Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-09

impeachable integrity, and they chos'
to give him a commission bearing theil
confidence, and since that date he ha:
done nothing to warrant belief tha
that commission should be withdrawn
1T is true the mayor has not giver
to the public the names of his water
commissioners, but when he does he
will do so with desire to do the best
for the people, and in event his conf
dence is betrayed he will lend all oi
his power to punish the guilty.
MANY people prefer that the water
board remain undisturbed. AS made
up, it has the confidence of the people
and the advocacy of the members
thereof of this project induced many
to believe that the project is the one
thing which solves the water prob
lem, and it is from the character of
the witnesses that verdict is in a
| large measure made.
1.-THE rise and growth of the doctrine
of public ownership of public utilities
is from the well known fact that the
ownership and operation of needed pub
| lie utilities is always profitable. NO
person dare deny or doubt that the
water from the Sierra Nevada noun
tains is a necessity to Los Angeles and
should it be brought here by private
corporation it may not be denied that
the stockholders therein would reap
rich harvest in dividends-surely the
city is entitled to this harvest. There
can be no question that 1t will be
a paving investment from the time it is
well operated, and will not be a burden
to the taxpayer, but, on the contrary,
source of profit.
LET it be admitted that there is an
abundant supply of water in the vi
cinity of Los Angeles; that it amounts
to 10000 inches; that 1t may be de-
veloped from time to time during the
next twenty years. Yet 1t would not
be to the interest of this city to be an
oasis in a desert; to denude the sur
rounding country of water would mean
to destroy that much property, and the
generations to come will look back
upon the present financiers and in their
wrath curse those who opposed this
project and denuded the surrounding
otherwise productive country. But in
twenty years the 10000 inches. accord
ing to the position of the expontnts,
will have been utilized-what then?
What then? The opponents at first
took the position that the overflow or
surface water should be collected and
stored in reservoirs for use. Apparently
they have changed that absurd propos-
ition, and now they say that the would
turn this surface water into ID system
of wells and resaturate the water plain.
The engineering skill of ages has always
and never utilized surface
water in reservoirs. The reservoirs, as
a matter of course. would be located
In the lowlands, thereby destroying
numerous square miles of the most pro-
ductive and valuable lands for agricul-
tural uses. 1t is so impracticable that
1t is hard to believe the opponents mean
what they say. The present suggestion |
Of storing water in wells and a resat |
lration of the water plane on so large |
a scale is too absurd for other reply |
But why even discuss these great reser- |
voirs in which to store water to become |
;tagnant? God Almighty has without |
price already constructed reservoirs of |
snow and ice and year by year on the |
-ops and sides of the mighty Sierra
Nevadas he keeps a continuous store of
pure water, which in his goodness he
little by little, day by day, in
Ill its virgin purity, and offers 1t to our
people at the cost Of an aqueduct. Be
'ause the grain is not ground and the
cakes baked will the wheat be re-
fused?
Only One Method Left
There is but one method which has
been followed from time immemorial |
and is now the method to obtain water |
for growing cities, and that is to go 10 |
great distances where there is a living
supply, and by aqueducts bring it into
the. city, leaving the water which is
necessary for agricultural purposes in
the surrounding country for use therein.
This is building for the future, if there
be any future for Los Angeles, which |
no man dares to doubt if the water SUM-
ply is sufficient If the opponents doubt |
the continued growth of Los Angeles |
then they should pursue the narrow |
course which they have started. 1t has
been only a few short months since
Wholesale ruin, like one who walks a
banquet hall deserted, lowered over
FERTILE San Fernando valley, all on ac-
count of the question, But how about
the water supply?"
The Good Book tells us All that a
man hath will he give for his life ;
Applied in this instance, the question
OF cost cuts no figure. The water is
running year after year from the melt
ing SHOWS of the Sierra Nevadas. and
Los Angeles suffers-its life, not the
present, but the future life. and if
necessary all that it hath should he
given therefor. But it is not NECESSARY
to pay this price. Engineers and others
VINO are competent have estimated the
Pi iOo' anu IL IS not all that 1t hath, but
only moderate price which is required
and the estimated price is correct-it is
not an erroneous estimate, but as nearly
correct as human skill can gather.
THE principal contention of the on
ponents is that the, cost of the tunnel
ing required for the aqueduct is esti-
mated entirely too low. 1t will he re-
membered that the tunneling represents
ABOUT one-half OF the estimated cost of
the aqueduct; therefore, if this tunnel
ing can be constructed at the estimated
cost, certainly the remaining portion of
the aqueduct can be built at the cost
estimated This question is too easv
leading contractor, an engineer of
international reputation and of large
means, has over his own sig
nature offered to take the contract for
the entire tunneling at the engineers
estimate, and to back up his PROPOSE
ton has offered an unimpeachable
banking institution to finance the en-
-erprise. Here, then, is one-half of the
opponents contention eliminated at one
stroke.
THE tunneling is made into the bow
Els of the earth and is hardest to esti-
nate. If, therefore, the engineers esti-
nate of this element is correct, then
30 much the more are the estimates On