Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-18
L. A. LEADERSHIP

TN the Twentieth Century Magazine
! the leadership of Los Angeles in
u the great reconstruction movement
which will restore Americanism to-
| America and give the citizens of the
United States their birthright is recog-
nized and acknowledged in an appre-
ciative article entitled Los Angeles
Victorious Battle for a Municipal Har-
Dor and Wharves."
I Says the writer: Few more inspir-
| ing sights can be conceived than that
of great people awakening from
! lethargy and inertia, driving from the
temple of government the false stew
ards and servants of corruption and
| inaugurating again a government of
and by and for the people,"
He quotes a special staff contributor
who thus describes the popular victory
in Los Angeles and its significance:
| ITO my mind, Los Angeles leads the
western world in public spirit and in
municipal accomplishments. The spirit
of solidarity which the people manifest,
when any question of public importance
is up for their consideration, is most
pleasing to all lovers of progress and to
all students of economics. Needless to
say this matter of solidarity on the
part of the people is but the natural
result of a magnificent course of public
instruction, incident to the agitation
carried on under the provisions of the
iniative, referendum and recall. The
national government has already ex-
pended between $4,000, 900 and $4,000, 900
on this harbor, but the city government
of San Pedro, which has a population
of about 10000, was in the hands OF a
board of trustees altogether too COM
placent to the Southern Pacific Railway
company, and the prospect was that
the city trustees would very soon give
away to this great corporation the en-
tire harbor water front. This meant
placing the city of Los Angeles at the |
absolute mercy of the railroad COM
pany, as far as ocean traffic was con- |
| cerned. To avoid this situation, the |
city has voted to taken in the city of
San Pedro, which brings it under the |
charter of Los Angeles. 1t means that
no more water front franchises will be |
granted without the referendum con-
sent of the entire city. 1t also means
that Los Angeles will build a double |
track municipal electric line from the |
main city to the seaport, operating it |
with power obtained from the electric !
plants along the line of the city aque- |
duct. 1t also means that Los Angeles |
will spend about S1O0OO,O0O in the con- |
struction of municipal wharves and |
warehouses at the seaport of San Pc
dro. The people of Los Angeles are
using their ballots to some purpose. |
They have learned that political DEM |
ocracy is not an end, but only a means |
to an end, and that the real end and |
purpose of political democracy is to
| obtain economic democracy and inde- |
pendence. Is it not a beautiful lesson |
and striking example of the power of
democracy, intelligently directed and |
as intelligently exercised?"
The editor of the Twentieth Century |
Magazine then quotes the Los Angeles |
Herald as follows:
"Harbor experts of the United States
corps of engineers and others have re-
peatedly said the harbor, at compara-
! lively small expense, can be made the
finest harbor on the Pacific coast and |
one of the finest in the world. There is |
also no doubt that by properly improv- |
ing her harbor to accommodate the |
commerce which will certainly come to |
it with the completion of the Panama |
canal, Los Angeles can, and will, within |
the next half dozen years, make herself
the largest center of commerc and !
wealth on the Pacific coast"