Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-15
COUNCIL CALLS
BOND ELECTION
INSTRUCTS CITY ATTORNEY TO
PREPARE ORDINANCE
OWENS RIVER POWER WILL BE
DEVELOPED
Three Million Dollars to Be Used on
Harbor and Three and One
Half Million on the
Aqueduct

airy 20, W Nutu ROsUuutuUU VI JULIUS ~
the harbor and $3,5O0,OO0 of bonds fo
development of owens river power wi
be voted on. The mayor urged the cleo
ton be called in December or Janu
ary in order that it might go befor
the people as soon as possible. Th
council chose January, because
wanted to start the new year righ
with an election of some kind. Thi
will make an election every mont
for the next four months; the annex
alton election October 10, the primar
election in November, the general cleo
ton in December and the bond electio
in January.
The mayors message on which tn
council took action follows:
To the Honorable, the City Council.
Gentlemen: In the report of the
consolidation committee, made
prior to the consolidation election,
the following pledge was made to
the voters of San Pedro:
"That within sixty days after the
completion of the consolidation of
the cities of Los Angeles, San Pc
dro and Wilmington, the council of
the consolidated city adopt an
ordinance calling special election
for the purpose of submitting to
the electors of the consolidated city
the proposition of authorizing
$S,0OO,O0O of harbor improvement
bonds for making harbor improve
ments in accordance with the rec
concentrations herein made"
In keeping with this pledge
called a meeting of the following
named parties;
The board of public works.
oav U1iffpa of the
Los Angeles aqueduct.
The president of the city council.
The finance committee of the city
council.
The consolidation committee.
The chamber of commerce harbor
committee.
The Los Angeles harbor comis-
sion.
This meeting was held on October
6, 1909. and the following persons
were present:
Stoddard Jess, chairman; A. P.
Fleming, secretary; James A. An
derson, H. Jevne. NJ. H. Newmark.
o, e. Parish, ]. NJ. Schneider,
Homer Hamlin and Leslie R. Hew-
lit of the consolidation committee.
A. A. Hubbard General Adna R.
Chaffee and William Humphreys
of the board of public works.
w. B. Mathews, William MuIhol-
land, J. B. Lippincott E. F. Scat
tergood of the advisory committee.
Niles Pease, president Of the city
council
A. ]. Wallace and R. w. Drom-
gold of the finance committee or
the city council.
J. o. Koepfi of the chamber of
commerce barhOr committee.
]. z. Carr of the Los Angeles
harbor commission.
George Alexander, mayor, and
Frank G. Henderson, mayors clerk.
This committee went into a thor
ough investigation of the situation.
1t was pointed out that there we're
two urgent calls for bonds; one to
develop San Pedro harbor and the
other to develop power along the
auueduct. Careful estimates had
been made and it was the sense OF
this joint committee that $3,500OO
were required for the installation
of power plants and S3000,000 for
the development of the harbor.
AS to the harbor bonds, that Is
settled question. The honor of the
city is involved. We have promised
s., 900 900 at this time for that pur-
pose. L ne tAltllNllAuAt VI NiliS
money is necessary for the building
of public wharves. docks and ware
houses, and when completed these
will be an important source of in
come for the city. But, in order
that we may have the full benefit
of that harbor; that, in addition
to all the ordinary uses, we may
have power for transportation and
for manufacturing purposes, we
should have that power at the time
of the completion Of the harbor.
These two great projects must be
developed together. One is the
complement of the other.
President Taft, in his speech at
the banquet rendered him in this
city, after prophesying that con-
gress would give the city all it
needed to secure necessary depth
of water IN the harbor, said:
There is another ground upon
which I base my prophecy that you
will get from the government all
that you need for your harbor. In
making appropriations for harbors,
the river and harbor committee
goes a good deal on the old proverb
that Providence helps those who
help themselves, and they are very
much more inclined to give an ap-
preparation for improving the har-
Dor if the city to which 1t belongs
Is putting it's own money into the
enterprise"
The city of Los Angeles undoubt-
edly will apply to the next congress
to grant an appropriation sufficient
to dredge the whole harbor to a.
depth of thirty feet, according to
the plans already submitted and
approved by the board of engineers
of the national government. From
the presidents expressions it would
appear that our getting that appro-
priation will be largely influenced
by the fact that the city has shown
itself ready to invest its own money
in the improvement of the harbor.
At the time the owens river
auueduct bonds were voted one of
the strongest arguments in favor
of voting those bonds was the
great revenue to be derived from
the electrical energy eventually to
be developed along the line of the
aoueduct. This revenue has been
conservatively estimated as suffi-
cient to pay the interest upon the
aqueduct bonds and to provide.
sinking fund which will retire those
bonds in about twenty years.
In order that Los Angeles might
receive the benefit OF this large
revenue, the people, at the charter
amendment election held in Febru-
airy, amended the charter by pro-
viding specifically that this power
cannot be alienated from their con-
troll, except by a two-thirds vote
of the people. Unquestionably the
people of this city desire that this