Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-06
LIGHT CONCERNS
PLANNING CYCLE
Of FREFERENDUMS
The City Attorney Thinks He Can
Block Scheme of Utility
Corporations
WANT TO SUSPEND RATE LAW
Hewitt Expects Petitions to Be
Filed Too Late for the
June Election
WANT TO SUSPEND RATE LAW
Ny HE electric corporations, which

H1 HE electric corporations, which
have always violently opposed
- the referendum clause in the
citys charter, have taken a sudden
change of heart and intend to welcome
this provision of the charter with open
arms, not only using it once, but twice,
in their effort to prevent the recently
passed ordinances, which cut down
their rates from cents to cents
kilowatt hour on electric lighting, from
becoming effective.
CITY Attorney Hewitt has received
intmation that the corporations will
file referendum petition just too late
for the matter to be voted on by the
people at the coming special election
on June 80, but within sufficient time
to be within the charter limit which
expires thirty days after the passage
of the ordinance by the council and
approved by the mayor. When the
council recognizes their petition and
appoints a date for the people to vote
upon the matter, they will file an ad-
ditional referendum petition, asking
that the ordinance establishing such
date of election be repealed. So on,
indefinitely, they could block the oper
alton of the ordinance cutting their
rate for while it is under legal cloud,
it is imperative.
THE PROCEDURE
After the filing of a referendum pc
tition, the city council may do one Of
three things: repeal the ordinance in
volved; appoint day for specia! cleo
ton and place the ordinance before
the people for vote, or vote on it at
the next general city election, which
In this case will not take place until
December, 1911.
I- hot
the referendum clause does not apply
to any ordinances concerning cleo
tions, for if such were the case the
referendum could be used as q means
of forever keeping any disputed ordi-
nance from final adjudication. The
question has not yet been passed on
by any court of this state, and Hewitt
is anxious to take 1t up for investi-
cation.
Opponents of the RECENTLY passed
electric ordinances said City Attor
ney Hewitt "have cast ONT suggestions
that in event that the city council, up
on the filing of a referendum petition.
orders a special election, the corpora
tions Will further complicate matters
by filing an additional referendum pc
tition protesting against q special eiec-
tion, an action that Will delay the
final adjudication of the recently
passed ordinances until the next gem
eral election in December, 1911.
HEWITT ACCEPTS ISSUE
81 am only too willing to take issue
with them on this point, for 1 feel that
upon threshing the matter out in court
l will be sustained in my contention
that the referendum does not apply to
an election. 1t Is plain that the law
does not contain an absurdity which
would provide a circle around which
we would travel indefinitely. 1 am
under the impression that it Is the
contention of the electric light corpor
ations to pursue these tactics, but 1
will fight them tooth and nail.
"They have already secured. SO 1
understand, far more signers to their
petition than the necessary one-seventh
Of the total vote cast at the last city
election, yet they make no move to
file their petition. The last possible
day which this instrument can be filed,
in order to have the matter placed on
the ballot for the election of June 80,
is June IA, a week from Tuesday.
Should they fail to file before that
time, a special election will have to be
called Then a referendum will be in
stituted against the election called and
an attempt made to further delay the
operation of this ordinance, for during
the time that it is under a legal
cloud 1t is imperative.
Il expect shortly to takt office as
counsel for the public utilities COM
mission, though / cannot state exact
ly when, as there are many matters
remaining in my office that need final
settlement l intend to stand by our
ordinances to the last ditch, and feel
confident that 1 will be sustained by
the courts