Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-08
SAN PEDRANS DEFEAT
FREEHOLDERS' CHARTER
Citizens of Seaport City Cast Votes in Overwhelm-
ing Number Agaiost Measure-Result of the
Election Denotes Desire for COnsol-
idatiOn with Los Angeles

Between the time OF the holding the
consolidation election and the adoption
of the charter the government of San
Pedro will rest with the mayor and
council of the city of Los Angeles.
BY effecting the consolidation with
San Pedro the population of Los An
geles VIII be increased by from six to
seven thousand and several square
miles of territory will be added to the
limits of the greater city, although
the people and the territory now com
prising San Pedro always will be in
cluded in the borough of San Pedro.
Wilmington Is Willing
Following San Pedro wilmington will
be the next district to become a part
of the consolidated city.
Citizens of Wilmington are not only
willing but anxious to join in the con-
solidation movement, but there has
been tacit agreement between the
consolidation commission and the lead
ers of the consolidation movement in
Wilmington that San Pedro was to be
given the first opportunity of deciding
for or against the question.
Now that San Pedro virtually has
voted in favor of consolidation the
necessary steps to bring Wilmington
into the charmed circle will be taken
within short time, and 1t is expected
that the proposed election in Los An
geles and San Pedro soon will be fol-
lowed by one in which Los Angeles
and Wilmington will agree to become
one.
Reports from Long Beach indicate
that the consolidation sentiment con-
stantly is on the increase in that city,
and it is confidently expected by mem
bers of the consolidation commission
that at the proper time the citizens of
Long Beach will vote by large ma
jority to climb into the Greater Los
Angeles chariot of progress.
President Butler Pleased
"I feel confident now that the work
of the commission will end in success"
said S. A. Butler, president of the Los
Angeles city and county consolidation
commission, last night He had just
received telephone message from San
Pedro announcing the signal defeat of
the freeholders' charter.
THAT certainly was a great victory
for the friends of consolidation" con-
tinued Mr.. Butler. I'VE fully expected
that the charter would be defeated by
good majority, but even the most
sanguine members of the commission
were not prepared for the news that
the vote had been nearly five to one.
AT noon we received a telephone
message from Mr.. Hanson, the leader
of the consolidation movement in San
Pedro, predicting that the charter
would be defeated by vote of four
to one, and, while we had every con-
fidence in Mr.. Hanson's knowledge of
the situation, we were afraid to be-
lieve that the count would show that
his estimate was correct; but instead
of four to one it was nearer to five to
one.
THE result makes certain the con-
solidation of Los Angeles and San Pc
dro and this consolidation will, 1 feel
confident, be consummated within the
next sixty days.
From the Mountains to the Sea
Greater Los Angeles then virtually
will be an accomplished fact, inasmuch
as the election to decide the question
of consolidation with San Pedro will
follow that of the election to annex the
Cahuenga district, and the two cleo
tions will result in the extension of the
limits of Los Angeles from the noun
tains to the sea, and Los Angeles will
become a seaport.
"Of course San Pedro will retain
her identit.- under the borough sys-
tenn and always will be known as the
harbor city, and in addition she will
have the prestige of being d part of
Greater Los Angeles.
"In the defeat of the freeholders'
charter in San Pedro the greatest OBJ
stacle to the consolidation movement
has been removed, and 1 believe that
the work now will be practically easy.
1T will be necessary for the consoli-
dated city to have a revised charter.
The commission is in favor of what
is known as the Fuller system, which
was adopted when Greater New York
came into existence, and which pro-
vides for the borough system of gov