Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-18
WELCOME CHANGE

care followed the proceedings of
~ the Good Government city coun-
ell since its members took office have
no doubt come to understand the diff
ference between city governed for
the benefit Of the people Of the city
and city governed for the benefit OF
certain public service corporations.
The latest evidence of the fact that
the biggest power in the city govern
ment of Los Angeles as at present
conducted is the people of the city OF
Los Angeles is shown by recent acts
of the city council and of the public
service commission in the regulation of
the street railways of the city.
1t is an astonishing thing that men
controlling some public service corpo-
ration, who, in their personal business
relations, are of the highest character,
appear to have so little regard for the
binding force of a contract between
their companies on one side and the
people on the other. Yet that this feel
ing is almost universal is shown by
just the sort Of things to which Judge
Works called the attention of the coun-
ell a few days ago when he pointed out
the fact that in numerous instances the
street railway companies OF the city
of Los Angeles were openly, deliber-
ately and persistently violating the
contracts with the city under which
they occupy and use its streets. We
venture to say that any one of the
gentlemen responsible for the manage
ment of these public service corpora
tions would feel righteously indignant
If any person were to suggest to him
that he was capable of violating his
personal obligations by deliberately re-
pudiating the provisions of a contract;
permitting his note to go to protest,
or in any other way endeavoring
wrongfully and dishonesty TO avoid
any of the terms of an agreement into
which he had entered with another
party Yet it is beyond question a
fact that at the present time, and,
indeed, ever since our street railway
companies began operations. these COM
panies have persistently and deliber-
ately violated many of the obligations
of the contracts between themselves
and the people of the city of Los An
geles, under which they are using prop
erty of tine city. to wit: the public
streets, Of incalculable value to them.
The Herald does not feel like con-
demning the responsible managers of
these corporations to the fullest eX-
tent for this apparent moral obtuse-
ness, for the reason that they have in
the past been encouraged to assume
this attitude toward the public, by the
shameful neglect of the public servants
of the city to enforce the rights of the
city where public service corporations
were concerned. In other words, until
the present official dispensation came
into power in the city, the city councils
and city officials had so acted as ap-
parently to recognize the fact that
these public service corporations were
bigger in every way than the people
of the city, to whom they owed their
official positions.
j
would have been more or less than
human had they not taken advantage
of this laxness on the part of public
officials in enforcing the rights of the
public Another most promising sign
of the times is the fact that the public
service commission has energetically
taken up the matter of forcing the in
terurban railway lines, traversing miles
of the city, to protect the lives Of
citizens by installing watchmen at
dangerous street crossings. Year after
year trains have been run across the
public highways of the city at the
high rate of speed necessary to ac-
commodate the requirements of the
public, but which at the same time has
been, in many instances, fatal to the
lives and the physical well being Of
our citizens. Nothing has been done,
or attempted to be done, by the serv-
ants of the public charged with the
duty of protecting the public, until the
present Good Government officials
came into power. But these officials,
recognizing the fact that the biggest
power in the city is the people Of the
city, and that they are charged with
the solemn responsibility Of guarding
the peoples welfare, have taken up
the matter of protecting the people,
and we venture to say that before their
labors are ended the public will find
that they are protected from dangers
which have up to now taken such a
terrible toll of human life and human
suffering from the city's inhabitants.
We call the attention of our read
ers to these facts because we wish
them clearly to understand the differ
ence between a city government which
recognizes the people as the greatest
power in the city, and the kind of
city government that we have had in
the past, which recognized a superior
power in certain public service corpo-
rations