Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-09
FRANCHISE
GAME IS BLOCKED
THREE ORDINANCES VETOED
BY MAYOR ALEXANDER
Chief Executive of City Turns Over to
the Public Utilities Commission
the Requests of Railway
Corporations

Three ordinances granting franchises
to street railways were vetoed by May
or Alexander yesterday afternoon be-
cause they did not bear the approval OF
the public utilities commission. The
utilities commission did not positively
disapprove the franchises, but in their
communication to the mayor the COM
missioners stated they had had only a
limited time to investigate and were
not prepared to give definite answer.
These ordinances were passed by the
council after the utilities commission
was formed, and Councilman Wallace
made an effort to have them referred to
this commission by the old council. The
failure of the council to follow Wall
lace's suggestion did not prevent the
utilities commission from having a
chance to consider them. AS soon as
the mayor received the ordinances he
sent them to the commission.
In his veto message the mayor con-
demns the practice of the former coun-
Gil of selling franchises for $100, ire
spective of their value One message,
which follows, contains practically the
same matter as the others:
return herewith, without my ap-
proval, ordinance passed by your
honorable body December rs, 1909,
granting the Los Angeles Railway
railway on Alpine street, between
Buena Vista and San Fernando
streets, for the following reasons:
That, although I referred this ord
nance to the board of public utili-
ties, that body, on account of lack
of time and facilities, has not been
able to make such an investigation
as would enable it to come to a
positive decision upon some of the
xrrI1f nj in
gard to the granting of this fran
chise:
That nothing has developed to
show that the public service or the
just rights and interests of the Pc
titioners will be materially affected
by reason of such delay as may be
necessary for complete investiga-
ton:
That, excepting under exceptional
circumstances, franchises should
not be granted to street railroads in
short blocks or without ample and
explicit provision for the payment
by the grantees of all costs accru-
ing from the construction of such
railroads or from changes in drain
age or otherwise rendered necessary
l. thereby;
That as stated in the report of the
board of public utilities, no valuable
lFdHCHlSSS OF any KIM SIlOulu De
granted without adequate estima-
tion of the intrinsic value thereof
to the grantees, with a fair and
equitable adjustment of compensa-
tion to be made to the city on such
basis. The offer of $100 each for
any and all franchises, regardless
of their widely varying values, is to
be condemned, this sum actually
covering about the bare cost of adj
vertising required by the Broughton
law now in force;
That the granting of two or more
disconnected franchises in one and
the same ordinance appears unwise,
considered from a legal standpoint
and from the danger of abuse
through design or inadvertence.
The other vetoes are directed against
franchise granted to the Los Angeles
Railway company on Melrose avenue,
from Heliotrope drive to Normandie
avenue, and against the abandonment
of railroad franchise granted to Rob-
ert Marsh on West Pico street be-
tween Delaware drive and the western
city limits.