Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-08
SCHEME TO OPEN
'REDLIGHT' FAILS
BOSOM FRIEND" TRIES TO FIX
UP GRAFT" GAME
PLANNED TO WORK UNDER NEW
CHARTER AMENDMENT
Borough Was to Be Established Inside
City Which Would Be UnI.r
Control of Its Own
Trustees

One of the bosom friends" who is
| grieved much at the necessity of clos
ing the "redlight district" believed he
had detected a brilliant method of re-
| opening it through Joker in the new
city charter amendments adopted at
the last election His plan was seri-
ously considered by his friends with
much chuckling over the oismay of the
Municipal league at finding its charter
revision perverted to make secure what
the conceiver of the scheme believed
would become the most notorious wide
open" district of any city in the United
States.
The scheme was based on the idea of
utilizing the provision in the charter
amendments. which covers the estab-
lishment of a borough, to make bor-
ough along Commercial street or some-
where near the river bed. This bor-
ough was to be colonized with faithful
voters. AS borough when established
will elect it's own board of trustees,
who have the appointment and control
of the marshal and police officers, and
| will have all the police powers of city
of the sixth class, it was figured that
control would be an easy matter.
With the borough's control absolute-
| ly independent of the city government
of Los Angeles, except in matter OF le-
Ultimate taxes with which the promot-
ers were not concerned, it was BELIEVED
| cdreIul Judgment III arranging lHe us
| trict and planting the voting crop would
make certain wonderful harvest.
The enthusiasm of the few men who
were let into the secret was unbounded.
They found they could designate the
| boundaries of the proposed borough.
give it a name-which they did-and
| compel the city council to call the
election to establish the borough with
the boundaries and name they select
ed on a petition of 80 per cent of the
voters living in the section. That it
took time was evident. but they guessed
the game was big enough and enough
of certainty to wait for.
To Establish Borough
Their faith was pinned to the fol-
lowing section, Incorporated in the
charter regulating the establishment of
borough:
"A borough may be established in
| any territory hereafter annexed to the
| city of Los Angeles containing popu-
| lation of not less than 500 inhabitants,
whether such territory in whole or in
| part was or was not included within
the limits of any incorporated city or
| town at or Immediately prior to the
time of such annexation in the manner
with the powers and subject to the
conditional limitations hereinafter pro-
vided."
None OF the "bosom friends" was able
| to see anything wrong in any of "the
conditional limitations hereinafter pro-
vided," which they approved of unani-
mously. But one, a trifie finer-witted
than the rest, stumbled on word in
the forepart of the section. and he
whole house of cards tumbled to the
ground. A thereafter spoiled their
scheme and their graft was gone" The
section plainly provides borough may
be established sin any territory here
after annexed to the city of Los AM
| geles," but none of those interested had
considered that the term hereafter
cut much of a figure.
One lawyer. in on the scheme. is said
| to have argued at length that because
there was no provision expressly ex-
empting the territory inside the pres
ent city limits there was nothing that
said "a borough may not be established
| in the city of Los Angeles" 1.-THE thing
| is in the city's charter and operative
right now" was his opinion. The mat
ter was submitted to older lawyers and
he was overruled, and an effort was
| made to give the brilliant idea an un-
ostentatious burial.
Mayor Harper himself told reporter
| for the Los Angeles Hearst paper that
lawyers had told him a borough might
now be established inside the present
| city limits of Los Angeles.