Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-31
COUNCIL TO
PROBE FIRE
ALARM BOXES
BODY NAMES SECRET INQUIRY
COMMISSION
cAMEWELL PEOPLE DEMAND AN
OPEN HEARING
Auditor Mushet Holds Up All De-
mands Because No Competitive
Bidding Was Required
on Contract

on OontTdSh
Counsel Frank PARCELS of the Game
well Fire Alarm and Telegraph com
pany excitedly left tue city counol
chamber yesterday afternoon after tell
ing the lawmakers that neither ne hol
Mis- clients would appear DeIofe any
secret inquiry tribunal
Tine council had just decided to name
a. commission of inquiry TO look lhto
the fire alarm box situation IN Los
Angeles after hearing City Auditor W.
= Musbet's report read, and the Game
we'll representative, supported py
Councilman Henry Lyon, demanded an
open hearing.
Assistant, City Attorney Lewis
Works had suggested that the inquiry
be behind closed doors, as some wiz
nesses might object to testlfylng De-
fore an open board, and, furtherlnoIe 9
information might get into the hanus
of the opposition which the munlclpal-
ity could use If any litigation 1olIoWeu o,yS'I,
President Pease named Counclilllell
wallace. Wren and Dromgold on the
Violate Charter
Auditor Mushet had formally re-
turned TO the council without his ap-
nroyaI Gamewel demands aggregatlns
s21ea. because these demands were
made i'm direct violation OF the CHAR
ter" chapter 20, as follows:
.sTne city of Los Angeles shall not
be and is not bound by any CONTRACT
(except such a contract as is now or
may be hereafter authorized by TINS
charter. to be made in behalf or the
CITY by a board or officer of the elty),
unless the city council shall have first
caused notice to be published III
daily newspaper. printed and pupllshed
in e CITY of Los Angeles, inviting pro-
posals to perform the same, ana there-
after shall have let said contract TO
the lowest responsible bidder furnish
ing security for its performance, satls-
factory to the city council.
provided, that any such contract
shall be made in writing, the draft
thereon approved by the city councll
and the same ordered to be and be
signed on behalf of the city by the
mayor or some other person authorized
thereto by resolution; and PROVIDED,
furt ler, that the approval, as 10 FORM
of such contract by the city attorney
as required by section 49 of this char-
ter, shall be indorsed on the dfaIt
thereof before the council shall nave
power to approve the same but the
c0uOcll may py iCpOihNiOii
any officer, committee or agent of the
city to bind the city for the payment
of a sum of money not exceeding $500
without a contract in writing ana
without any previous publication of
notice inviting proposals amendment
1905)."
Holds Up Demands
Mr.. Mushet reminded the council that
rejected demands
aggregating $269S, passed over his dis
approval on January 2S, 1907, demands
aggregating $500, passed again on
April 3, 1907, demands aggregating
s3SOS passed June 8, 1907, and demands
aggregating $75OO passed June "a. 1907
Continuing. Mr., Mushet said:
'I ask you to rescind all previous
approvals of these unpaid demands
and to take the same under reconsid-
Grafton.
1.-THE amount involved is:
Objected to, but paid ................,. $5,Olsoo
Objected to, reapproved, but not paid IL 3oS 20
Objected to and inelosed herewith. 5000 70
Total unpaid sl4, $50 As
1.-THE chief item involved is the pur-
chase of seventy police alarm boxes at
$3.50 each, involving an expenditure of
S10,50O, and this without advertising as
required by law or any attempt being
made to secure competitive bidding or
the letting of the contract to the low
est responsible bidder.
Disguise Illegal Act
IAN attempt has been made to dis
guise this illegal act by providing
large Lumber of acquisitions and de-
mands for sums of less than $500 each.
| hold that the demands are not
legal claim against the city for any
amount whatever, because the pur-
chase was not merely an irregular or
informal exercise of a power granted
to the council but was an act entirely
beyond or in excess of their legal
powers and in fact specifically pro-
hibi.ed by the charter. The council
has no power to make any such pur-
chase in direct violation of the law
Nor has it the power to ratify an il
legal act or to approve a demand un-
less it is just and legal Judge Bord-
well in a recent decision stated
1.-THE charter of city is it's con-
stitution its legislative body and
executive officers must act with
reference to and are bound at all
times by it's provisions, and neither
the council nor any of the execu-
tive officers have any jurisdiction
to commit an act in violation of
the mandates or restrictions of the
charter. 1t is as much the funda-
mental law of the city as the con-
stitution of the United States is the
fundamental law of the federal
government.
Not Reasonable Value
at might possibly be argued that
the city having accepted and used the
goods should be compelled TO pay for
them.
Under no conditions, however, would
the city be required to pay more than
the reasonable value of the goods, and
1 am Informed by those who are ex-
perts in this line of business that the
prices charged are more than double
the reasonable value o. the goods in
many cases.
IF the city could legally repudiate
the entire amount and die so I do not
consider that it would be violating any
moral principle, for 1 believe the
amount involved TO be less than
previous overcharges.
"Inasmuch as the council is seriously
considering changing the fire alarm
system from an automatic to a manual
system, believe a commission should
be appointed which should take the
opportunity of investigating the whole
subject of fire and police alarms.
"IS a DOSitiye non Interfering aud