Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-25
THE LOS ANGELES PLAN

Editor Herald: Former President
Roosevelt says: Lease the Alaska cqal
mines, lease the oil fields. lease the
undeveloped water power of the noun
tain fastnesses of California, Montana,
Idaho, Arizona and New Mexico to the
corporations
It is almost impossible to grasp the
magnitude of a deal so stupendous in
its results. Such a scheme would en-
tangle us still more in the meshes of
the money power and would be a rank
injustice to-the nation. The cry for
justice is rising from the rank and
file of our people and must be needed.
Does Roosevelt think the people 50
blind as not to be able to penetrate
his sophisms?
Why not apply the Los Angeles plan,
the issuance of bonds for construction
purposes. as in the case of the Owens
river aqueduct? Realizing that the
foundations upon which a common
wealth must be builded are water,
light, heat and power and that the last
three are embodied in embryo in the
first. the people have held within their
own grasp this latent energy; and
three years hence when the aQueduct
is completed the last three will have
been developed and the people of Los
Angeles will own their lighting, power
and heating plant and will no longer
be at the mercy of the corporations for
these utilities.
They will then be in position to in
vite manufacturing interests here with
the inducement Of cheap power, or
what would be a still greater advan-
tage they can, build and operate their
own manufactures. and this. we be-
leve, will be the ultimate result.
But Roosevelts plan would have
been to lease the Owens river to the
corporations and then (being full OF
fghtO would fight them from court
to court for the next half century in
order to control them
Why not the state with its undevel-
oped resources try the Los Angeles
plan? Let the state issue bonds and
develop its own water power, its oil
and mineral land.
If the state may issue bonds, as is
proposed, for the purpose of construc-
ing automobile roads, why should it not
issue bonds for the purpose of develop
ing the water power Of our mountains
which would benefit all the people?
And, again, if we can issue bonds for
the construction Of automobile roads,
why not for the constructing of rail-
roads? This would be the Los An
geles plan" on more extended scale.
But Rooseyelts line of reasoning
would be lease the public highways to
the corporations, let them do the de-
veloping and then charge the people
for the use of such roads.
Again, if Los Angeles may own and
operate her water, lighting and power
plants and the state may develop her
water power, etc, why may not the
nation develop the coal lands of
Alaska and supply the people and bat
tleshlps at the actual cost of labor,
instead Of turning the coal over to the
to them eXorbtant prices for that
which the people already own?
Hamptous Magazine for June goes
Roosevelt one better in his plea for
corporate leasing. In it's editorial notes
page $50 it says: Lease the coal lands
to the corporations, but let the nation
build the railroads to the mines foI
tho benefit of the corporations-oWn
and operate the railroads, but let the |
corporations operate our coal mines.
1T is the last stand of the corpora
tious-the last effort of the plutocracy |
to retain their hold upon the peoples |
resources All these subterfuges are
but the dying wall Of a system which |
is tottering to its fall; for we have out |
lived it and like much other nineteenth