Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-10
RESUME OF AUTO
CLUB OF SO. CAL.
Continued from Page ski

fOdQS money anu as TO NOW lilG WIN
is progressing. The clubs committee
is pleased to report to the public that
everything is moving along with all
the dispatch possible in the circum-
stances. The highway commission was
at loss for a while to find suitable
deposits of porphyry rock to be used
as a cement binder. This dIhculty
has been done away with, as plenty or
rock has been found. In the passage
of the good roads bonds in San Diego
the club offered to send hundred ma
chimes to assist in the carrying OF
these bonds, and when the election
was held the club was represented by
two officials. The club offered orange
county any assistance to aid In the
carrying of the good roads bonds in
that county In the outlying districts
a great deal of time has been spent
arranging with the proper authorities
to repair many of the bad places IN
our county highways.
The club follows this plan: When
ever any of it's members find a bad or
dangerous place in the road, and upon
this fact being reported, the club
Immediately sends it's road superin-
tendent, l.. E. Block, out to hunt up
the difficulty. and If necessary as Is
the case in outside counties, to inter-
view the county supervisors and get
permission to repair the road. The
lookout to better the conditions of the
highways in this end of the state, and
they have in many instances been the
means of stopping the graft of un-
scrupulous individuals who have been
charging $25. or some such sum, for
dragging a machine out of hog
wallow.
Automobile Legislation
The Automobile club of Southern
Ta1f 10 &c 7nt In
is estimated that there is invested in
automobiles in the city of Los Angeles
between $10,000,000 and $12,0O0,00O, pay
ing taxes to the amount of between
$4,000 and 100000 yearly. This I'M
mense amount of personal property re-
quires judicial legislation. The auto
mobile is of such recent birth that
legislation has not kept pace with the
growth of the machine. Indeed, there
are many states which have no state
legislation at all. In New England there
is an. effort being made to have uni
form set of laws for all Of her states.
The Automobile clubs officials have
made It a part of their duty to keep
close watch on legislative measures af-
fecting the use of the automobile, and
thus far they have not only been sue
cessful in defeating adverse state
legislation, but have, in a sense, out
lined the automobile ordinances in
various towns OF Southern California.
At the time of l. L. Lowman's de-
porable death the council of this city
naturally felt very bitter toward the
automobile people and were in mood
that BODIED no good to the users of the
twentieth century steed." A meeting
was called by the directors OF the
Automobile club Of Southern Califor-
MIA, with the result that over thirty
men were in session with the city
fathers from 1880 to 10:30 p. m. The
club did great service for the automo-
bilists at this time, for the writer
firmly believes that had that meeting
not taken place the local speed or
dinances instead of remaining the pop
ular twenty, twelve and six" as now.
would have been cut to as low as
twelve. eight and four. That is, twelve
miles outside the congested district,
eight inside and four at the crossings.
This would not only have worked a
hardship on our own people, but would
have caused many tourists to shorten
their stay with US on their next Win
ter's trip.
Proper legislation for the tourists is
a very important item to the Southern
California citizens, and too much at
tention cannot be paid to this matter
If we are to advertise for the tourist
crop" let us not treat the tourists as
cutthroats the minute they are with
us Technical arrests of men who are
SDGnQlnE
who are familiar with the courtestes or
southern Europe will do more to dis
courage tourists from coming to CALI
fornia than any other thing. Apropos
of this point the following letter is
quoted without comment:
NEW ULM, Mimi, Sept. 3, 1909
Mr.. Stanley Anderson (manager Hotel
Hollywood. Hollywood Los Angeles,
Cal: Dear Sir-I thought that it might
interest you to know that I made the
state of California pay back the S39SO
which paid for taxes during the time |
stopped at your hotel, and it only cost
me $3.50 to get the $3.50. However. L
informed my attorney to get back the
money from the state of California even
If he had to pay it all out in fees to
the attorney on the other end, or to
himself. In other words, did not care
whether I got a cent of the money
back, but / was not going to let the
state of California have it If could
prevent it. l think 1t is about time
that YOU people in California would
learn to be decent to tourists and IL
your officials cannot be decent it is
about time to teach them a lesson and
elect people that will be, for after all
the most you have got to live on is
tourists. Nothing made me feel as
mean toward California as such a
SMALL dirty trick as that, to tax a man
for one year on account of having his
auto out there for three months. Be-
sides this, the auto was benefit to the
residents of the state OF California, for
every man that sold me any gasoline
made from 25 to 100 per cent profit, and
Iubricating oil the same way, and in
fact repairs the same way so that in
stead of being detriment to the state,
it was an advantage to those people
that handled such supplies as this.
However, will never take a machine
to California again; / would rather
hire one for $25 to $50 day than to
take my own machine there and let
everybody pull my leg on gasoline, etc.
At some places l had to pay 80 cents
for gasoline, when I know that their
price from John Rockefeller is from. Is
to Is cents and that Is the highest, as
I got the prices that they pay out there
from the Standard Oil company.
only mention this to assist in educating
the people in California to some extent
that ali tourists are not going to be
imposed upon. 1 spent about $1,000 on
winter I will spend $1,000 somewhere
else.
with kind regards to you and your
mother, 1 remain very respectfully
yours, CHAS. SlLVERTON."
Accessories
The club now conducts a chauffeurs'
registration bureau. where registering
cbauffeurs are required to give creden-
tials of such nature that will enable the
club to recommend them as good and
competent drivers. There has been es
4.I.Iietal in, ,,rontica 11x every TOWN in