The San Francisco call., 1910-03-06
LAKE ELEANOR
PROPERTIES TO
Be PURCHASED
Conference With Ham Hall In
terests in Mayors Office Is
Practically an Agreement
Administration Shows Intention
TO Pay SI,0OO,O0O and Or
ders Contract Prepared

long step was taken toward ad-
iDefing the differences between the
Ram HAN interests and the city Of
HciaIs Yesterday. when an extended
conference was held in relation to the
Lake Eleanor properties There is
every indication that the administra
tion intends TO pay the s1OO0,000 asked
for The holdings. This money can be
paid ont of the s45,0O0.O0O issue OF
water bonds recently voted. Inciden-
tally. the attempt TO purchase the Lake
Eleanor lands may inspire a fresh in
junction suit from the Spring Valley
company.
The conference was held yesterday
IN the office Of Mayor Mccarthy in the
Crocker building. The city was repre-
scented by the mayor. Supervisors Pugh,
Herget and Loughery of the public
utilities committee, Assistant City At
toruev John T. NourSe and city Engi-
neer Marsden Manson The Hall
Hammond interests were represented
hy Attorney Jesse ". LilienthaL Ham
HALL John Coffee Hays and Engineer
A. NJ Hunt
ENGINEERS FAVOR PURCHASE
The situation was discussed at great
length and il was finally decided that
the city attorney should. in conjunction
with Attorney Lilienthal. draw up an
"a agreemcnt To be submitted At ] o'clock
tomorrow afternoon to the public utili-
lies committee of the board of super
Visors. An hour later the utilities COM
mittee viii make its recommendation to
the complete board Of supervisors and
action viii he taken
we are proceeding in this matter
with the greatest care said the mayor;
and" he added, with the greatest eX-
pedition."
il is stated that the engineers are
inclined 10 believe that more would be
gained 10y paying the S1,000,0O0 for the
properties than by going to court 1t
is generally recognized that John Hays
Hammond is the chief party in interest
Ii is also well recognized that the
properties cost him and his associates
a very small fraction of the sum now
demanded
OFFER INCLUDES ALL RIGHTS
The Lake Eleanor rights are held
partly in the name Of the Tuoiumne
supply company, the Sierra ditch and
water company and partly in the name
OF Ham Hall. The offer to the city
Eleanor feature Of the project for
100000 and an option on the Cherry
creek lands and rights for $500, 900.
In the contract drawn up by Lilien-
thai it was II first believed that GER
tain power rights had not been in
cluded and that there was a certain
indefiniteness in the phraseologY. 1t
was about these points that the dis
cussion at yesterdays conference cen
tered
We are holding out nothing" said
Lilienthsl our offer Includes every
thing held in Lake Eleanor and Cherry
creek by the Tuolumne supply com
pany. the Sierra ditch and water sup
ply company or by Ham Hall. We
stand ready to turn the whole thing
over to the city for the price named.
ONE JACKAsS EXCEPTED
This means the land, the water, the
power rights and everything else in
tolved. We have certain work to per-
form to hold our rights, and it was
because Of this that we inserted the
condition that the option must be taken
up in reasonable time
Yes the offer includes everything
we possess up there added Ham Hail.
except a jackass, and that is my per-
sonal property"
The mayor said after the conference
that he had passed the matter up to the
city attorneys office for a report The
intention is to have the terms of the
agreement so framed that the city will
be fully protected.
Tt is pretty well understood that
yesterdays conference amounted prac-
ideally to a closing of the deal With
tfle Lake Eleanor and Cherry creek
properties acquired the city could begin
work upon the dams and canals in the
Sierra