Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-27
COUNCIL UNABLE
TO GET QUORUM
AoUEDUCT BOARD DESIRES TO
CHANGE RIGHTS OF WAY
MAPS OF ALTERATIONS MUST BE
APPROVED
Monopoly Is Given Contractor Des-
nond on Meals to Employees, Who
Must Pay Whether They
Eat or Not

The absence from the city of Coun-
cilmen Wallace and Lyon has caused a
serious complication in the citys af-
fairs regarding some of the rights Of
way for the aqueduct.
City Attorney Hewitt has been trying
for the last three days to get a special
meeting of the council, but because
there are only five members Of that
body in the city, and six are needed
to constitute a quorum, the city clerk
has not been able to get the necessary
service.
Councilmen Blanchard and Pease are
out of the city on formal leave Of ab-
sence but neither Wallace nor Lyon
has such leave, and their absence is
worrying the city attorney. Another
special meeting has been called for IL
o'clock Monday morning, ana that is
the last possible time the meeting can
be held to be effective.
The aaueduct department desires to
make some changes in the rights of
way, and under the law maps must be
filed with the county recorder of lnyo
county June 20. 1t is necessary that
these maps be formally approved by the
council before they are filed, and If
the council meets Monday morning and
ride by auto all day and night Monday
to get them to independence in time.
A meeting was called Thursday,
Friday and yesterday, but service
could not be secured on enough men,
pers. Yesterday Dromgold, Wren,
Healy, Yonkin and Clampitt We're at
the city hall, but could do nothing
without one other member.
Desmond Given Monopoly
The last order of the board of pub
lie works giving d. J. Desmond
monopoly on the food supplied the
employees on the aqueduct and COM
pelling these employees to pay the full
price of three meals a day whether they
eat one or all three, has caused an
even greater stir at some of the aque-
duct camps than did the inferior food
furnished at some Of Desmond's mess
tents.
Complaints against this order are
coming in, not only from the mass OF
the laboring men employed on the city's
construction work, but from the en-
gineers in charge of the worlImen.
Letters of complaint from the en-
gineers state thAt when the food fur
nished by Desmond became uneatable
they built their own camp fires and did
their own cooking, But under the last
OfueT, even IHOuSA llAGg dp Ill AAA9AA
their own meals, they must pay the
contractor seventy-five cents day.
Many of them are at the point Of mu-
tiny against this alleged injustice.
The reason given by the board OF
public works for issuing this order Is
that it was represented to that body
that some of the men would go to
breakfast and take enough food from
the table in their pockets TO make
meal for the middle of the day In this
way, it was stated, some of the EN-
ployes were getting two meals for the
price of one.
Those who are in a position to know
call this absurd. They say that only |
few of the articles Of food furnished (
could be carried out of the mess tents
in pockets, and If these pockets bulged |
too much they would be instantly |
spotted by Desmond's employees.
How is a man to carry beans and
potatoes in milk gravy in his pockets?'
derisively asked one aqueduct engineer
yesterday, who is in Los Angeles to
get a square meal. "Such an excuse
for such an injustice is an insult to
the intelligence of the Los Angeles |
property owners, who are paying their |
money for the aqueduct."
An effort will be made to have this
order recinded but the board stiil
stands pat" on the matter