Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-12
HARTMAN MUST
REBUILD ARCADE
CITY COUNCIL DEMANDS PROM
Use MUST BE KEPT
Southern Pacific Declared 1t would
Erect MiIIion=DoIIar Station 1t
Portion of Fifth Street
Was Decided

| e. III. Hartman is to be asked what
| he is going to do about the million
dollar depot he promised Los Angeles
| in consideration of the Abandonment
| of a portion of Fifth street.
| A resolution adopted by the council
yesterday authorized the city attorney
| TO investigate the legal status of the
| case and to draw up a letter to be
signed by Niles Pease, president OF the
| council, addressed to Mr. Hartman
This action was taken on the sug-
gestion of Major w. r. Burke, VINO
supplemented a message sent by the
mayor to the council on the matter. In
his message the mayor suggested the
| council pass a resolution asking the
railroad officials what they intended to
| do about it, and Major Burke suggest
| ed that Hartman himself be that Of
! fetal.
| owing to delay in the city attorneys
! office, where the data concerning the
transaction involving the depot was
being compiled, the mayor could not
get his message to the council until
| late yesterday afternoon. But Major
Burke and John Brink, representing
property owners in the vicinity of the
| Arcade station, who are deeply inter-
ested in the depot project, were pres
ent at the morning session.
During the morning communication
was read from the chamber of com
merce asking that a committee be ap-
| pointed from the council to confer with
| the union depot committee OF the cham-
Der. This committee is composed OF
| Councilmen Wallace, Dromgold and
Lyon. The subject of the union depot
brought up the matter of the Arcade
depot and Major Burke asked the priVi-
lege of the floor.
| He told the council how by represent
! ing the Southern Pacific intended to
build a magnificent new depot at Firth
and Central avenue. to cost approx
mately a million dollars the former
council was induced to abandon that
portion of Fifth street from the east
| line of Central avenue to the entrance
of the Arcade. Plans for this depot
were already drawn, according to the
story told by j. w. Mckinley, who rep
resented the Southern Pacific, and the
portion of Fifth street which the rail-
road wanted was to be made the en-
trance to the new depot.
Public Works Is Guardian
The matter was referred to the board
| of public works and the board recon-
mended that before this portion OF
| the street was given away the SOUTH
ern Pacific be compelled to deed the
city an equal portion of land north OF
Fifth street.
Judge Mckinley declared the rail-
road was willing to do this, but would
want to reserve the right of control
over all the grounds so that objection
| able characters might not be allowed to
make it a loafing place. He made this
| specious plea to the council and the
| council every member of which wora
the Southern Pacific yoke, readily saw
things the way Judge Mckinley want
ed them to, although Major Burke gave
Judge Mckinley credit for having act
ed in perfect good faith under instruc-
| tions from his superior officers
The council passed the ordinance of
intention abandoning the portion OF
| Fifth street wanted by the railroad.
| This ordinance was vetoed by Mayor
McAleer, who took the position that
had been assumed by the board of pub
lie works. The council passed the or
| dinance This was again vetoed by
| Mayor McAleer on the same ground.
Again the council passed the ordinance
over the mayors veto and in June, 1906,
the railroad acquired title to this land.
| The railroad retains the land, but in
| the last three years has taken no
step toward building the promised de-
pot. The old Arcade still does duty for
! the Southern Pacific, and there is no
dissent from the unanimous opinion
that this depot is disgrace to the
city,
Major Burke insisted that no talk
! of a union depot should be permitted
| to cloud the issue of the new depot at
Fifth and Central.
When the message of the mayor was
read to the council 1t contained practi-
cally all the facts that had been told
by Major Burke and which are remem-
bered by every one who was citizen