Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-22

tereSt of the Rockefellers and the
Harrimans.
But why do they want these fran
chises now in such rush? Why?
Because they know you are going
to consolidate with Los Angeles,
and that the charter of Los An
geles protects the people. They
know that charter makes it abso-
lutely impossible to give away any
water front except by a vote of
two-thirds of all the people.
Should Grant No Franchises
There should be no franchises for
wharves or anything else granted
at this time on the Mormon island
peninsula, because it is against
public intrest. The day has come
when the public must have a
chance. Wharf franchises for 20
years would keep the public 'front.'
age from being developed along
Mormon island until 1880, unless the
public condemned the franchises.
And what do you suppose the ap-
plicants would want the public to
pay for franchises they might get
for practically nothing? According
to my experience they would want
at least a million dollars.
But bad as are the applications
for wharf franchises, those for 80
year railroad franchises are a hun
dred times worse. Did you ever stop
to think what fifty years means?
A 50-year franchise is to all in
tents and purposes an absolute title.
Go into Los Angeles and you can
find what fifty years means.
You all know the Hamburger de-
partment store, but few of you
know that the northwest corner,
built of all enduring concrete, is on
leased land, to which the Hambur-
gers have only a 50-year lease and
for which they pay several thous-
and dollars year.
When I consider these things I
am forced to conclude that the 30
year franchise law is one of the
most vicious on our statute books
today.
Look back fifty years and what
do we see? Not a single transcon-
tinentak railway; no street cars ex-
cept perhaps a few horse cars; no
electric lights; no electric machin-
cry of any kind; the telegraph had
been invented but a few years;
there were no monographs, no au-
tomobiles; they had barely discov-
cred that ships could be built of
iron. The Civil war had not yet
broken out, and this country had a
population of only about 10000, ,000
Most of California was unknown
to any but the Indian; Los Angeles
a little village and San Francisco
itself only a small city.
City Will Advance
Then think fifty years hence.
Consider the average age of busi-
ness men today as 40. In fifty years
they will all be dead. Most of their
children will be dead. Their grand
children will be the average busi-
ness men and their great-grand-
children will be starting for high
school.
Los Angeles has pledged herself
to spend $10,000,000 on the harbor
in ten years. VIII she keep that
promise?
OF course she will. Not only that
but l venture to say that before
that $4,000, 900 is invested she will
be planning to spend $15,000,000
more. Why do I think SO? Be
cause that is history-the history
of every harbor where public i'm
provements have once begun.
Antwerp in Belgium has spent
$45 100000 and is starting to spend
$4,000, 900 more. The whole of Bel
gium is only two and one-half times
as large as Los Angeles county,
and Antwerp is only one of several
harbors where large improvements
are being made by the public. 9th
er harbors in Belgium are Client,
Ostend and Bruges, to say nothing
of miles and miles of canals.
Hamburg, in Germany, has spent
S100, 900 900; Manchester, England,
$S5, 900 900; Glasgow, Scotland. $44.-
100000; Bristol, England, $25, 200, 900;
Rotterdam, Holland, 500, 900, 900;
New York city, over $50, 0,OOO,00O
But where is Los Angeles going
to spend this money? Where do
you want it spent? Where it will
do you the most good or where it
will do you the least good? Look
at this map. The Mormon island
peninsula is closer to Fifth and
Sixth streets of your business CEN
ter than any portion of the inner
harbor not yet improved except the
south edge of the west basin. 1t
is the easiest and quickest to be
lIhpIONGu.
Turning Basin Dredged
The government has dredged the
turning basin to twenty-five feet to
within 300 or 400 feet of it. 1t has
a 750-foot channel on the south
east, a 50O-foot channel on the east,
a 600-foot channel on the west, all
of which can be quickly and easily
dredged.
There is where you want some of
that money spent. You have no
good place in the outer harbor to
spend money except the 146-acre
piece, and when that is improved
you don't want all public harbor
improvements in the inner harbor
at the farthest points from you.
Besides, as 1 said before. this is
the heart of the inner harbor-the