Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-08


An ordinance should be passed, and
rieidly enforced, to prevent vile and
disgraceful posters which frequently
appear on city blllboards. do not re-
fer particularly to theater posters, but
to the Objectionable advertising signs
of restaurants and hotels. one sign
recall reads: After theater adjourn TO
-- hotel" Such signs should not be
permitted. Downfall Of many young
boys and girls may be traced TO dis.
graceful billboard FOSTERS and unclean
theatrical performances. Present ordi-
nances do not cover this thoroughly and
immediate action is needed.
Charter Revision
Recent examination Of the city char
| ter shows a number Of worthless pro-
visions. due TO the fact that the city
has outgrown the charter drafted for
II in its youth. / would suggest that an
unpaid commission consisting OF mem
bers Of the city council. the city attor-
ney and possibly. a representative OF
one of the civic bodies examine the
charter with care and with the view
of having IL revised at the next general
election.
Spur Track Franchises
In providing for the coming OF new
asked for many spur track franchises
during the past year. The coming year
will bring many more applications.
Complaint has been made by property
owners that the city council granted
many Of these franchises without Civ
ing property owners any opportunity
whatever of being heard. While the
spurs were undoubtedly needed and ac-
tion advisable, 1t is my opinion that the
ic n n
improper one. To protect property own
ers in the future l recommend that a
rule be adopted providing that all ap-
| plcations for spur track franchises be
accompanied by a map showing the
proposed location, streets. ETC., and at
least fifteen days intervene between the
time of filing of the application and the
granting of the franchise. The people
have rights In these matters which
should not be overlooked in our anxiety
to encourage now industries.
New City Hall
Immediate action should pe taken to
relocate and erect new city hall. The
present city hall is overcrowded and
is not fireproof. Before a new building
can be erected the present one will be
wholly unfit for the purpose for which 1t
is being used. 1t will take years to COM
time municipal officers must be quar-
tered and the city will go on paying
rent to landlords. The greater the time
is lessened the more money the city VIII
save in rent. The present site is val
ued upward of $4,000 The land could
be sold for nearly enough to build a
hall suitable for the needs OF city OF
half million people, II not more.
Outside of the financial feature there
tc vr-ht tnh tc u ~fDt
There are few, If any, fireproof vaults
in the building and valuable records
are in constant danger of fire-records
which could never be replaced, and the
destruction of which would mean a
great loss and possibly endless litiga-
ton. l respectfully urge that your hon.
orable body take the initiative step at
once and as soon as practicable begin
the construction of new building.
Fire Department
Growth of the city and the increas Sc
of fire alarm apparatus has cramped
the quarters in city hall until il be-
comes imperative that a change be
made. Fire alarm apparatus should be
located in a fireproof structure. The
automatic repeater system now in use
has served its purpose. but the size
of the city and the number of boxes
necessary to protect it is now such that
more modern system is nee1ed.
The manual office equipment offers
advantages over the present automatic
system invaluable to a department
the size of ours. The proposed system
provides two distinct paths for trans
mitting alarms to the various COM
panies instead of depending solely on
the box circuit. The new system would
transmit alarms only to the companies
which should respond. whereas the old
system transmits alarms to every en-
gine house. causing unnecessary work
for men and horses. The change would |
increase the efficiency of the service.
The suggestion of the fire chief that |
the fire alarm headquarters be changed I
from the city hall to the location re- |
Gently purchased near the corner of |
Seventh and Figueroa streets has my |
approval. I respectfully urge immedi- |
ate action.
The time has arrived when a change |
should be made in the fire alarm con- |
duit system. Since establishment of
the conduit district fire and police
telegraph circuits have been operated
by means of conductors in cables OF
the telephone companies and loaned
from them. The number of conduc-
tors has become so large that separate
cables are required. Operation of
same cable present difficulties which
should be done away with by the es-
tablishment of a system for the eX-
elusive use of the city.
Water supply for fire protection in
the business section Of the city is good.
There is, however, an insufficient num-
Der of hydrants TO the block to enable
firemen in case of confiagration to Sc
cure water close to the seat of the
blaze / would recommend that at
least six hydrants be located in each
block and that outlets be increased
from . 1-2 to inches. This would
enable the department to use engines
of a much larger capacity, now neces-
sary for the congested section of the
city.
A machine shop for the fire depart
ment is also needed. The city owns
land at the corner of Avenue 10 and
Pasadena avenue on which such a
building might be erected when
finances of the city permit.
Schools of the City
The most urgent need of the school
iS coma -rOviSiOD where