Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-15

A FTER one of the most spectacular
n fights ever waged on the floor
"A of the city council, the purpose
less absurd, emasculated public utill-
ties ordinance presented by Councilman
r. w. Dromgold was passed. But the
votes for it were barely enough, for
Wallace, Wren and Pease voted against
the ordinance. The votes for 1t were
from the six recognized servants of the
corporations in the council, Blanchard,
Clampitt, Dromgold, Healy, Lyon and
Yonkin.
But these corporation servants have
not yet succeeded in handing their mas
ters nice little sugar coated pill that
they can easily swallow and laugh at.
The mayor is yet to be reckoned with.
While the mayor will not define his
position he will write VETO on the
ordinance in the largest capital letters
at his command. And then it will be
up to the council again to pass the
ordinance over his veto.
To do this, seven votes are required,
for the measure appropriates money
If the six little tailors can prevail on
President Pease to look at things their
way they will have enough votes to
pass the ordinance, but President Pease
is firm enough when his mind is made
up and he does not approve of the ordi-
nance passed by the council yesterday.
He wants the essential points left in it
that Dromgold carved out and that
were so distasteful to the corporations.
1t is not likely that President Pease
will abandon the position he assumed
yesterday and it is absolutely certain
that Wallace and Wren will stay where
they put themselves. With these three
firm it will be impossible to pass the
ordinance over the veto of the mayor.
League Gets Busy
But there will be a public utilities
ordinance, much better and broader in
its scope than the puny thing the coun-
ell approved yesterday, if the people
of Los Angeles want such a commits
sion. The Municipal league yesterday
began to circulate petitions to present
the ordinance prepared by this organi-
zation to the people as in initiative
proposition. AS the general election
takes place in December, the league
will only attempt to secure the sigma
ture of five per cent of the voters and
the ordinance will be voted on at the
general election. The ordinance of the
Municipal league contains the features
that Dromgold eliminated from his
ordinance and that are so distastefu.
to the corporations.
But Dromgolds little temporary vic
tory was not achieved without the
on the council floor and twice it looked
as though there would be bloodshed,
once when Dromgold assailed Wallace
and another time when he assa1led
City Attorney Hewitt. When Drom-
gold is in the heat of battle, he cares
little what he says and less how loud
the tone of voice in which he says IL.
Citizens within a radius of two blocks
of the city hall who did not hear every
discussion of his pet subject need the
immediate attention of an aurist.
The battle opened with Wallace first
on the firing line. He gently suggested
that as the ordinance presented ny
Mr. Dromgold had been read the day
before the ordinance presented by the
Municipal league be read so the coun-
cl would know on what it was acting.
Slips Clerk "5um Package"
Dromgold either wilfully or negli-
gently did not understand and handed
trimmed the day before. When the
clerk called attention to the fact that
he had the Dromgold ordinance, Wal
lace again asked that the Municipal
league measure be read instead.
Then Dromgold jumped to his feet
with motion that sent his chair ny
ing out behind him, and in loud terms
objected to the reading of the NUM-
cipal league ordinance, declaring it
was not before the council, and de-
mandng that his own ordinance be
read first.
Wallace took the floor again to ex-
plain that he had a right to insist that
the Municipal league ordinance be read.
and while he was talking Yonkin
walked over and whispered in Drom-
COLDS ear. What Yonkin said may
never be known by anyone except him
self and Dromgold, but he could easily
have whispered:
LET him have his old ordinance read.
Wen put the kibosh on 1T when 1t
comes to a vote"
His remarks must have taken some
thing of that form, for Dromgold with
drew his objections and graciously per-
mitted the clerk to read the ordinance
Wallace wanted to hear After the
Municipal league ordinance had been
read Dromgold insisted again that his
own creation be read. The ordinance
presented by Dromgold empowers the
council to appoint the commission and
designates the following men to be ap-
pointed j. d. Schuyler, engineer;
Joseph Scott, attorney; Perry w. Weld
ner, accountant; DR.. Walter Lndley
and Lee A. Mcconnell.
Salary Fixed at $1,000
Weidner is the selection of the Mer-
chants and Manufacturers association
and Mcconnell of the chamber of COM
merce. Dromgold's ordinance provides
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