Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-02
is
FACING CRISIS
ABOUT HARB0R
ANNEXATION is & SHOWN AS
SIMPLEST SOLUTION
SAN PEDRO STARTS DIVISION OF
THE ENTHUSIASM
Secretary A. p. Fleming Makes Ring
ing Speech for Consolidation of In
terests-Boroueh System Fa-
vored In Wilmington

u n = Is ldClllB d CLloiS ~
wv the harbor situation.
w Unless annexation sentiment
prevails and the harbor town comes
into the fold she may lose her last
opportunity to take advantage of the
new conditions that will win for
partly free from corporate control.
Last nights mass meeting in Will
mingtor brought the issues face to
face squarely
1t was shown by the speakers that
the federal government is disposed to
act if 1t can be shown that the situ-
alton is not shaping itself into an
olher railroad monopoly.
Annexation the Solution
The harbor commission, which is
working for Los Angeles and all the
beach cities, showed by it's represen-
tative that annexation Is the simplest
manner of solving the problem If
Wilmington refuses to come in she
may be left high and dry and Los
Angeles may direct her attention to
improving the west basin.
The Wilmington people by their
speakers showed that they were will
ing to do something, but they mis-
trusted the possible grabbing propen-
stiles of Long Beach or other points
If Wilmington disincorporated now.
Sensational features were developed
last night in the plain talk that re-
echoed through the meeting.
For instance, 1t was intimated that
the Wilmington trustees, who repre-
sent only 1852 voters, want to control the
harbor, despite the fact that corpora
tions far smaller than the Southern Pa
cific and Salt Lake have been known to
corral 1872 voters in one way or an
other.
Los Angeles stands on guard over the
priceless harbor heritage, .Hseretary
A. p. Fleming made plain to the mass
meeting last night, and in doing sc
re-echoed the sentiments expressed by
Capt. Amos A. Fries of the government
engineers the night before.
San Pedro Starts Division
Wilmington turned out all of hel
citizens at the meeting last night. bu
San Pedro anti-annexationists also sen
q big lobby Of noisy listeners" wht
thwarted the a nnexation enthusiasm
whenever they could by counter ap
plause.
The result was that the meeting
dragged from 1880 till nearly midnight
and the tenseness Of the situation was
far from relieved.
The meeting of Monday night, which
was a heart-to- heart talk between Los
Angeles officials and the trustees OF
Wilmington, showed that quick and de-
cisive work was necessary by the citi-
zens of Los Angeles whose harbor
privileges are as much at stake as are
Wilmington's local interests.
Through all the dealing between off,
cials of Wilmington and Los Angeles
and the intermediate interests, the
yearning for power seems to be the rock
of division.
Wilmington trustees want to control
the harbor rights because, as they put
1t, 1t will keep other beach cities from
wrestling supremacy.
Los Angeles wants a greater COM
mission, representing the beaches, the
metropolis and the cities back to the
mountains, to have ultimate control.
Charter Amendment Material
Because of the possibility of char
ter amendment election, the time Is
specially propitious now to push an
nexation sentiment, as the harbor ques-
tion can be incorporated in a special
election when one Is called.
Because the new city hall at Will
mington is in an unfinished condition,
the meeting called for there last night
was held at the Wilmington hall in the
other end Of town instead.
Nearly every home in Wilmington
was deserted by it's occupants, who
fiocked to the meeting. and every vehi-
Gle in the town was Impressed to carry
the eager participants in the local con-
troversy to the hall.
At 1:30 o'clock all the seats had been
filled and the San Pedro clacquers who
are trying to stir up anti-annexation
sentiment drifted into the meeting, ev-
identity trying to dictate the trend OF
applause.
Frank S. Carey of the chamber of
commerce presided at the session,
dwelling on the confused side issues
that were being introduced to obscure
the larger issue. which was, Who shall
control Wilmington's harbor?
City Attorney Mcclure &C Whining
ton was the first speaker.
He dwelt on his recent trip to Wash
ington, where he had found that ad-
verse interests had tried to befog the
facts about tidelands. and had even
permitted the railroads to hoodwinlS
the government to the <extent that no
formal papers were On file in some
cases, mere promises to do so and so
being listed with the departments as
part of the records bearing on the San
Pedro-Wilmington harbor situation.
McLachlan's Inactivity
Mr.. Mcclure did not mention the fact
last night, but Democrats in their fight
against Congressman James McLach-
Ian will mention that his friendliness
for a big public harbor was not mani
tested as strongly as Southern Cali
fornians suppose as shown by Nc
Clure's Investigations in Washington.
e. r. Woods of Wilmington followed.
urging the voters to consider carefully
what they were doing. but once deter
mine in their own minds to go ahead
and vote.
Colonel Fox spoke for consolidation
AS an experienced engineer and trav-
eler Colonel Fox knows the trend of
municipal conditions in his country.
and he strongly advised consolidation.
Heritage Of the People
Then Secretary A. p. Fleming of the
harbor commission took the platform.
Mr.. Fleming had come merely as a
listener at first but warmed to the sub
ject and made 1t plain that the harbor
was not Wilmington's to be vestpock-
eted by any corporation which could
manipulate municipalities as does the