerably below
grade, was decided on as good place
to have ashes, tin cans, papers and
other refuse dumped.
This location met with the approval
OF the mayor. and the chief Of police
was instructed to allow certain kinds
of rubbish to be dumped there.
Place Becomes Offensive
It is not practicable to keep police
officer stationed continuously at the
dumping ground to see that no OBJ
jectionabIe refuse is thrown in, and the
usual complaint that the place had be-
come offensive to neighboring prop
erty owners and was therefore a pub
lie nuisance was made to the council.
At the last meeting the council con-
sidered the situation, and after hear
ing the facts in the case decided that
the dumping ground was a nuisance
and unanimously passed a resolution
discontinuing San Andreas street as a
public dumping ground and instructing
the chief of police to act accordingly.
Friday morning last, the day follow
ing the council meeting, at which Mr..
Wood was not present, the mayor in
structed Chief Ross to disregard the
action OF the council and allow dump
ing on San Andreas street as formerly
Chief Ross is in a queer position. The
council says no and the mayor says
yes, and each order is equally positive.
A few days ago a man who had a load
of odds and ends which he wished to
dispose of asked the chief if he might
dump it on San Andreas street. Chief
Ross didn't like TO commit himself,
and so informed the applicant for in
formation just the way matters stood,
telling him to judge for himself.
Put Question to City Attorney
Last night the question, HAS the
mayor the right to give instructions to
the police department directly contrary
to those of the city council?" was put
to City Attorney Booth.
THAT is a question which 1 cannot
answer offhand,' said Mr.. Booth. 1.-THE
situation is somewhat unusual in
municipal affairs and 1 do not care to
give a discussion until the matter is
referred to me officially"
Members of the council were not so
conservative in their statements.
This situation has got to come to a.
head soon," said one of the councilmen
last night, land we are going to sub
init the matter to the city attorney at
the next meeting of the council. 1t has
come to be question now as to who
is to run the city-the city government
or merely one member of 1t.
Mayor Woods order regarding the
San Andreas street dumping ground is
directly in the face of the unanimous
resolution of the council which declared
the place to be a public nuisance, on