Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1910-10-28
POWER ROW ENDS
IN A LOVE FEAST
Mayor Declares There Is Room
Enough in Los Angeles
for Opposition
COMPANIES GIVE NO PRICE
Attorney Declares 1t Would Take
Weeks to Arrive at Just
Valuation
COMPANIES GIVE NO PRICE

tributiOn of the power TO be developed
bv the owens river aqueduct wound
up in a love feast last night, when
Mayor Alexander. who made the last
speech, said that there was room
enough in Los Angeles for the mu-
nicipal power and the three private
corporations now selling power. When
the mayor had concluded Andrew 5.
Park, one of those who had been most
outspoken for municipal ownership,
moved a vote of thanks to the coun-
ell, the water commission and the
mayor for the opportunity given the
public to discuss the matter and he
was heartily seconded by W. J. Trask
the attorney who has represented the
power companies.
There was no set program last night
Attorney NJ. i. Graft was the first to
speak. He prefaced his remarks by
stating that he was not identified with
any of the power companies and then
made a plea for them on business and
moral grounds. He said that 1t would
be necessary for Los Angeles to have
a supplemental plant to generate cleo
tricity by steam in case of accident
to the hydro-electric plant. He de-
clared that consumers of the power
would demand assurance that their
supply would not be shut down in
case Of such an accident as cloud
burst or a break in the aqueduct. He
declared that if the city took over
the distributing systems of the private
corporations, as has been suggested,
it must pay the damage that would
result to the rest of the plant, which
would be valueless without the means
for distributing the power the plant
generated. He pointed out that the
power companies had played an i'm
portant part in the development of the
city and were entitled to fair play.
ADVOCATES PURCHASE
E. Winterer of Hollywood advocated
the purchase of the plant of the Los
Angeles Gas and Electric corporation,
with its distributing system, as that
is a steam plant and would do for
auxiliary purposes. The other com
panies he said, could either sell out
to the city or quit. But, he continued,
in three years, when the city will have
its power for sale, there will be lOO,-
900 more people in Los Angeles, giving
an additional bonding power that
would enable the city to buy all three
companies.
Joseph Simons wanted the city to
get as much for the power as 1t could.
He said that If anything was to be
made out of it, it should go into the
pockets of the taxpayers. He would
not give the power companies a fight
unless they wanted it, and If they did
fight them to a finish.
F.. G. Henderson brought up the
subject of senate constitutional amend
ment No. 1 in connection with the
matter of issuing more bonds. He
said that if this amendment, which
provides for the separation of state
and county taxes, the corporations to
pay the state tax and no city tax,
went into effect it would reduce the
bonding power of the city to S42, 500 600
and the city has already issued $34,-
OOOO 900. The $8,5OOOOO left, he said,
would not provide enough to bring
the power to Los Angeles and pay for
a distributing system.
w. ]. Trask spoke for the power
companies and said that they could
not comply with the request made by
the mayor at the previous meeting to
fix a price on their distributing sys-
tens.
DECLARES HE'LL STAND PAT
eve have presented our views and
upon those views thus presented we
propose to stand for the time being,
said Mr.. Trask. 81 have explained in
previous addresses to you that we are
not in d position to sell the distIibut-
ing systems at this time, and the rea-
y
ton was to take both the genera ing
systems and the distributing systems,
a different question would be present
ed, but we are now in the same situa-
ton that the city of Los Angeles would
be if she had the power here and were
then to sell her distributing system
or were now to sell her water dis
tributing system without selling the
plants. You can see that the distribute
ing systems are essential L wish we
were in a position to comply with
your request but at this time we can
not, and 1 would like to suggest at
this time that the city is not in q
position to buy these p ants. The limit
of your bonded Indebtedness for power
purposes is 5000 600 which is almo It
reached now. You have not, under
your charter at the present time, the
authority to issue bonds sufficient to
buy a complete and independent sys-
tenn or to buy the distributing sys-
TENS Of the present companies. 1t must
be apparent that there are connected
with these enterprises very serious
questions, questions calling for the
n CHEST, the best intelligence of our
honored city officials, of the lea ling
business men of this city. That some
solution will be worked out I firmly
believe.
CAN'T QUOTE A PRICE
"WhiIe we cannot at this time state
to your uonor and to you gentlemen
of the council and of the water and
aqueduct board, a price for our plant,
we can state to you in all sincerely
that we are anxious to DO anything
we can to solve the problem, and l be-
lieve that when negotiations shall be
taken up and we have had more time,
that we win be able to say something