Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-07
Shaw Harbor Lease Is
Turned Down
LUMBER COMPANY ALSO DE-
MED SIMILAR FRANCHISE
PACIFIC ELECTRIC MUST WAIT
WEEK FOR CHANCE
City Attorneys Hewitt and stieeItz
to Have Consolidation Reso.
luton Ready for Action
Next Tuesday

| N AN PEDRO trustees yesterday
IA voted for an ordinance which is
~ designed to dedicate forever to
public purposes the strip of water
front on the east side of the channel,
on which lease and wharf franchise
were asked last week by r. E. Shaw.
The action was taken after the at
torney for Mr.. Shaw had withdrawn
his application in Difference to the
strong public sentiment against grant
ing them.
A request for similar lease and
! franchise on the Same property, made
| by the Consolidate. Lumber company
in October 1907, and revived yester-
day, was denied.
The San Pedro trustees laid over
consideration of the Pacific Electric
ordinance and the application for va
cation OF streets in the Pacific Coast
Steamship company tract for one
week.
Passage of the resolution arranging
| for the consolidation election in San
| Pedro was delayed one week at the
request of City Attorney Stieglitz of
| San Pe~ro and City Attorney Hewitt
| resolution will be ready for passage
next Tuesday, and that this would be
in ample time.
Council Chamber Filled
All the trustees were present, and
the council chamber was filled with
| citizens who were interested in the
action on franchises, among them be-
ing a number of fishermen. Fifty or
sixty men were standing through the
| session.
I'VE have found out that the peo-
pie in East San Pedro don't want us
/ to build free wharf" said Attorney
| DEMO in asking the trustees to re-
consider the Shaw lease. land the peo-
pie over here don't want it either. We
| have found that the cost would be
about $4,000, which is another con-
sideration for Withdrawing our appli-
cation. Therefore, l am instructed to
ask your reconsideration of the mat
ter and to permit my client to with
| draw the applications.
| "How's that-all right?" he asked
turning to e. d. Seward, secretary of
the San Pedro consolidation committee.
Consolidated Lumber to Front
Percy r. Wilson was present as at
| torney for the Consolidated Lumber
company. prepared to ask considera-
tion of the Wheatley petitions filed in
| 1907 for lease and franchises on the
same property referred to in the Shaw
lease, but the Shaw withdrawal was
made before he had opportunity to pre-
sent his clients claim.
The petitions had laid dormant pend
! ing decision on the jurisdiction over
Terminal island, and Attorney Wilson
| insisted that, until the dispute between
Long Beach and San Pedro was de-
| cided, no other course was open to tho
petitioners. They had no objection to
advertising the franchises for sale, he
| stated.
| Trustee Tilton moved that the city
attorney be directed to prepare an
ordinance making the land in question
public landing for public purposes
| forever. This was carried unanimously
| and the ordinance will be considered
next Tuesday. The Wheatley petitions
were then taken UP and denied.
The Pacific Electric application for a
| railroad franchise on Palos Verde and
| other streets came up in a slightly
modified form. A steam road franchise
was requested substantially as in the
ordinance previously submitted by the
! Pacific Electric, but the stipulation was
| added that, during the fifty-year life
of the franchise, no power but cleo
tricity should be used on the line south
of Fourth street
Opposed by Citizens
This was vigorously opposed by citi-
| zens. Petitions signed by George H.
Elliott and others from the San Pedro
consolidation committee were received
by the trustees against the proposed
! franchise, and a number of speeches
were made against the ordinance.
| Charles S. Burnell, a Los Angeles at
| torney who said he represented be-
! tween thirty and forty property own
ers directly interested in the question,
stated that they were opposed to grant
| ing any kind of franchise at this
| time, believing that to do so would
bottle up the harbor and also practical
| ly give away street to the railroad
company for the improvement of which
the property holders had paid out more
| than S14. 900.
Trustee Peck, who is heavy prop
erty owner on the street, said that
more than $50,000 had been paid for
grading down and improving the street,
instead of $4,000.
Railroad Methods Shown
"The railroad waits till you have the
| street cut down and then asks for it
without compensation" said Mr. Bur-
| nell. 1T simply says, you have fixed
the street for us, now turn 1t over
"The company offers in this ordinance
to do not one thing 1t is not compelled
| to do by law. 1 believe the very Pc
culiar wording of this ordinance will
| involve the city in litigation. If they
want a franchise for an electric road.
why not ask for IT that way instead
| of requesting a steam road franchise
with the stipulation that only cleo
tricity shall be used?'
ITO save discussion I would advise
the trustees to turn this ordinance
down." said Attorney Stieglitz. TT Is
asking the city to do something it
should not do"
Although this opinion was vigorously
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