Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-18
STRIKES A BLOW
AT HARBOR GRAB
COUNCIL PASSES IMPORTANT
RESOLUTION
ATTORNEY GENERAL ASKED TO
BEGIN SUIT
Private Corporations Will Be Sued In
Order to Liberate San Pedro
from Grasp of the
Strangers

Through a resolution unanimously
and heartily passed by the city coun-
ell yesterday trouble is being stored ur
to gobble up all the frontage in San
Pedro harbor that the national gov
ernment intended should be a free
harbor when it appropriated millions
for dredging and breakwater.
Under the terms of the resolution
the harbor commission. composed of q.
H. Stewart, T. E. Gibbon and T. w.
Braun is empowered to instruct U. S.
Webb, attorney general of the state, to
Immediately begin action to test the
title to tide~lands in the inner harbor
held by individuals.
In a report made to the city coun-
ell yesterday the harbor commission
is of the opinion that these titles are
not valid. They were granted under an
old law relating to salt marshes and
swamp lands and for the expressed
purpose of development for agricultural
purposes. Point one is that they have
not been developed for such purposes.
The most important point, however, is
that under the terms of the grants
they were not effective until the first
payment on the price of 81 an acre had
been made. This first payment was
not made until after the present con-
stitution of the state was adopted and
the city of Wilmington Incorporated
under the constitution. The last pay
ment was not made until after San
Pedro had been incorporated. Under
the constitution the granting of tide
lands within two miles of an incor-
porated city Is prohibited. The ground
for action chosen by the harbor COM
mission is that the grants are not valid
because they were made, through the
failure of payment, after the adoption
of the constitution and are within two
miles of cities incorporated when the
grants were made.
The commission was empowered by
the council to employ such legal talent
as necessary to assist the attorney
general in prosecuting the cases.
In its report to the council, read by
A. P. Fleming, the secretary, the COM
mission said that according to all es-
Inmates the breakwater in the San
Pedro harbor would extend $3.50 feet
instead of the $3.50 first intended and
provided in the original specifications.
The report declared the inner harbor
of vastly more Importance than the
outer harbor as it provided more wa
ter frontage and safer anchorage and
the railroad terminals could be more
easily connected with it. For this rea-
son it is especially desired to preserve
the inner harbor from the predatory
corporations.
No sooner was the wish of the har-
Dor commission made known than
Councilman Healy moved the adoption
of the resolution. In seconding the
motion Councilman Wallace pointed
out the immense undertakings before
Los Angeles. The San Pedro harbor
was one, the Owens river another, the
good roads. for the county and the
Panama canal. The Owens river pro-
ject and the Panama canal when COM
pleted were close to each other, and
it is hoped, he said that when both
are done there will be a free harbor
for all the people and not for a few
private corporations. He declared it
was the duty of the council to do all
in it's power to further the objects of
the harbor commission.