Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-05-14
ANGER STIRS UP
BOYLE HEIGHTS
JUNGLE BILLY" WORKMAN IN
IRATE ASSEMBLY
MASS MEETING DENoUNcEs BIG
ASSESSMENT
Plan to Give Park to City Does Not
Meet Approval of the Property
Holders and Hot Words
Are INDUCED In

The property holders of Boyle
Heights. along the Fourth street dis
trict, arose in their might last night
and protested Vehemently against an
assessment levied upon resident ana
property holders along Fourth street
to pay $14S,O00 for widening and open
ing a street from Fourth to Third
streets. at a junction at Alhambra and
Third streets.
Nestor A Young former speaker or
the California assembly. presided at
the meeting held in the hall OF the
Catholic school at the corner of Third
and Breed streets. About 500 people
attended the meeting, which proved
to be one of the stormiest ever held
In that district.
During the course of the arguments
it was said that the ordinance being
protested was passed by the board of
public works four years ago, and was
not published in any way.
"Uncle Billy" Workman, former city
treasurer, was the first person to take
the floor. He said:
81 am astonished at the nearsight-
edness of these people. They don't see
that this improvement will increase
their property nearly $1,000,000.
worked four years to get this thing
up. Now you people want to kill the
movement. The people in this district
need to be saved from themselves
They only see today, and cannot look
| far enough ahead to see the great bene-
| fit they will derive from it,"
| Howls and stamping of feet by the
audience prevented him from saying
any more.
Mr.. Hannas took the floor. He said
at has been well understood thai
we were to have opposition to our pro
test. We are Boyle Heights people anc
| live here, not on the west side of The
city. Talk is talk, and talk is cheap
and we cannot have any Southern Pa
cific men or any rich men come ovel
here and defeat us.
Would Be Hard on Poor
1--WE are all poor men; lots of us arr
paying for our homes on the install
ment plan. The passing of this ordi
nance would cause some of us to los'
all the property we now own. Tit
| thing for us to do is to put our shout
ders together and defeat this unjus
ordinance, and we are goi to do it.
| His statement was received will
| cheering by the assembled.
| Mr.. Penthouse, an aged German, thei
| smoke. He said: "When / first hearC
| of this outrageous assessment it seemed
| to me unholy. If we were all million
aires we should not pay cent TOWARD
| 1t, because it is not fair that we prop
erty holders on Fourth street SHOULD
pay for something which is not goint
| to do us a bit of good"
The chairman called a recess of fiv
minutes to allow committee to repor
upon Investigations they had beef
making and to allow property holder
to sign a petition which they had go
up.
During the recess a crowd gathere'
around Mr.. Workman and assailed hin
with all sorts of questions as to hov
the Fourth street property owners wer
to benefit by the passing of the assess
ment. Many of his assailants wer
anxious that Mr.. Workman know tina
they were not able to give parks t.
the city or allow streets railways ;
right of way as he had done.
When the meeting resumed, Olive
O. Clark, member of the firm of Collie
&, Clark, who are the attorneys for tn
onposition to the ordinance, took tn
floor. Mr. Clark said:
ut is too late to consider any matte
regarding the unfairness of the assess
ment. That should have been don
within the thirty days after the pass