Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-06
HEWITT CATCHES
CORPORATIONS
ASLEEP ON DUTY
LEAGUE PROVISIONS IN UTILI.
TIES ORDINANCE
CITY ATTORNEY sElzEs CHANCE
TO "DEFlNE DUTIES"
Against Corporation Encroach-
ments, but Will Meet with
Determined Opposition

For sleeping at the switch while
City Attorney Hewitt was preparing
the public utilities ordinance the coun-
Gil ordered him to present, that body
mad to do considerable jockeying yes
terday in order to avoid getting in
bad" with the corporations. The city
attorney presented his ordinance, as he
had been instructed to do, but when
the good servants of the corporations
who sit in the council chamber saw
his handiwork they felt many deep
misgivings and hurriedly put the whole
matter over until next week. In the
meantime what they will do to that
ordinance will be sufficient Probably
City Attorney Hewitt also will hear
them express private opinions of hlm
But the city attorney was not 50
much to blame after all. Dromgold
introduced a resolution a snort time
ago instructing the city attorney to
present an ordinance providing for a
public utilities commission to consist
of five members. Three of these We're
to be selected by the chamber Of COM
merce, Merchants and Manufacturers
association and the Municipal league
1t was really a heroic sacrifice on
Dromgolds part to include the Mu-
nicipal league, but these three organl-
cations go hand in hand when the civic
bodies are called for.
Duties Not Defined
Having provided for the form of the
commission Dromgold evidently forgot
about it. City Attorney Hewitt asked
him what definitions he should give of
the duties of this commission and it
was passed off by a tacit agreement
that Dromgold and probably some 9TH
er members of the council would con-
fer with Mr. Hewitt and give him this
information before the ordinance was
presented. But Dromgold and the
others forgot it.
Left to his own resources the city
attorney cast about for his own def
milton of the duties of such d COM
mission. The Municipal league has
been preparing such an ordinance for
a long time and somehow or other the
very matters that the Municipal league
proposed in its ordinance became part
and parcel of the ordinance the city
attorney drew.
But anyhow. with the exception of
the form of the commission and one
other unimportant detail. the ordin-
ence presented by Mr. Hewitt yester-
day was identical with the ordinance
of the Municipal league. The league
also presented its ordinance for adop-
tion by the council and this was passed
over until, next week also. The essen
tjal features of the Municipal league
ordinance are as follows:
Substance of Ordinance
Section 2. The board of public utili-
ties shall be composed of three commits
sioners, who shall be appointed by the
mayor, subject to confirmation by a
majority of the council. The term Of
office of members of the board of public
utilities shall be three years, except
that the term of office of the members
first appointed hereunder shall com
mence upon the date this ordinance
takes effect, and said three members
shall so classify themselves by lot that
one shall go out of office on the last
day of June, 1910 one on the last day OF
June. 1911, and one on the last day or
June. 1912 If any vacancy occurs the
mayor shall fill the same by appoint
ment for the unexpired term.
Sec. 3. The board shall organize by
electing one of their members president,
who shall hold his Office for one year,
and until his successor is elected, un-
less his membership on the board soon
er expires; provided, however. that the
term of Office of the president first
elected shall expire on the last day of
June, 1910. The board shall maintain
an Office to be provided by the city
council, and shall prescribe office hours
for the convenience of the public. 1t
shall hold regular stated meetings at
least once in each month. Special meet
ings may be held upon a written call
therefor, signed by the president, or by
two members of the board, and notice
of any special meeting shall be- given
bv the clerk thereof in the same man
ner prescribed by ordinance for special
meetings of the city council.
MI. nf
public utilities shall be as follows:
to Probe Corporations
l. To make each year a thorough in
vestigation into the affairs of the cleo
tric lighting and power companies, gas
companies and telephone companies OPP
Grating lighting, power or telephone
systems in the city of Los Angeles, and
compile such data as may be necessary
to determine proper rate for each SER
vice supplied to the public by those
companies as provided in section 81
article III, of the charter Such data
shall include valuation of the physl-
cal properties of the companies, de-
tailed statement of gross and net earn
4 ings, and of expenses, and of capltaliza-
tion and indebtedness, and shall in
clude, moreover, such facts and figures
as may be obtainable regarding similar
enterprises in other American cities,
and the general conditions, hazards and
advantages attending such lines of bus
| iress. .,
Q. To recommend to the city council
a schedule of rates for the said utility
services specified in the preceding para
graph. based on the data described
above, said recommendations to be
made prior to the first day of February
of each year
Investigate Complaints
3. To investigate any and all com
plants against the service or the
charges of any public service corpora
ton, or of any person, firm or corpora
ton operating any public utility in the
city of Los Angeles, or furnishing any
public service to the city, or its inhab-
| itants, including gas, electric lighting
and power companies, telephone COM
panies, and street and interurban rail-
road companies. and to recommend to
the city council legislation, or to the
executive officers of the city action
based on it's findings relative to such
complaints, whenever in the judgment
of said board such legislation or such
action may be necessary.
| 4. To superintend the inspection of