Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-23
DEMAND FILING
OF BLUE PRINTS
In All Cases Where Franchises Are
Sought, Council Is Asked to Call
for Maps for city's
information

The Municipal league has revived the
movement to compel the filing of blue
prints when asking franchises for spur
tracks.
Certain interests friendly to the
Southern Pacific have heretofore op-
posed the filing of maps.
Circular letters have been sent to
councilmen on the subject and it is
expected that a test occasion will soon
come up at which the votes will show
the temper of the municipal law MAX
erS.
The letters to the council from the
Municipal league follow:
II am instructed by the executive
committee of the Municipal league,
meeting of March 10, to forward to you
the following resolution:
Resolved, That we urge upon coun-
ell the wisdom of adopting a uniform
system in the consideration of requests
from railways for spur track franchises,
with the requirement that every such
request must be accompanied by map
showing exact location of spur and a
petition from a majority of the 'front.'
age, and that the request shall first be
referred to the board of public works
in order that the map and frontage
signatures may be checked as to ac-
curacy and in order, further, that the
board may report to council on the
feasibility of spur in that particular
location
Recalls Past Conflicts
"I am instructed, Furthermore, to say
something to the individual members
of council, most of whom are new to
this branch of public work, with re-
gard to past experience. After wit
Messing numerous conflicts between
property owners and railway corpora
tions over spur track applications and
noting the complete lack of system
that prevailed in the councils treat
ment of such matters, the league asked
that maps and signatures of frontage
be required-which had not heretofore
been done-and that request was final
ly granted by the last council.
THE suggestion that report be had
from the board of public works on
each spur was. however, refused; for
what reason we have never been able to
discover.
THE board of public works has en-
tire charge, under the charter, of the
physical condition of streets and alleys.
They have engineers and assistants
who are competent to make a check
ing on maps and frontage petitions;
and all other matters of exactly similar
description are passed through their
hands by council-and why not this
matter?
Eliminates Favorltism
mo other obligation than purely
moral one would exist for the councils
accepting the views of the board as
to the wisdom of granting a spur, so
the council would lose none of it's pre-
negatives by adopting this system, and
the element of faVoritism, which has
so often been alleged to exist in past
grants, would by this plan be entirely
eliminated.
TT is perfectly we'll known to you
gentlemen that there is one railway
corporation whose demands for spurs
are frequently before you, which en-
joys large political power, the boss and
leader of the dominant party being in
its employ.
TT has been notable fact during
the past four or five years that this
corporation has experienced little diff
ficulty in securing it's spurs, some Of
them being granted even against the
protest of two-thirds of the adjacent
property owners.
"Other railway corporations have not
been so fortunate. In almost every city
in the Union the granting of railway
spurs has been the frequent subject Of
scandal and has often figured In prose-
cutions for graft.
"rhe league committee notes with
regret that when motion was made
at the last meeting of your honorable
body to refer spur track petition to
the board of public works for check
ing and recommendation 1t was voted
down, 5 to 4. The committee urges that
you reconsider this action at the earli-
est possible opportunity and that you
establish the precedent of obtaining the
recommendation of the board OF public
works before final action is taken on
any switch, and that requests from ali
corporations be treated exactly the
same in that regard.
KNOWING that 1t is the wish of the
council to do justice to all and to fol-
low no policy that may have a doubtful
political significance we unhesitatingly
prefer this request. Respectfully yours,
&C. ID. WILLARD,
fCaarate ~