Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-29
BEACH FIGHT
GROWS WARM
MANY CHARGES AND COUNTER.
CHARGES MADE
LAND coMPANY'S OFFICERS DENY
ATTORNEYS STATEMENTS
President of Investment Company
Says He Will See Registered Men
Are Given Legal Rights, De-
spite City Official

Claiming to have information that a
number of men have been taken to Her
mosa Beach for colonization purposes;
that they had registered as voters, and
| that none of them was q resident OF
Hermosa Beach, George b. Simpson, a
carpenter of Hermosa Beach, filed suit
in the superior court yesterday against
| eighty-SeVen men whose names are CIV
en- and others whose identity is not yet
known.
Acting for Simpson Is Robert G.
| Loucks, city attorney of Hermosa
Beach, who says the men were en-
ployed through the Murray and Ready
employment agency by w. III. Carlson
of the Carlson Investment company,
and that Carlson told them they were
to receive 81 day and that their poll
taxes would be paid.
Attorney Loucks says yesterday &C
| tion is simply the opening gun of the
| fight expected to be carried on later,
and the suit is instituted as a founda-
ton for criminal proceedings.
The matter, he said, has already been
laid before the district attorney, SO far,
1t is believed, without result; but he
declares that action will be taken at
| Thursdays meeting of the board of
| trustees to impress upon the county au-
thorities the necessity for action.
After Men Higher UP
"And we will not make the fight espe-
cially against the men who registered
as voters" said the attorney, "but Will
| endeavor to reach those higher up who
have been the moving spirits In this
plan to rush men into the city little
more than a month before the election
and keep them employed in unnecessary
work until the election is over"
| Tho according to ATTORNEY
| Loucks dates back some years when
! the Burbank Land and Water company
split up three of its subdivisions into
lots and placed them on the market.
| The Los Angeles-Pacific railway, he
says, Is a co-partner of the Burbank &
Baker company, which controls the
| land, and which, he says, when two
months old formed the Los Angeles Sc
curity company and assigned to the lat
| ter the water and sewer system, pier
and other improvements. =.
"In contracts for sales of real estate
said Loucks, 1.-The Burbank & Baker
company agreed to make many i'm
| provments in the city, such as sewer
and water systems.
'Mucb of this work was done, but a
month ago Mr.. Burbank appeared be-
| fore the board of trustees and asked
the CITY to purchase the sewer system
for $4,000, after it had agreed to make
them on behalf of its real estate pur-
chasers at its own expense.
Offer Refused
This offer was of course refused.
The Burbank & Baker company could
not control the present board of trustees
and determined to get rid of 1t.
ITO carry out this purpose the Pro-
gressive' party was formed and a ticket
| nominated for a new board. To make
the election of these men certain scores
of men were sent from Los Angeles to
Hermosa Beach, where they registered
on March 10, a man named Reinbolt,
| who is a representative of Burbank &
Baker, acting as deputy clerk. :,
"These men were placed at work, all
right, but the necessity for TINS Work Is
! hard to find, for the men have Deen
laying a number of old rails and doing
| unnecessary grading.
"As a result of Carlson's action in
sending the men to Hermosa Beach Tor
the purpose of voting, a meeting at
which 500 citizens attended was held
last night and the efforts of those who
could not control the actions OF the
| trustees to defeat them were denounced
unsparingly.
"a number of the men sent from Los
Angeles were present and two of them
made statements. One of these men is
John McGarvey, who said Carlson
agreed to pay the poll taxes of all the
men. we all expect to be discharged
after the election said McGarvey. we I'VE
get only 81 day, but I would rather
starve than vote as they want us to-
Lived at Soup Houses
"eWe have been living at the soup
houses in Los Angeles, and two-thirds
of our number did not have place 10
Law our heads. We had to work or
starve.'
Harry Branch, native of Florida,
also told his experience. He said he
was but 90 years old and therefore did
not register legally He also said there
were others among the men sent down
who had not reached the voting age"
The men, said Loucks, are housed in
a large barn belonging to b. H. Hiss,
member of the present board of trus-
tees. According to Loucks, Hiss Is en-
ployed alternately by the land company
and the railway company. and his ac-
tions on the board are favorable to
these companies.
Yesterday afternoon process servers
were sent to Hermosa Beach and
served summonses on the efghty-seven
men named in the complaint and others
whose names were not known to Simp-
son.
A. L. Burbank of the Burbank &
Baker company stated last night that
City Attorney Loucks had done more
than any other man to retard the
progress of Hermosa Beach.
1.-THE Los Angeles-Pacific is willing to
spend half a million dollars this year
in improvements that would greatly
benefit Hermosa Beach," said Mr.. Bur-
bank, 'but 1t Is unable to do anything
with the present board of trustees,
which, acting on the suggestion of
Loucks. blocks every move toward
progress.
Has Spent Large Sum
"This company has spent $1S0,000 in
a water system, electric lighting and
other works. We gave the Los Angeles
| Pacific 50-foot right of way on Santa
Fe avenue and when men were placed
| at work Loucks interfered. He stopped,
| however, when we told him he would
be prosecuted personally to the fullest
| extent.
"Redondo, Venice and Ocean Park
are making rapid strides, and we are
endeavoring to have our little city
also join the front ranks. I will cite
one instance as showing what we have
had to contend with. We promised to
grade and lay Hermosa avenue if the
city would roll it, and our offer was
accepted. We put 436 carloads of dirt
on the street, but the board backed
down. We offered to place 100 more
carloads on it, but still the board held