Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-21
PEOPLE PAY FOR
COSTLY ROAD To
ELDR|DGE' LAND
Supervisor Revealed as Owner in
Tract Most Benefited by
Highway to Nowhere
LIGHT ON $4,000 MYSTERY
Records Show SuperfIuous Route
for Public Travel Was Val
liable to Official

The reason for the building of "the
road to nowhere" which cost the tax
payers OF Los Angeles county about
$30,000 and which was constructed by
the board of supervisors through the
efforts Of "Tuss" Eldridge of the no.
torious solid three" leaked out yes
terday when investigation disclosed the
identity of the stockholders OF the
Bungalow Land Improvement COM
pany
The records of the county clerk s
office show that the directors of this
company are S. T. (Tuss) Eldridge,
Charles s. Mann and Foster M. Price;
that the capital stock of the company
is $4,000, of which $500 has been sub
scribed and is owned as follows: ED
ridge, $3749; Mann, $3749; Price, 81. In
other words, Price holds barely enough
of the stock to permit him to serve as
q member of the board of directors,
and the Bungalow Land Improvement
company may be said to be owned by
Eldridge and Mann.
1.-THE raid to nowhere is one of the
superfluous adjuncts of the county. 1t
was built apparently without regard to
public travel and is of no use to any
body but the Bungalow Land company,
which sells lots in the neighborhood of
Laurel canyon, west of Hollywood,
whittier the road was built with the
money of the taxpayers, through the
crafty efforts of Supervisor 'Tuss'
Eldridge who, as head of the Bungalow
Land company, has used this expensive
piece of highway to take prospective
purchasers to and from bungalow
land"
BENEFITS ELDRIDGE'S LAND
PLAINLY speaking" said a member
of the advisory committee of the Good
Roads association yesterday, 'it looks
as though Eldridge had built a road
with public money to lead to his real
estate tract in Laurel canyon. l un-
derstand this road cost the taxpayers
about $4,000 and is used only by
Eldridge and the persons to whom
he sells property in bungalow land.
Certainly no one else would ever think
of using the road, for it goes nowhere,
and although frequently referred to as
one Of the finest pieces of highway
constructed by the supervisors 1t is
absolutely useless to everybody but
Eldridge and the Bungalow Land COM
pany.
"The building of the road to no
where as 1t has become commonly
known, caused considerable protest
and gossip, but. Eldridge defed his
critics, and with his usual arbitrary
demeanor ordered the highway built,
and ignored the public. A good deal
of mystery attched to the building OF
the road, as no one could understand
it, and various conjectures were Of
fered as to the object of the super
visors in expending so much money on
an untraveled and unsought highway,
when there are so many public roads
in the county badly in need of repairs
and improvements.
ut has been regarded as one of the
whims of the solid three however,
and after the first agitation the road
to nowhere was dropped from the pub
lie mind, and Eldridge went happily
about his business, selling lots in bun
galow land,' on the private highway
built with public money The news
that Eldridge is half owner of the
bungalow company will now solve the
mystery"
Eldridge is a candidate for re-elec-
ton to the board of supervisors, run
ming on the machine ticket for the Re-
publican nomination in the Third su-
pervisorial district. His opponets are
]. L. Mansfield on the Democratic
ticket and Sidney Butler on the Lin
Roosevelt league Republican
ticket.