Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-11
.lSLAIS iiARBOR
BILL ADOPTED
SAN FRANClSCANS WIN LONG
AND BITTER FIGHT
"A BLOCKS CONDEMNED BY LAST
AMENDMENT
cne Million Dollars Appropriated for
Purchase of Area involved in
Proposed Bay Ex-
tension
Especial to The Herald.l

division Oh the question of the number
of blocks to be condemned for the pur-
pose of constructing land-locked har-
Dor In India basin, San Francisco, the
assembly passed unanimously TINS art
ernoon the JslaiS creek bills introduced
by Senator Richard ]. Welch and
which were passed by the senate sew
eral days ago.
A long debate was precipitated by
John J. McNIanus, chairman OF the
committee on commerce and Navigation,
when he submitted a minority report
favoring the passage of the condemtla-
ton bill with an amendment limiting
the territory to forty-four blocks,
whereas the bill called for sixty three.
The minority of this committee was
supported by a majority of the san
Francisco delegation, but the amend
ment was lost by a vote of 80 to 40.
The bills were passed almost unanl-
mously, the one appropriating $1,OO0G0O
for the purchase of the land by the
state securing the same vote as the
other, of which it was companion bill
Those Opposing Bill
The result was 70 to 6, the negative
votes being cast by Black, Cattell, Col
lier, Feeley, Johnson of San Diego and
Stuckenbruck.
Black changed from aye to no in
order to give notice of reconsideration
of the vote by which the bill was
passed.
The debate was acrimonious, each
side charging that only private in
terests inspired the contentious of the
other. In the course of his remarks
McManus demanded a legislative in
vestigation of the charge that had been
made indirectly that money had Deen
used by the proponents OF the 44-block
proposition.
Most active in the fight on the Welch
bill were lumbermen who own nineteen
blocks of the territory sought to be
condemned, and those who have finan-
cial interests upon the present water
front of San Francisco.
The assembly also passed measure
compelling oil operators to stop the
flow of water in their wells in order to
prevent the flooding of properties
whose strata of oil. are on a lower
level.
A compromise was effected between
Senators E. o. Miller, representing
Kings county, and George w. Cart
wright of Fresno in the controversy
over the boundary line between those
two counties
A bill that passed the assembly last
week cut 1856 square miles from Fresno
and added it to Kings county, and this
measure came up for consideration in
the senate this afternoon.
After a lengthy debate the senate
decided to leave the matter to COM
mittee composed of the two members
most deeply concerned, and they
agreed that the assembly bill should be
amended so that a strip six miles
wide should be eliminated from the
land ceded to Kings county and left
in Fresno.
Assemblyman ]. P. Transue's bill
providing that no saloons should be
established within three miles of any
construction camp was amended in the
lower house by exempting wineries
and licensed breweries and distilleries.
This bill was introduced at the re-
quest of the friends of the Owens river
project, which is designed to furnish
supply of water for Los Angeles.
Transue declared that if the workmen
engaged in building the aqueduct were
allowed to have easy access to liquor
the city would lose about half the time
of the laborers because of the fact
that the intoxicants imbibed by them
after pay day of one week incapaci-
tated them for work the following
week.
Maximum Rate Bill
Several amendments to the Wright
maximum rate bill, offered by Senator
Caminetti, were adopted by the senate.
One empowers the state commission to
cooperate with the interstate COM
merce commission in the investigation
of discrimination.
Another requires the commission to
meet every six months, at each of the
following cities: San Francisco, Los
Angeles, San Diego, Stockton, Sacra-
mento, Oakland, Fresno, San Jose,
Santa Barbara, Redding, Bakersfield,
Marysville and Eureka and in other
cities upon petition of ten shippers IN
each city demanding a sitting.
An amendment objected to by the au-
thor of the bill and rejected by the
senate provided the commission should
have full power to investigate all the
books and financial affairs of transpor-
tation companies for the purpose of
making a report to the legislature at
each session upon the physical valua-
ton. of the roads within the state. Sen
ator Caminetti declared that without
this provision no rate bill would be
effective.
The general appropriation bill was
amended this morning by the senate
on recommendation of the finance COM
mittee of that body. The total was in
creased from $9,657,295 to $9696, 1875, the
addition being $99,500.
The salary appropriation for Davis
farm employees was raised from $685.
900 to $44. 500 and the amount for the
farms support from $4,000 to $4,000.
Other increases were:
For assistant foresters, $6400 to $6800;
textbooks for orphans, $4,000 to $12,-
O00 expert for board of examiners.
$4S00 to $5400.
Senator Roseberrys marriage license
bill, requiring residence of fifteen days
in the county and posting of the bans
in a conspicuous place for ten days,
was rejected by the senate by vote
of II to 81.
Senator'S Roseberry of San Bernar-
dino, Willis of Santa Barbara and Cur
tin of Tuolumne spoke in favor of the
measure, while Senators Wolfe of San
Francisco, Leavitt of Alameda and
Lewis of San Joaquin strongly OPP
posed it on the ground that it was a
blow at personal liberty.
Senator Willis declared Santa Bar
bara was the Mecca for runaway
couples who, instead of repenting at
leisure frequently went at once to
the divorce courts for relief from un-
bearable conditions.
Senator Wolfe objected to a clause
affecting divorced persons who sought
licenses to remarry, declaring it would
be unjust to dig up family skeletons
buried long ago after they had lived
down the past by leading pure, fault
less lives.