Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-12-02
BANK ACCEPTS
BOND DECISION
FARMERS AND MERCHANTS
WILL NOT HINDER SALE
Believes Institution Was Entitled to
Award, but Will Not Seek to
Enioin the Super
Visors

With the expression, God prosper
the good roads movement" officials OF
the Farmers and Merchants bank and
the Southern Trust company an
nounced their intention yesterday to
take no steps to prevent the carrying
out of the $1,050,00O bond sale to ]. II.
Rollins & Sons, and the fear that fur
Their delay in the building of the roads
might be caused by an injunction suit
or other legal proceedings is now at an
end.
J. A. Graves, vice president of both
institutions, made a statemtnt yester-
day in which he expresses the opinion
that the action of the board in award
ing the sale not in accordance with the
terms of the advertisement of Septem-
Der rs was illegal, but says to begin
an action to prove his belief would be
contradictory to the position taken by
him that the bonds should be sold in
small lots. He also claims that. had
the supervisors offered S1O000OO worth
of the $3,500,0O0, the premium offered
would have been $4,000 to $4,000 more
than that offered by the Rollins firm.
The efforts of Mr.. Graves and those
associated with him in aiding the de-
feat of the private sale are a source of
qualification TO him, he says, and he
takes occasion to denounce the action
of the solid three because of their
action in trying to dispose of the entire
issue at premium of only $3.50.
Mr.. Graves Statement
Mr.. Graves statement is as follows:
THE banks that [ represent have
contended from the beginning that the
good roads bonds would bring more
money if offered in small lots, rather
than as a whole. They bid in good
faith for the entire issue, in accordance
with the resolution and advertisement
of the board of supervisors offering
them for sale, and made the best bid
for the total issue. Had the board of
supervisors offered $1,000000 worth of
the bonds for sale, and no more, they
would have brought $4,000 or $4,000
more than the 81 050,000 worth brought.
To the extent that our efforts aided in
defeating the unfortunate scheme to
sell all of the bonds for $3.50 premium
at private sale, we are gratified-and
that victory is of itself sufficient salts
faction for us. Less than one-third of
the bonds brought more than $4,000
more than the solid three would have
gotten for all of the bonds. had the first
sale not been rescinded.
ut should be borne in mind by those
who think we had such a snap, had our
hid for all of the bonds been accepted,
that an earthquake, fire, famine, pesti-
lence or slight financial panic would
have rendered our bargain undesirable.
1.-THE most serious thing in connec-
ton with this whole affair is that it
was necessary to resort to legal pro-
ceedings to compel sworn officials of
the county to do their plain duty The
feeling of disgust and distrust that the
action of the solid three has created in
the minds of all honest men in this en-
tire community tends to weaken the
peoples faith in civic honesty.
I'm my opinion, the award of the
bonds made yesterday is Illegal, and
we could successfully maintain an ac-'
ton that would prevent the consum-
nation of the present sale, but to do
so would be a contradiction of the po-
sition we have taken that the bonds
should be sold in small lots; so 1 say
God prosper the good roads movement.
and let everybody be thankful shat,
Notwithstanding the earnest efforts of
the supervisors to almost give away the
issue, the county is now assured a
handsome premium on the bonds. and
the more it gets for them the better
we will be pleased even if we do not
make anything out of the transaction.
1.-The next duty of the public is to
see that the money is honestly eX-
pended"