Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-16
CHECKED
AND FOUND CORRECT
RAILROAD AND SALOON MEN
THE ONLY OPPONENTS
Nearly Six Hundred Signatures OBJ
talned, New Registration Having
Added Almost One Hundred
to List of Voters

SAN PEDRO, Nov. 15.-The people
of San Pedro are anXiously awaiting
the action of the board of city trustees
next Tuesday, when the big petition
will be presented asking for an cleo
ton to determine if the city of San
Pedro shall exclude from its boundar-
les that portion of its territory lying
north of the south line of Fifth street.
The proposed dividing of the city is
recognized by all parties interested as
being sbut a move toward bringing the
whole city into the city of Los An
in this state allowing a city of the
class of San Pedro to consolidate in
any manner with another city.
The local committee on consolidation
has worked hard toward educating the
people here on the advantages to pc
gained should the city. unite with the
larger metropolis, and to this end three
circulars have been issued. the last
one reaching the voters today.
From the start the committee mas
met with marked success and the pc
titions were readily signed as soon as
presented. The main difficulty was to
reach the voter, but with patient et-
fort practically every voter in the city
was finally approached, and as a re-
suit nearly 600 signatures have been
secured. A number of voters of the
city failed to register this year and
thus lost their vote for president.
Among these unfortunates are many
prominent citizens and large property
holders. That all may have chance
to vote on this, the most important
question that ever has been presented
to the people of San Pedro, the local
committee secured the appointment or
another registration clerk, and during
the past ten days nearly hundred
voters have been added to the great
register.
Care has been taken to have the
petitions correct in every particular,
the names as secured being checked
on the register. but inadvertently
some names went on the petition from
property owners who were not citl-
Zens, and these names have been re-
moved. When presented Tuesday the
petition will he a clean and bona fide
expression of the opinion of the hun
dreds of signers and will represent the
sentiment of all classes-the merchant,
the banker, the doctor, the real estate
man, the laborer, the big property
holder and the man who works by the
day-all uniting in asking the trustees
to call an election, ostensibly to dis
rupt a united city. but actually as a
means to secure the influence and help
of a big city of 100000 people, thus
making San Pedro harbor, in fact and
name a free harbor and one of the
great commercial ports of the world.
The committee has met with no
more opposition than had been ex-
pected. as it has all along been known
that the railroad and saloon interests
were against any union with Los An
geles. The free voters and property
holders are in favor of the proposition
to a man. It is conceded that the
trustees may, in their desire to keep
their power, from which there is no
redress by the people at large, neglect
to call the election, even though two
thirds of the voters Of the city ask
them to. The committee, however, Is
confident that they will be willing to
let the people decide the matter. es-
pecially as the law on the subject is
very clear. it being mandatory on them
10 call the election when the proper
petition is presented.