The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-07-04


way backed by all the other EDWARD
influences have described 't------------
Senator Savage said the other day that he did
not care what the Los Angeles papers said, because
they had all lied about him, whereon somebody
worse grievance if the papers had told the truth
about him. But in rough and tumble political
Bill Savage is two listed fighter
He is now battling for his political life, thinks
he is The fight that he put, UP single handed
against the consolidation propositions last winter
in the legislature is still familiar memory Neither
San Pedro nor Wilmington can be annexed with
out the consent of their own voters. An outside
view of the situation is given by neighbor, the
Ventura Free Press. in this wise
Los Angeles is making most enthusiastic cam
paign consolidate San Pedro and Wilmington
with herself. The seaside cities, being smaller make
less noise about it-and to display consider
ably less of enthusiasm. The fact of the
matter to be that the Bannngs, who all
there is to the town of Wilmington are against the
movement-and the Southern Pacific, which owns
San Pedro in the way, is likewise in the oppo-
sition Also, the saloons of San Pedro do favor
consolidation The Saloons in water front town,
always element of power. Those of San
Pedro, all owned by concern, it is said have
all the liquor licenses that be granted Under
the law and it makes little pocket for them that
yields rich They fear, in the event that
consolidation carries, either temperance from
the cty-or of applications for additional
licenses under city law Of course if Los Angeles
is extended to the the laws OF Los Angeles go
with the extension And that will end the liquor
monopoly
The San Pedro News, being right on the firing
line, takes the Bill Savage view OF consolidation
with such reasons as these:
Now, in the hour of financial darkness that
which will act as a magnet to draw money is
BOOM of such proportions that the whole world
will sit up and take notice The obbers and whole
salers who the first to suffer from dull times
the who engineering the upbuild
ing of boom, which, while accelerating trade, will
maintain them in the trade and traffic cinch which
the railroads have held for them in Los Angeles
slice 1881. Having worked out climate, the Santa
Fe, oil, and Huntington trolley road building there
IS nothing left but San Pedro harbor, "the gateway
the Orient the outlet for the Panama canal
etc, ad lib.
AS President Newmark of the Jobbers' associa-
ton truthfully remarked, "Wl1at is the
harbor," but he only told half the truth What the
jobbers want is continuation of the trade and
traffic cnch which the Southern Pacific railroad
granted them by gift, in 1881, and secured to them
by merger with the Santa Fe and later the Salt
Lake roads What do these commercial sharks
and the whole people of Los Angeles, what
provided a boom is created for Los Angeles city
and trade and traffic cnch perpetuated for the
Los Angeles jobbers and wholesalers Mark this
fact, San Pedro tax payers If San Pedro is granted
terminal rating privileges, Los Angeles will be
denied the same by the interstate commerce com
mission railroads, and the Los Angeles obbers
will lose their hold the throat of commerce in
Southern California, and all the territory from New
Mexico to Reno, Nevada.
| am not inclined to attach much importance
to argument of this sort The objections are made
up of the sort Of reasons that a man pushes tc
the front when he IS ashamed of his real motives
In the same line of argument the News discourses
the increase of taxation that San Pedro NAV
expect to incur if consolidation is accomplished
1t is argued that the present tax rate of 90 cents
would be raised to S121 Figures OF that sort arc
easy and come trippingly off the pen We have
had them pentifuly dinned in our ears in Sar
Francisco and we know how misleading they are
and how easily manufactured
There was another difficulty that for a while
threatened to disturb the course Of consolidation
Los Angeles wants to annex both San. Pedro and
Wilmington, which, although they arc adjoining
towns, have distinct harbors connected by canal