Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-14
ENGINEERS
TO ATTEND
HEARING
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AR
RIVE SAFELY
tiARBoR MEETING TO BE HELD
TODAY
Local Business Men VIII Accompany
Inspectors on Trip to San Pedro,
Where Improvements VIII
Be Discussed

Col. S. S. Leach of the United States
engineer corps arrived in Los Angeles last
night, and together with Col w. D.
Lockwood. also of Washington, d. C.,
and a member of the same branch of the
service, will go to San Pedro by special
car this morning.
They will attend the hearing on the
proposed changes in the San Pedro har-
Dor They will be accompanied by repre-
sentative citizens from Los Angeles, Long
Beach, San Pedro, Wilmington and other
nearby towns. A. II. Weber, also of the
national board of engineers for rivers and
harbors. is accompanying Coils. Lockwood
and Leach on their trip.
Capt. Amos A. Fries, the government
engineer in charge of the work on the
Pacific coast, is the official host to Col.
Lockwood, Mr.. Weber and Col. Leach.
Yesterday morning, in Capt Fries office
in the Citizens National Bank building,
Col. Lockwood and Capt. Weber, to-
gether with President G. H Stewart of
the chamber of commerce, talked over the
situation as thoroughly as they could
with the information at hand.
Leave Tonight
The engineers will leave this city to-
night for Monterey, where they will be
given a banquet Wednesday night Fri.
day they will hear representatives from
Eureka, and attend a public meeting at
San Francisco. Their trip further in
cludes a visit to Stockton and Benicia
while next Monday they will go to Sacra-
mento
Today's program is a busy one for the
distinguished official visitors. Shortly be-
fore a. m. they will meet the party
which is to accompany them from Los
Angeles to San Pedro, including the fol-
10 rfner dale Al 7
chamber of commerce: Vim. ID. Stephens,
George II. Stewart, w. c. Mendenhall, w.
]. Washburn, Willis II. Booth, j. ".
Vickers, s. A Butler, A. W. Skinner,
Homer Hamlin and Charles G. Green
Mayor Harper, members of the city coun-
ell, presidents Of the Merchants and Man
ufacturers' association, the Municipal
league and officials of the railroads and
electric lines centering in Los Angeles
will also meet the engineers there. By
special electric car the party will leave
the Sixth and Main streets depot at a.
m. for San Pedro.
ride through the lagoon to San Pedro
from Long Beach In launches will enliven
the trip. The engineers will inspect the
outer and inner harbors and finally the
breakwater returning to the South Coast
yacht club for luncheon, after which the
hearing will take place in the old city
hall, San Pedro, beginning at lis p. m.
Lively Contest Expected
No cut and dried affair." full of dull
routine, but a real lively contest between
warning interests is expected, as a great
deal is at stake and the city of Los An
geles is vitality interested as to whether
this harbor is to become one capable of
receiving fleets of the world, and thus
enable this city to receive her share of
the great trade brought to this coast
throughout the completion of the Panama
canal.
Owing to the short time at their dis
posal the engineers may receive only the
written data offered and not accept any
oral representations whatever. 1t is ex-
pected a good deal of opposition to the
changes desired by many locally in
terested will be made by the railroad in
terests. Two topics for discussion will
certainly come up today-deepening the
channel to thirty feet and extending the
shore end of the breakwater to the land
Opposition Expected
Some of the strongest opposition to the
proposed improvements is expected to
come from the railroads
This matter, although already reported
on, will be touched upon today, 1t is be-
lieved The most costly of all the pro-
posed improvements is the deepening of
the harbor to thirty feet and the extension
Of this depth from Dead Mans island at
the entrance to the point where the outer
harbor slants to twenty-three feet from
depth of five. The closing of the gap
separating the breakwater from shore
and the extension of the inner harbor
from the point above the present turning
basin into Wilmington harbor is another
change which it is thought the railroads
will oppose.
Although 1t will take an outlay of $780,
900 to deepen the harbor to thirty feet
the extending of the inner -harbor into
the lagoon from the turning basin will
cost many thousands in addition.