Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-12
FINE TRIBUTE PAID TO SEN
AT0R STEPHEN M. WHITE
HIGH HOPES FOR FUTURE ARE
CHARACTERISTIC OF CITY
Speaker Declares That There Is to
Be No Railing at Railroads, but
Battle for Fair
Tariffs


Scott, president of the board Of educa-
tion, reviewed several of the, gigantic
problems which southern California
now has in hand, voiced the deter
mination of the leaders of the new en-
terprises to carry them out with
checks upon corporate power work.
ing for public as well as private inter-
ests, with ample returns for both,
concluding with a pledge of support
and respect from the men OF the
Southland to the nations head.
"The history for the fight for free
harbor at San Pedro has brought out
some of the most unselfish deVotlon
to the public welfare that has marked
the history of the community" ne
said, in speaking of the San Pedro
harbor.
I'VE are not here to rail at rail-
roads and corporations, and to SUR
up the feelings of the multitude py
batting the corporate interests; nelthef
is this community upset by soclal ulS-
order, for it has been free very largely
from the acute battle lines which else
where mark the course of capital and
labor; vet the people have been alive
to the dangers of corporate DONNA
ton where it conflicted with pubic
interests. and where the gage of bat
tie has been flung down, and in that
regard it has been fearlessly answered
by an enlightened public opinion
Harbor Enterprise Outlined
Clearly and succinctly Mr. Scott out
lined the harbor enterprise, give
concise resume of the more important
features of the problem, commencing
those who took an active part in car
rying it to a successful issue Lieu
tenant Leeds and Captain Amos A.
Fries were lauded as having given the
highest measure of efficiency and ser
vice to the harbor work. His address
in full was as follows:
The citizens of this community, in
accord with past history, have
risen to greet the president of the
United States as the chief eXecu-
tive of this nation, irrespective of
party affiliations, and in accord
ance with this same spirit I am
charged with the duty of avoiding
the discussion of anything OF
merely partisan nature and to pre-
sent for the consideration of this
Assemblage and to its most distin-
yuished guest the significance of the
recent history of this city, which
has transformed the inland city of
Los Angeles into a port with fu-
ture of national greatness. And
this question is not only a matter
of deep significance to the citizens
of the old pueblo, but is likewise
fraught with the utmost conse-
uuence to the entire southwest and
incidentally to the commerce of the
nation.
But while this is largely a COM
mercial question, yet the history
of the fight for a free harbor at
San Pedro has brought out some of
the most unselfish devotion to the
public welfare that has marked the
history of any community.
Not Railing at Capital
We are not here to rail at rail-
roads and corporations and to stir
up the feelings of the multitude by
batting the corporate interests;
neither is this community upset by
social disorder, for it has been free
very largely from the acute battle
lines which elsewhere mark the
course of capital and labor; yet the
people have been alive to the dan
gers of corporate domination where
If conhicted with public interests;
and where the gage of battle has
been flung down in that regard, it
has been fearlessly answered by an
enlightened public opinion.
If is hardly a decade ago when,
after a series of struggles through
state and national politics. the
project of forming harbor at San
ia Monica was graVely submitted
for the approval of the war depart
ment and congress. Expert engi-
neers in support of railroad cor
poration presented their views be-
fore the senate committee, as did
likewise a corps of engineers from
the United States army. Emphasis
was laid by the trained servants of
The war department upon the har-
bor facilities at San Pedro, which
for many physical and economic
reasons was the logical place for
the building up of port of COM
merce; and be it said that, through
out all the strife for the establish
Of harhOr for the
pie of San Pedro, this community
stands eVerlastingly indebted to
the United States engineers office
for it's magnificent display of intel
ligence, judgment and courage in
thwarting the efforts of interests
hostile to the people which tried
to fasten the establishment of
harbor at Santa Monica.
Long Wharf Monument
Today our distinguished guest has
been conducted through the port of
San Pedro. The technical and other
questions involved in the establish
"a rnent of that harbor have been pre-
y sented to him in the minutest de-
tail, and it would be idle for me to
supplement here any additional
points to disturb the excellent i'm
preston which I am sure has been
created upon his mind by the pre-
sentation of the case already; but
it may be we'll for him as he goes
back across this mighty continent
to remember that $1,O00,000 was
planted in lumber in Santa Monica
bay in what is now known as the
long wharf, and yet so clear and
far-sighted was the judgment of
the United States corps of engi-
neers that today there is no one
to suggest that you do reverence
to it by taking even glimpse of
what will hereafter be but mere
pleasure wharf.
From the day when the first COM
mission of United States army en-
gineers visited this harbor until the
present 1ay this community has
been extremely fortunate in the
treatment meted out to it by this
important branch of the war de-
partment; and the excellent official
today, Lieut.. Leeds, is the successor
of a man whose name is a house,
hold word in this section, and what
ever be his future career he has
stamped already the impress upon
his fellow citizens of fine profess
sional instincts, strong and clear
Judgment and splendid cour-