Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-03-30

erai titles one for 1.-The inner harbor at Will
mington" and the other for 1.-THE outer har-
Dor at San Pedro" together constituting, for
| the purpose of the report, the entire waters
of the harbor. In view of these circumstances
! to which l have referred, and of the obvious
| fact that it should not be presumed against
| the city of Los Angeles that II had debarred
| itself from making any improvements along
the San Pedro and Terminal island water
| fronts, the resolution framed and pre-
scented to the city council so drawn as to
pemit of the expenditure of money for the
improvement of that portion of the harbor IL
the opportunity presented itself of so doing,
and this is the explanation of the whole mat
ter l do not think that there is reasonably
| discoverabe in this the violation of any
| pact between the cities of Los Angeles and
/ San Pedro. l have stated the reasons why
! the turning basin was selected as the point
of division, and l submit their suficiency to
your judgment.
Another Objection Answered
Another objection urged by the Federated
! Improvement association is that the use OF
bond moneys for harbor improvements north
! Of Dead Mans island in the inner harbor,
where the city owns no frontage and no
tideands, and where there is nc public prop
erty to be improved except tract or thirty
seven acres in the neighborhood Of Whining
tom its resolution recites will "enor-
mously increase the value of the waterfront
in the channel which is now owned by pri-
vate corporate interests and make 1t I'M
/ possible for the city Ito ever acquire these
properties after they have been so improved
/ by public expenditure"
! It is not apparent what improvements upon
! or for the benefit of private property are
| meant by this statement II the objection is
| that the resolution of the council supposedly
! authorizes the expenditure of bond money Tor
! the construction of wharves docks and any
| other harbor improvements upon private prop
/ erty. the criticism is wholly groundless be-
cause not dollar of public money can, un-
/ der any circumstances, be spent for the I'M
provement of private property, and this tact
/ is of course too well established to need
! further discussion. The only alternative is
that the statement just granted is intended 10
convey the implication that the city authorl-
| ties might, under the council resolution, enter
upon a plan requiring immense expense 10
widen, straighten and dredge out the inner
harbor for the benefit OF private and cor
porate holders of frontage and other rights
along the harbor front. particularly along the
| channel and Wilmington bay. Now. it is a
fact that tae channel is 500 feet wide, and for
a part of the way is on long curve TO the
west. The widening of this channel would
| require that the harbor lines on the Terminal
island side of the channel should be re-estab-
| lished and moved eastward by the govern
! ment, and that the city would then proceed
| to dredge the channel. The expense of such
| an enterprise would be simply prohibitory so
| far as tho present bond issue goes, and IL
| hardly seems possible that 1t could be seri-
| ously thought by any one that such a proJect
is entertained under present conditions
| moments reflection would show that the en-
tire 50 600 900 proposed for San Pedro inn
provements would not so very far toward car
| ryng such a scheme into effect and the
scheme on practical grounds above would oe
| wholly out of the question in view or any
| bond issue that the city now or in the imme-
date future could or would issue.
But there is another and perhaps more con-
elusive reason why the objection to the coun-
ell resolution here referred to is not well
| taken The dredging work the city can do
under its charter. out OF the proceeds OF
/ harbor improvement bonds, is the construc-
| tior of canals and waterways that are located
! between navigabls waters and public streets
ana highways or, in other words, the con
struction of canals and waterways that lead
or extend to places where the city and the
public have access thereto by means OF
streets highways and other means of trans
portation. publicly owned or controlled. And
IT, as the resolution states there is, as
a matter of fact, no public property along the
channel and II, matter Of law, no bond
money can be spent there for canals and
waterways except to construct them where
the city has opened acquired streets or
| highways to navigable waters, there can be no
| reasonable ground for Directing to the bond
! issue proposed, at least so far as any ex-
pensive and protected project to be undertaken
by the city, Of strengthening or dredging the
channel between Deadman's island and the
turning basin, is concerned.
Under Corporate Control
It is unfortunately only too true that by
far the greater portion OF the harbor frontage
between Deadman's island and the turning
basin is under private ond corporate control
at the present time so that IL Will be impos-
sible to devote such bond money to the con-
structlon of public docks, wharves and ware
| houses at that point; but there are portions
/ Of this frontage that are free from private
claims and that are capable of public improve
| ment While at the present time the greater
| portion Of this channel front is in private
hands, it may not always remain so; and If
| the city can, by condemnation forfeitures,
suits TO recover possession, by judgments in
| the tidelands suits or otherwise, acquire adj
! dtional frontage along this portion Of the
| harbor, my view is that it should not, by any
! hard and fast line of technical construction,
| put itself In a position where it could not
| do so, and do not believe the people Of Los
| Angeles will sanction such course. The
consolidation plan contemplates the operation
| of a public ferry between Terminal Island
| and San Pedro; this will require some expen-
dture out of the bond money for the
| structlon of proper landings, and this improve
ment cannot be put into effect except by
such expenditure There at the present
! time only two streets Of San Pedro through
out the entire two miles of its frontage along
| the channel that extend to its water front.
and the public actually controls not to exceed
one hundred feet out of nearly ten thousond
feet of the San Pedro front. 1t certainly seems
advisable TO that the way should be left
open whereby more streets can be extended
to the water front out Of bond money when
ever required. because the time will come
when they will be much needed,
Although the 1916 acres Of submerged land
between the government reserve and the
breakwater offers the most available site for
extensive harbor development and although
this city will undoubtedly begin the work of
improvement at that point and with that point
as its objective, yet owing to the situation
Of the 146 acres, which involves a question of
providing approaches, it is probable that,
even with the most active development work
in that vicinity. more time will elapse before
public docks with convenient access thereto
can be provided there than will be the case
with other points in the outer harbor, and
possibly places along the channel front. There
is one, and possibly other places in the outer
harbor. and, as has been pointed out by the
city engineer, parcels of land of considerable
size in the channel fronting San Pedro, which
the city controls, and upon which docks may
be constructed within a relatively short time
and at a comparatively small expense, thus
lie competition with the privately owned docks
that are in course of construction in the outer
harhor and that already exist in the channel.
The resolution of the Federated Improve
ment association recites that the bond reso-
lutons OF the council authorizes the ex-
pendture OF the entire sum of 49, 900 900 worth
Of Deadman's Island and it is declared that
such an expenditure will be a misuse of pub
lie money The fact is. however, that the
council bond resolution authorizes the eX-
penditure of si,000OO0 in wilmington bay,
north of the turning BASIN and 81 900. 900 south
OF the turning basin, IN the channel and in
the outer harbor; not in the channel to the ex
clusion Of the outer harbor. Docks, wharVes
warehouses, slips and also highways to the
water front must, under any fair interpre-
tation of the resolution of the council be
constructed in and for the benefit of the outer
harbor. 1t may be admitted at and
without argument, that If the 81 900 900 should
be expended between Deadman's Island and
the turning basin, that gross breach Of pub
lie faith would be committed and that the
officers responsible therefor would be guilty