Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-21
ONE POCKET TO THE OTHER

In the expenditure of the $29,OO0,000
required for the owens river water
plant Los Angeles will practically take
the money out of one pocket and put
it into another. That is true in re-
spect to fully three-fourths of the sum
and probably larger percentage.
Nearly all the money to be expended
in the great work will return to this
city and find it's way back to former
channels. Los Angeles will be the
nucleus for all the labor and materials
to be employed.
All the surplus wages of laborers,
practically, will be returned to this
city after each pay day, either for the
maintenance of families of workers or
for deposit in savings banks. Even
the expenditures on the line of the
work for current living account will
flow back to the city in the regular
stream of business.
Probably it is not far from the mark
to say that $2O,OOO,OOO of the total sum
to be expended will in one way or
another return to the channels of trade
in Los Angeles.
The money will simply make the
round of circle and return to the
starting point. 1t will be drawn from
the local repositories as required, dis
bursed along the line of the work on
pay days and thence will begin to flow
back. That is true of the disburse
ments on a labor account and it is
mainly true in respect to payments
for materials.
But it will be money from abroad,
the proceeds of the sale of city bonds,
wherewith the accounts for labor and
materials are to be settled. There will
be no financial drain upon the city
except to meet the interest payments
on the bonds.
While the work of construction is in
this foreign money, after
having been paid out at intervals, will
flow into local business channels. In
that way the volume of money in those
channels will be increased to nearly the
equivalent of the expenditures on the |
work. Instead of any considerable
drain upon the financial resources OF
the city there will consequently be a |
large increase from the outside source. |
When the work is completed the city |
will have the bond interest to pay, |
with assurance that the net earnings
Of the water system will provide a
fund wherewith to liquidate |
the bonds at maturity.
And what will the city have in re-
turn? 1t is not necessary to dwell |
On the inestimable value of the water
sufficient to supply the needs
Of community as large as Chicago
Aside from the value of the water the
city will have an asset of cash value
more than equaling the entire S23,O0O,-
300 invested in the owens river plant.
For the mere use of the waters gray
ty, without in any manner detracting
from either the quantity or the quality
Of the water, the city can sell the pow
privilege for more than
S23, 900 900. But the city will not thus |
sell, because it will prefer to avoid !
"entangling alliances" with corpora |
tions and because the power asset will
be worth more to the city for it's own
use than to any outside interests.
The water project will give employ
ment to thousands of workers during
the next four or five years; it will make
money plen,iful in Los Angeles; in
sure good wages; be a barrier against |
any approach of hard times" and in
general be the greatest blessing ever
enjoyed by the community.