Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-09
CIRCULAR ISSUED CONTAINS
STRONG APPEAL
NECESSITY OF ALLIANCE WITH
GREAT CENTER EMPHASIZED
Corporations Accused of Trying to
Influence Result by Misrepresenta-
tions as to Burdens That
viii Be Assumed
rsnecial to The Herald

greater metropolis anu " AhAS SAAN AAe'9
issued another circular on the subject
which is entitled Grave and Impor-
tant Issues" Every voter in the city
is today furnished with copy Of the
circular and many have expressed
themselves as being convinced, as
never before, that the future OF the
great harbor is now in the hands OF
the voters of this city. They teel tnat
any wrong step at this time may for
ever block the improvement that ought
to come to this, the "Harbor OF the
Great Southwest"
The circular issued today handles
the subject in logical way and starts
out with an appeal to the reason or
the voter:
you are now confronted with one
of the gravest and most important is
sues that you have ever been called
upon to consider. That issue is Whetp-
er you will continue as you nave IN
the past to be merely place Where
lumber and a limited amount of freight
is transferred from vessel to car or
from car to vessel, as the case may De,
or whether you will take your place
alongside of the principal ports OF the
world as a wholesale and manufactur-
ing center, supporting population OF
hundreds of thousands of people.
ITO become such a manufacturing
and wholesale CeilAGI IL 10 llCSS0SeNA5 ~
do more than has BEEN done in the
past. A few thousand people in San
Pedro cannot do much toward making
this a great commercial port. A feW
hundred thousand people of Los An
geles county, all working in harmony,
can do a great deal 1t is up to you
to say whether you will seek such CO.
oneration or not. 1t is this end that
the consolidation committee has IN
view.
Property is usually valuable from
the point Of view taken by the pros
pectfye investor. If the man with
money to invest is looking around 1t
would seem that he would be more
likely to drop some of it here If he
knew that the government, civic pride
and enterprise of Americas most mod
ern city were behind it, than if he
merely knew that a few people, more
or less under the domination of the
powerful corporations, were struggling
for an existence. If he knew that the
wharves were in fair way 10 come
under municipal ownership and con-
troll. where all transcontinental lines
might approach on equal terms with all
others. he would see that this may,
and probably will, in the not distant
future become the great distributing
point of the interior, which is now so
productive and which has, as matter
velop"
Fries Address Quoted
Reference is made to the able ad-
dress of Capt. A. A. Fries to the Friday
Morning club in Los Angeles on No
vember 6, at which time the speaker
charged the Southern Pacific and its
allied corporations with using every
scheme known to lawyers and poliu-
clans in an endeaYor to control the
entire harbor, even going so far as TO
want the government military reserYa-
tion because it has 1400 feet of water
frontage.
The statements of the government
engineer. who is an authority on all
harbor matters, are quoted at length,
including his statements showing the
relative cost of transportation of mer-
chandise for a merchant in Yuma who
ships by way of San Francisco as COM
pared to shipping by way of San Pedro.
For" said the captain, IF he wants
to ship goods by water from Panama
or Mexico and send them to Arizona
beyond Yuma it will cost him 81 per
ton more to ship by way of San Pedro
than If he shipped them through San
Francisco and back by the Southern
Pacific railroad-and those 450 miles
are a2little hilly in spots
Captain Fries called attention to the
discrimination of 50 per ton against
San Pedro as compared with San
Diego, san Francisco, Portland and
Seattle thereby discouraging the
Southern California dealer because he
cannot compete with other localities.
The remedy, as outlined by Captain
Fries, is, first "to extend Los Angeles
to the water front by annexation or
T consolidation with San Pedro, Will
mington or Long Beach, or with all of
them, and by the erection and MAIN
tenance of municipal wharves."
The circular speaks of Captain Fries
as urging agitation for a law per-
mitting consolidation of towns and
y cities regardless of what charter they
= NAV have, but goes on to say that,
Il with the Southern Pacific in control
(. of the legislature and the boasts made
= by some members of the legislature
that they can and will block the pas
sage of every bill of that nature that
may be introduced, it is certain that
no action will be taken to give San
Pedro relief.
Corporations Accused
There is only one course to follow
therefore, and that is to support the
present move being made to release a
portion of the city from the jurisdic-
tion of San Pedro, so that it may con-
solidate with Los Angeles and leave
the rest free to consolidate later on
tions with trying to influence the voter
by having its minions give out thE
talk that the remaining portion win b'
held for all the bonded indebtedness o.
the whole city, and says that this car
be refuted by reference to the law
which distinctly states that he ex
cluded territory must pay its proportion
of all the indebtedness Of the city prio
to exclusion.
The claim that San Pedro will hav,
TO nav a portion of the debt of Lo
Angeles for the owens river waite
systenn is also denied and charged t
the same source as the other misstate
1nent of fact.
The further advantages to be gainer
bv consolidation with Los Angeles ar
enumerated in the circular and includ
her terminal rates which San Pedr'
could never obtain, and a lower gas
water, Insurance and tax rate.
The appeal to the voter closes witt
this paragraph: IF you think this i
worth while, get out and work ant
talk. for consolidation. We do no
nned to wait and take chances on tn
california legislature. We can do al
that is necessary with the laws W
have now, and all for the normal ex
nense OF holding two or three cleo
lions. Citizens Of San Pedro, Il Is ul
II You. 1t Is your move Move straigh
ahead and you win not regret it. l