Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-10
VOTERS STAMPEDE
To SIGN PETITION
FOR REFERENDUM
In One Day $500 Out of the 2660
Names Necessary Are
Affixed
EAGER FOR LOW LIGHT RATE
Municipal League Confident That
Question Will Be Settled
at the Polls
EAGER FOR LOW LIGHT RATE

Fully 2500 names were signed yeSter-
day to the referendum petition being
circulated by the Municipal league to
bring matters of the light rate ordin-
ance before the people at the election
of June 80 The league expects that
far more than the required 1850 sigma
lures will be appended to the petition
before night. Citizens are expressing
eagerness to sign the petition calling
for a vote on the light rates, and the
Municipal league is gratitied by the
number of men who volunteered yes
terday to circulate the petitions in an
effort to secure the required number
of names
1t is necessary that the petitions be
turned in by tonight, as each name
thereon must be verified. Only names
of bona fide electors count.
The petitions will be placed before
the city council at the melting next
Tuesday night. Edward Edgerton, SER
retary of the Municipal league, is con-
fident that sufficient names Will be Sc
cured, yet he desires to secure as many
signatures as possible, as many may be
discarded upon examination.
Thirty-six petitions were placed In
circulation at o'clock yesterday morn
ing, and within two hours one OF them
had been filled, consisting of 152 names.
BY noon several others were filled with
signatures.
The light corporations did not at
tempt to block the work of the Munich
pal league Their representative re-
fused to state if any action would be
taken later Last night w. A. Brack-
enridge, who is acting as spokesman
for the corporations, gave out state
ment wherein he claimed that the city
council had acted arbitrarily i'll fixing
the rate, contrary to all rules of law,
business and ordinary fairness.
COURSE UNDETERMINED
Russell H. Ballard, secretary and as
sistant general manager of the South
ern California Edison company, when
asked what would be done with the
referendum petition on which that cor
poration secured 5000 names, replied:
Il am not prepared to say Wnat our
course will be. The corporation has
not laid down in this fight, but what we
intend to do L refuse to state. We do
not fear the coming vote on this ques-
tion, for we feel that the business men
and the better element of the city VIII
stand by us, and vote that the rates
stand at the original figure of cents
a kilowatt hour. 1t is only the radical
element that is fighting us. Conserva-
tive men will not permit injustice to
be DONE"
When informed that the mayor had
made the statement that the revenues
by the cut, but would be Increased
through the greater demand for light
and power, Ballard said:
''Well, the mayor has never operated
an electric light plant"
A steady stream of signers of the
petition flowed through the rooms OF
the league yesterday. and at the quar-
ters of the Good Government league
in the Fay building the petition was
beseiged by voters. The latter office
remained open until o'clock last
night in order to facilitate the signing
of the petition.
IT is stated that in order to insti-
tute referedum proceedings the law
REQUIRES that the people protest
against the ordinance The instru-
ment circulated prints copy of the
ordinance and then follows:
NOW THEREFORE,, We, the
undersigned electors of said city
of Los Angeles, do hereby and
herewith protest against the pass
age of such ordinance and peti-
tion your body to reconsider the
said ordinance and. if the same is
not entirely repealed. to submit the
said ordinance to a vote of the
electors of the said city of Los
Angeles either at the next gen.
eral election or at special NUM-
cipal election to be called for that
purpose. in accc rdance with the
19Sb of the charter of the said
city of Los Angeles.
"I desire that this be fully explained
to the public" said Secretary Edger-
ton of the league yesterday, las 1T has
confused many. 1t is required that
nance as it stands in order that refer
endum proceedins be instituted. Ita
does not mean that they are oppos-7
ing the original ordinance-that they
are asking that the rates be restored
to the 9-cent figure. but, on the con-
trary, they are bringing about what
they desire-a 7-cent rate.
OBJECT TO FORM
Numerous objections to the form,
and expressed fears that by signing
the petition aid is given the corpora
tions have come to me, but they are
groundless, for the law requires that
referendum petitions be drawn in this
fashion"
The Municipal league makes an
other call for volunteers to circulate
the petition today stating that the
necessary credentials, petitions and in
structionS may be had at the Munich
pal league rooms, 407 and 40S Equita-
BILE building, First and Spring streets;
the headquarters of the Good Govern
ment league i'm the Fay building, Hill
and Third streets, and at the mayors
office in the city hall.
"We WISH" says Edgerton, that the
friends of good government would aid
us in having the light rate matter
brought to an issue at the coming cleo
tion and not only ask that the petition
be signed but, If at all possible, citi-
zens circulate a petition. -
'Tn order to distinguish between the
Municipal league petition and the
petition being circulated by the power
companies, the circuators of the
former are provided with Letter from
Mayor Alexander, urging the voters to
sign the league do eument."
By telephone and mail Secretary
Charles H. Bent of the Good Govern
ment league has asked the friends of
Al - II.