Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-31

y Ia So 14OuIlSIlIuS games
that we cannot get the police commits
sion or the police department to close,
l although we sent letters to the chief
of police, accompanied by diagrams,
telling him exactly where those games
| are located, at least three times in the
last ten days? Letters of that sort
/ have been sent to the chief of police
of the city, whose department includes
a detective bureau of twenty-three
men, costing this city $500 per month
And on each one Of the three matters
on. which we obtained information it
cost The Herald less than $40 in each
case. These games are not closed
Ihey Will be running tonight. Proba-
bly, they are running today. Why is
that?t Do men deliberately permit
! violation Of laws which will accumu-
late odium upon themselves as public
servants without some consideration in
return? If you think they do, then
! your idea of the consciences OF GER
tain municipal officials differs from
mine"
Laws Openly Violated
''The fact of the business is that ev-
cry law that is intended to govern men
| of that character in this city today is
! being openly and VIGOROUSLY violated
Some time ago an effort was made to
nave an ordinance. passed permitting
wholesale liquor dealers to sell less
| than a gallon. Yesterday a man with
out any trouble bought a pint or a half
! pint. If you want to experiment, go
into any one Of those wholesale places,
! put down quarter, and see if you
| cannot get one-tWentieth Of a gallon of
! liquor. Try it! 1t won't cost you more
| than quarter; only some of you might
not like to be seen in a place of that
character. Some Of you object to pat
fonlzlng such place under any cir
! cumstances.
! "But what have indicated has been
done and can be done again. There's
! no question Of it. If there is a place Of
that kind in Los Angeles where you
cannot get that amount for the sum
! named, then there is some one who is
honest enough to do business under the
law, and he will lose custom by doing
IT, But there are many places where
| the law can be violated in this way
No attempt has been made to enforce
those laws. The story goes the rounds
that the statement has been made by
the highest authority: Go ahead; it is
all right. You will not be troubled.' In
Los Angeles since you have known it
| and been proud of it, has it ever come
! 10 that point before where her laws
deliberately were trampled on and
made byword in this way?
Situation Is UnequaIed
did you ever know Of any condition
OF that sort existing here before? n
/ never heard of it, and have been here
! twenty years. l never have known be-
fore, never have known till now. of the
existence in Los Angeles Of an organ
| lzed effort among the men charged with
! the enforcement of the laws Of the city
to permit the laws to be violated. But
! that shameful condition does exist to-
day, and its existence has been only
I q do " ks-pr. =
conclusively proven.
That condition is going to lead to
something else. The lax administration
or the nOn-administration Of the laws
always encourages men of predatory
instincts to extend their efforts; to be-
come pold, audacious, enterprising
| Unless you make a change if IS
| going very shortly to enter into the
very life and heart of your city affairs
/ 1t already has entered into them m
some extent. There at least has been
an opening made for the entrance Of
vicious influences into the heart Of vo1Jr
city s affairs by the mayors appoint
ment TO the most important Of the civic
! bodles OF Los Angeles, the board of
public works. of man whose name has
! attracted considerable attention and
provoked much comment.
FaVors Outside interests
political history Of that gentleman. T
know that if there has ever been an
instance In his public position Of city
councillor where he has failed to favor
the forces or powers or influences that
are interested in getting control OF
your aqueduct work it never has come
! to my attention, after a very careful
scrutiny of his official record. which
| the public will be given the benefit OF
| in the columns of The Herald
I'VE are all familiar with the fact
that not only did he vote for the river
/ bed steal when it appeared under the
guise of an attempt to get into Los
Angeles a road which the man who
! was asking for the franchise said had
no entrance here, but after the lie had
been stripped from the face Of that
] matter and 1t was shown exactly what
! the franchise Applicant was intended
! for, that official again repeated that
vote TO give away a property of the
! city Which many experts in values Of
| that sort have estimated to be worth
at least $1,O00,000 to the city. He was
a member and stakeholder in the sugar
companies which have wrought such
! havoc in the administration of our pub
! lie affairs here. He knoWs-it was his
| business to know-he must have known
of the violation of the laws Of the CITY
while he was chief of police. There is
|
absolutely impossible he should not
have knowledge of these things that
were going on. When he was at the
head Of the police department of this
city, with a detective force behind him.
he was bound to have known them
Not only was it his duty to have
known them, but he could not have
shut his eyes so tightly he could not
have seen them and known them.
Official Oath Violated
"And yet he permitted them to go
on. Do you believe a man of that kind.
who will deliberately violate his off,
cial oath, can be trusted to administer
a great financial matter not one Of
a few dollars, but Of many thousand
at a time? The board Of public works
will spend in four years some twenty
millions Of dollars of aqueduct money,
and there will be three millions of dol
| lars general improvement funds. That
| is increasing every year as the city
grows. It is not at all out Of the way
to say that this board in the next four
years will have the expenditure Of the
vast sum of $35, 100000.
Suppose per cent of that enormous
sum should be lost through extrava-
gance-not through theft, but through
| favoring this man and that man in the
push. Suppose per cent Of that enor-
nous sum should be lost, it means
such a vast amount coming out Of the
! taxpayers pocqetS that if they were
to tax themselves 2 per cent of it for
the recall campaign they would raise
| $40 000 and val If would he obao