Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-11
COURT BARS
CITYS PLAN
PASADENA WATER PROBLEM YET
UNSOLVED
ossni+e MAYORS Optimism, Legal OBJ
stacIes to Municipal Plant Are
Now More Difficult Than
Before

c,,4rorv 10 the announcement of
Nfavor Thomas Farley at the banquet
beId at the Raymond hotel, Pasadena, a
fevy evenings ago, the legal obstacles con-
fronting that city in the requirement OF
the east and west side water properties
have not been cleared away. On the con-
trarv they have been made more diff
dcult of surmounting by a decision of the
supreme court, made pubic IN part oy
The mayor.
Tbe court holds that the city of South
Pasadena had no right to enjoin the city
of Pasadena from purchasing the plant.
THAT had been foregone conclusion, as
The city of Pasadena has no contract of
sale with the water companies, and there
fore the contention of the late Judge
Fitzgerald was correct that there was
mo ground for action.
ON the other side, it is reported that
Tho court has held that the plaintiffs
have a legal right to a part of the water
that must be recognized by Pasadena,
and in the event of Pasadena acquiring
The plants the municipality would be in
the position of a trustee of the property
and would not have even the privilege of
fixing the rates, as that power is vested
by the state law in the trustees of the
city of South Pasadena
Could Not Lay Pipes
The municipality of Pasadena would
not have the right even to lay pipes in
the streets of South Pasadena without the
permission of the authorities of that city,
as the state law only allows that privi-
lege to private corporation.
As the city of Pasadena has only the
right to furnish it's excess water, accord
ing to the charter, to parties along or
adjacent to pipe lines used for supplying
Pasadena with water, the city could not
under it's charter supply any other par
ties, and. that would mean that the ma
iority of the population of South Pasa-
oena could not be legally supplied with
water under the city charter. Yet the
city of Pasadena would be bound by the
decision of the supreme court to allow
South Pasadena to have it's share of the
water supply.
The effect of this would be that Pasa-
dena would have to allow the city OF
South Pasadena to use the water mains
in Pasadena thai connect with the other
city and yet could not operate the system
in South Pasadena nor charge for the
use of the mains.
Prophecy Is Realized
The contention of The Herald in its
recent series of articles about the water
problem has been fully sustained by the
decision of the supreme court, and Pasa-
ership than it was when Mayor Farley
took his oath of office.
AS the bonds were voted to buy all of
the property used in supplying the
greater part of Pasadena with water, and
as the supreme court has held that part
of the water must be sent to South Pasa-
dena. the mayor having admitted that
the unconverted stock of the water COM
panies as they were originally formed
embraces an equity title in the plants,
there seems to be no solution to the
problem at present.
As the companies could not transfer
shares of property they had no control of.
so the city could not buy properties of
the companies as the vote of the people
demands
If Mayor Farley really wants the peo-
pie of Pasadena to have municipal water
at the lowest possible price he certainly
win have to take different methods to OBJ
tain it.
In the face of the opinion OF Dillon and
Hubbard of New York and Judge Works
of Los Angeles and the supreme court of
California, it seems a bit surprising to
hear Mayor Farley say that the legal OBJ
stacles have been removed.