Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-07
SAN PEDRO HARBoR

n APTAIN AMOS FRIES stated the
case with exactness when he told
~ the Friday Morning club it was
not natural obstacles with which the
promoters Of San Pedro harbor had
to contend. but man with his lust for
power, his greed for gold" The South
ern Pacific Railroad company, cor
poration foreign to the state, with a
Kentucky charter and with owners who
are residents OF distant states, has en-
deavored and is stlll endeavoring by
every scheme known to lawyers and
politicians to control the entire hat
Dor.
The harbor is girdled b. railroads
dominated by the Southern Pacific,
which in consequence is practically
bloekading this great public utility,
which, If operated for the people and by
the people. would conduce greatly to
the progress and prosperity of Southern
California. why does the Southern
Pacific want to control the harbor?'
asked Captain Fries. He answered the
question aptly. "King George III and
hts parliament wanted to hold the
thirteen colonies primarily for the
taxes they could collect, with or with
out the consent of the colonies. Just
so the Southern Pacific wants to hold
San Pedro for the taxes it can collect,
and It too does not want to ask any
body's consent. Taxation without
representation is tyranny, said the
colonists, and they fought for freedom
from such injustice. Taxation with
out representation is still tyranny, and
If Southern California does not want to
submit, she too must fight"
Captain Fries called attention to the
iniquity of the freight schedule which
went into effect recently. 1t discrimi-
mates against San Pedro by 50 ton.
"Why? Because It is claimed Los
Angeles is not a seaport, and San
Pedro is not recognized as a terminal
point The result Of this outrageous
discrimination is that every merchant
doing business here is handicapped
50 a ton as compared with merchants
in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland
and Seattle. The tendency of this must
be to discourage the Southern Califor-
mia dealer. because he is not permitted
to compete fairly with dealers who
have headquarters in other localities.
In discussing remedies, for the intol-
cradle situation which hampers Los
Angeles and Southern California, Cap
tain Fries said the first and most OBJ
vious is the extension of Los Angeles
to the water front by annexation or
consolidation of San Pedro, Whining
ton or Long Beach or all Of them, and
by the erection and maintenance of
municipal wharves. Los Angeles, he
said, could easily afford to spend $780,
00n 900 on that harbor."
The fight for control involves mil
lions and all the resources in brains
and money of the Rockefeller-Harri-
man combine will be used to defeat the
CITY, for this is only part Of a nation
wide plan to control all transportation.
Captain Fries mentioned three speci-
flc public necessities: First, a law
allowing two or more cities or towns,
no matter what their class or char
tiers may be, to consolidate upon ma
jority vote in each town or city. Sec
ond, an amendment to the charter OF
the city of Los Angeles, authorizing
the city to build wharves, warehouses,
dredge channels, fill land and do all
other work connected with the harbor,
including the construction and opera
ton of railroads and highways. Third,
see that full statewide primary law
is passed carrying out the provisions
adopted at the general election"