Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-09
CITY PREPARED
TO KEEP FAITH
CHARGE OF HARB0R ENEMIES
IS REFUTED
NO STAIN ON CREDIT OF LOS
ANGELES BARS THE WAY
Millions to BE Expended If Consolida-
tion Is Effected Will Show
Future Profit to
Citizens

with an unblemished credit, Los
Angeles is able and willing to spend
SIC, ,0O0, 900. il necessary, on the improve
ment of San Tsdro and Wilmington
harbors after consolidation is effected"
This is the keynote sounded by Sec
retary A. P. Fleming of the consolida-
ton committee at the meeting at Ter
minal island Wednesday n'Cht.
"Will Los Angeles make good if con-
solidation is effected?" has been the
great question. Enemies of consolida-
ton, especially at San Pedro and
Wilmington, have circulated reports
to the effect that the city of
Los Angeles cannot and will not
vote bonds for the improvement
outlined in the report of the Los An
geles consolidation committee, Endorsed
and ratified by the city council, the
civic bodies of Los Angeles, the con-
solidation committees of San Pedro and
the press of the three cities.
In answer to this, Mr.. Fleming has
this to say:
City's Credit Untarnished
"a mans credit is judged by his past
record" said Mr.. Fleming. If he mas
made a good record for prompt settle
ment of his obligations In the past he
has the confidence and respect of the
community and his credit is good with
his banker. Judge a city by its record.
HAS Los Angeles made good in the
past? Look at her record today. DID
she and her chamber of commerce
make good when Coils P. Huntington
tried to make Santa Monica the port of
Southern California and the city and
civic body pledged their support to San
Pedro harbor?
did Los Angeles make good when
she was fighting at Sacramento for
silver plate? She is fighting to recover
for your use the valuable tidelands,
worth millions of dollars, and in two
and a half years she will return them
to you.
Judge Los Angeles by results. She
trusts you and you can trust her. Con-
solidate, and we will give the world an
object lesson In building one of the
greatest harbors on earth"
Praise from Engineer
That the proposed improvements tU
the San Pedro and Wilmington harbors
is attracting the attention Of the world
is shown in a report and recommended
tions covering. the legal status and
physical features of the Oakland wa
ter front recently made by ]. T. Flynn,
vice president of the American Engi-
neering and Construction company, and
which has just been received by the
Los Angeles consolidation committee
Los Angeles Leads the Way" is the
caption of a portion of the report re-
ferring to this city. Mr.. Flynn says:
1.-THE one city on the Pacific coast
outside of San Francisco which seems
to have fully realized the commercial
Importance of the Panama canal and
the necessity of making timely prepa-
ration therefor Is Los Angeles. The
southern metropolis, which has not
heretofore made any special claim to
maritime greatness by reason of it's
inland location, now proposes to take In
San Pedro and Wilmington, on the
coast twenty miles distant, under con-
solidation and expend $4,000. 900 in the
construction of modern docks, ware
houses, terminals and belt line rail-
roads, the entire system to be operated
by the city.
Investment Will Pay
This is an ambitious undertaking,
but 1t will pay, and pay handsomely,
not only through it's direct earnings.
but through the outside capital it will
attract in the construction of electric
and other railway feeders to the inte-
rior. With such a modern dock sys-
tenn and the lower tolls that will pre-
vail, together with the fact that it cuts
off 300 miles each way on the Panama
run. will not only attract capital in
the construction of electric and other
feeders to the interior as far as Ne
vada, Arizona and even Utah, but it
will make several of the great trans
continental railroads now working
west in search of terminals sit up ana
take notice.
1.-THE people of Los Angeles, more
than that of any port on the coast,
seem to appreciate what the federal
government has done for them in the
construction of a $5,000,000 breakwater
at San Pedro, and they now propose to
help make a success of the nation s
great $300,000,0O0 canal enterprise by
cheap and ample dockage
for the hundreds of ships that will
employ that interoceanic highway.
"That kind of spirit would make a
great city on the desert of Sahara. Los
Angeles has not grown by chance, but