Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-19
WANT MILLION
FOR PROPERTY
WORTH $5OO,OOO
AFFIDAVITS SHOW WATER
SITUATION
COMPANIES HAVE NO INALIEN-
ABLE RIGHTS
Swear Before County Board Of EquaI-
izatlon That Actual Values Are
About Half Amount
Asked
BYL. GEORGE THOMPSON

a n
w point in Pasadena. Next Thurs
day Pasadena will vote on the
question of municipal ownership of
water and the administration is maxi
ing a hard fight to carry the election
for the issuance of about a million dol
lars for the purchase of the three wa
ter plants in Pasadena.
- strongly organized opposition is
making the fight very warm and the
general opinion expressed is that the
bonds will fail to carry. AS the first
shot from the guns of the opposition a
circular was placed in the mail last
night reviewing the water situation
and giving some affidavits that will
place two of Pasadenas prominent
men in peculiar light.
These men, who are Walter Wotkyns,
realty man and insurance agent, and
W. S. Wright, corporation attorney,
appeared before the county board Of
equalization to have the assessment of
the water companies that they repre-
sented reduced.
Wotkyns' Affidavit
The affidavits of Walter Wotkyns, as
representative of the Pasadena Land
Address of petitioner. AZ West Colorado street.
state OF California, county of Los Angeles,
Walter l.. Wotkyns being duly sworn says:
Iiat he is the applicant in the foregoing appli-
cation, that he has read the same and knows
the contents thereof, and that abe same is true
c. his own knowledge. except as to the mat
terS therein stated information and belief,
and as to thoa' matters he believes it to be
true.
WALTER L. woTKYNs.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18th
d.. yof July. 1906 C. G. KEYES, Clerk.
(SeaD By E. o. Weed, Deputy Clerk.
Notice of hearing is hereby waived.
WALTER L. WOTKYNS.
WATER RIGHTS
Four-fifths of our water is pumped water. and
adjoining property owners have the same right
to pump we have In the summer season
we have no gravity water.
RESERVOIR, ORANGE GROVE AVENUE
This reservoir is over twenty years old and
too small for present use 1t is a double
reservoir and one-half will not hold water and
cannot be used 1t is the intention to rebuild
this in the near future.
] PIPE LINES
Many OF the present pipe lines are old ant
too small for present use and will have to b;
| replaced at once with new and larger mains
METERS
All meters will average six years in use.
They have been assessed at 80 per cent OF
their original COST including cost of setting
and cost of wooden meter boxes
TUNNELS AND SHAFTS AT CORRAL
SPRINGS
The lowering of the water plane has left
one-half of these tunnels dry and of no value.
FRANCHISE
Deducting the value of our capital stock
($75, 000) and the value of our bonds S32O0O)
from our assessed tangible assets leaves a
minus quantity of $6S,S10.
1, c. G.. I1ey~1, county clerk and ex-officio
clerk of the board of supervisors OF said
county, do hereby certify the foregoing to be
Land and Water companys complaint filed
with the board of equalization of Los Angeles
county on July H. 1905. on file In my office.
and that 1 have carefully compared the same
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my
hand and affixed the seal Of the board Of su-
pervisors this 18th day Of September. lSOS,
(SeaD C. G. KEYESs County Clerk.
BY L. r. Paxton, Deputy.
No Water Rights
In view of the fact that in the ap-
praisement of the value of the prop
erty of the company by the board or
appraisement a considerable amount
was allowed for the value of the water
rights of the company it seems strange
to learn that the company has prac-
tically no water rights that are In
alienable.
It is also pointed out that as the
adjoining property is as valuable, ac-
cording to the statement of Mr.. Wot-
kyns, as that of the company 1t might
De Wise IOT Tie City W Ouy dNJOihAi'e9
property at q less price than Is asked
of the. city by the water company.
1t has been the contention of the
opposition for some time that many
of the pipe lines of the water COM
panies are old and unfit for use and
would have to be replaced very soon
after the city acquired the property.
and 1t would seem that they were right,
as such a statement is made under
/ h
It has also been claimed that the
water from which the companies OBJ
tanned a considerable percentage of
the water used in Pasadena was taken
from an underground lake which has
been lowered by excessive pumping.
Such Is admitted to be true in the af-
fidavit as regards the lowering tho
level of the water.
Less Than Stock Value
It was thought advisable by Mayor
Farley to allow the companies to have
a few thousand dollars more of the
city's money than was originally
agreed upon to pay for the improve
ments that they claimed had been
made.
MIR. Workyns swears that the prop
erty is worth less than the par value
of the stock and bonds. which state
of financial affairs might be taken to
indicate that the property had depre-
ciated rather than increased in value.
M, S. Wright's affidavit is even more
surprising. Mr.. Wright at one time
offered to act as a friend of the court
in a suit about the water question and
give the bench disinterested advice as
to the legal status of the case then
under consideration.
He also advised in an open letter
published in the press, that Pasadena
should buy the plants and fight the
lawsuits that would result afterward.
He now appears on record as the rep-
resentative of the Lake Vineyard Land
and Water company.
He petitions for the reduction of the
assessment of the property of the Lake
Vineyard Land and Water company,
and makes affidavit as follows:
Address of petitioner: ....................
State of California, county Of Los Angeles,
W. s. Wright. attorney for ............ being
duly sworn, says: That he is the applicant In
the foregoing application, that he has read
the same and knows the contents thereof. and
that the same Is true OF his own knowledge.
except as to the matters therein stated on In