Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-20
WATER RATES ARE
STILL UNADJUSTEO
Councilman Says That Hollywood
Company Got Its Gifts
by HOldup
PROPERTIES ARE lNvENT0RIED
Utilities Board Asks Time to
Make Supplemental Report
on San Pedro Rates

Three sessions of the council-morn-
ing. afternoon and nignt-were held yes
terday to consider the question of water
rates for the Union Hollywood Water
company and the San Pedro Water
company, and at the end of the night
session Meyer Lissner, president of the
board of public utilities, asked time to
submit a supplemental report on the
San Pedro water rates. He said that
certain facts had been brought out at
the inquiry that the board had yainly
tried 10 get, AMI THESE additional facts
justified further report. This supple
mental report is expected next Monday
morning.
Bv putting the engineer for the San
Pedro Water company on the witness
stand. II. J. Goudge, attorney for the
San Pedro Water company, answered
the question asked him yesterday by
T. B. Comstock, engineer for the board
of public utilities, of what had become
of more than a hundred millions of
gallons of water that had been pumped
through the mains and yet had never
come out of the taps of the record con-
sumers. Mr. Comstock had taken the
figures of the water company's engl-
neer, A. j. Connors, for the statement
of pumpage, but Connors said last
night that he did not mean the figures
to be accurate. He declared he COM
puted his figures of pumpaSe on the
maximum capacity of the pumps and
multiplied a maximum pumpage by
the hours the pump was in operation
and that he did not deduct anything
for the time the pump was out of COM
mission for leakage, waste or anything
else.
PROBE HOLLYWOOD RATES
The time of the council during the
morning and afternoon hearings was
taken up by the Union Hollywood
Water company in an effort to show
that the reduction in rates for water
service recommended by the board of
public utilities be not applied to it.
Officers of this water company were
on the stand almost seven hours and
tried hard, under the careful ques-
tioning of W. f. Haas, attorney for
the Union Hollywood company, to
show the council that the valuation of
plant and depreciation were as had
been figured in the report submitted
to the board of public utilities. Every
nickeIs worth of property owned by
the Union Hollywood Water company
was inventoried for the benefit of the
council, for it is on plant valuation
that the rates will be fixed the law
requiring that the council must make
rate that will give fair return on
the money invested
The cOuncilmen who had to listen
to this technical talk could hardly
keep awake, but there was one bright
little incident in the morning session.
Meyer Lissner, president of the
board of public utilities, brought it
out when he casually asked 0. E.
Wern, secretary of the Union Holly
wood Water company, how much the
\ lot
in new tracts of land. Mr.. Wern
innocently answered that the COM
pany expected and received a bonus
of $25 an acre.
CALLS GIFTS" HOLDUP
Lissner wanted to know why that
was not included in the company S
statements of earnings, and Wern
replied that a bonus was not earnings,
but a gift, and was included in an
item of $4,000 of revenue from other
sources"
An argument sprung up over the
question of whether this money was
earnings or what, and Councilman
Betkouski settled it conclusively when
he said:
Just call it plain holdup, for that's
what it is"
The councilmen have been highly
pleased with the way in which 7. B.
Comstock, the engineer for the board
of public utilities has handled the
water cases. He appears to be ready
for any situation and even the clever
est lawyers the corporations can bring
against him cannot shake his fund of
fact. He is loaded to the guards with
figures bearing on every subject under
discussion and has turned to the ad-
vantage of the city little things the
opposing attorneys thought were for
themselves alone. This was especially
noticeable in the presentation of the
case of the Union Hollywood Water
company.