Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-24
MAY RIDE FREE
If ON BUSINESS
STREET CAR PASSES TO CITY
EMPLOYEES LAWFUL
Municipality VIII Not Stand for Men
Going to Theaters and Pink
Teas at Its Expense,
Hewitt Says

City officials are acting within the
law in accepting and using free street
car transportation so long as they use
their passes in the city's business, but
they have no moral or legal right to
use these passes for their private ends
any more than a city employe has to
use a city automobile for joy rides.
This is the gist of a report made on
the subject to the council by City At
torney Hewitt yesterday.
Mr.. Hewitt's report came as the re-
suit of a question raised several weeks
ago by President j. D. Works, who de-
clared he considered the clause in
franchises granting passes to. city Of
ficials and employees as invalid.
But there is another phase of the
matter" said President Works yester-
day when the city attorney made his
report, land that is whether the public
interests are best served by using these
passes"
This matter IS being considered by
the legislation committee and the at
torneys report was referred to that
committee In part Mr.. Hewitt said:
"The use of the streets of the city
for street railway purposes is priv
ilge of great value, for which the city
is entitled to receive compensation;
and 1 am of the opinion that the city
has paid and is paying the street rail-
road companies to transport its officers
as a part of the rental or consideration
for the use of the city streets.
Not Gratuity
1.-THE reduced transportation for
school children, which is required by
these franchises. as well as the free
TRANSFORMATION of firemen, United States
| letter carriers and the policemen and
other city officers does not come from
the street railroad companies as gift
or gratuity, but it does come from the
city as a means of promoting the pub
lie interest. 1t is the result of the
citys act. as was said by the supreme
court of a state in a case in which this
question was fully discussed, just as
much so as If it had paid moneyed
consideration to the railroad companies.
What 1 have said is, however, to
be considered as applying strictly 10
the use of free transportation by clty
officers while actually engaged in the
performance of their public duties.
They have no legal or moral right to
use such transportation for their per
sonal benefit or convenience.
"a city officer who uses his privilege
of free transportation on street car
for the purposes of attending theater
or for any other non-official purpose
is Just as culpable as a city OFFICER or
/
city automobile. And compliance with
this limitation need not be left wholly
to the conscience of the individual Of
fcers. You have already prohibited
10y riding in the city's automoblles,
If is equally within the power of the
| council, by ordinance, to make 1t a
misdemeanor to use free transportation
on street cars except when actually en-
gagged in the performance of pupllc
duty.
"In conclusion it might be well To
state that, while the franchises require
| the street car companies to carry GER
tain city officials free of charge, 1t Is
not compulsory upon such officials to
| accept such free transportation. Ihefe
may be ground for difference OF opinion
as to whether the public interest re-
o1lires, in an equal degree, that all OF
| the officers named in the franchlses as
they are now granted should pc III
| Guided in the street railroad franchises
| THE chief element in the matter, from
the standpoint of the city, is the free
service rendered to letter carriers, hre-
men and policemen, whose duties re-
oI1ire them to travel about the city
| fraouentfv. If the city were obliged to
nav for the transportation OF its ponce
officers alone it would result IN con-
! siderable drain upon its treasury
Reference is made to this, not for the
nnrpose of finding in this fact any
legal justification for free transporta-
lion of city officers, but simply to show
that such free transportation is a Valu-
| able privilege for the city. L thlnk the
exaction of this concession is war
ranted on other grounds, as indicated
| herein. .4.s
of the opinion that the transportation
free of charge of the city officers spec
| ifed in the street railroad franchises,
while on duty is not illegal"