VOLUME LXXXIII.-NO. 48.
LOS ANGELES NOW UP IN ARMS!
Its People Determined to
Break the Clutch
of the Water
Company.
Mayor Snyder and a Minority of
the Council Standing by
Their Pledge.
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16.— A grave
Question has arisen. Shall a water
company rule this city? The present
year will witness an eventful struggle
to determine this point. No more im
portant contest than the one to be
waged between an entrenched capital
and the taxpayers has yet l>een record
ed' in local history, and the outcome
must directly Interest every one of the
110,000 residents. Nevertheless, the peo
ple who recognize the fact that their
rights are in danger, that a corpora
fattened on their generosity, is
loth to relinquish its grip, are obliged
to turn to San Francisco to find a daily
paper bold enough to champion their
cause.
Almost as a unit the people of Los
Angeles, taxpayers and voters, favor
public ownership of a water-distribut
ing plant. This statement Is not ad
vanced as an estimate. It is simply
declan <1 as truth, for the people have
directly indicated their wishes at the
ballot-box.
It will be thirty years on the 22d of
next July since the city of Los Angeles
entered into a contract with private
parties to take from the management
of the little adobe town of 1868 the
■water works plant, then owned by the
municipality, and to conduct and oper
ate it for thirty years.
To these private parties— now known
as the Los Angeles City Water Com
pany — the City Council of the later six
ties gave the use of the water of the
Los Angeles River for the period
above stated, the same to be distri
buted for public purposes.
According to the terms of the lease,
it was provided that at the expiration
of the contract the plant of the water
company should once more become the
property of the city, the company to
be paid at a fair and equitable figure
for all improvements made thereto.
When this contract was entered into
and this lease made, the city of Los
Angeles had a scattered popula
tion of a few thousands. No one for
one moment thought that at the ex
piration of the lease there would be
here the second city In size and com
mercial importance west of the Rocky
Mountains. But such is the case, and,
as the city has grown, bo. has the re
muneration of the original holders of
that valuable lease, their heirs and
assigns.
Under this private direction and con
trol the city and its people have for
thirty years been put to a very heavy
tax for water Bupply. The water com
pany has had a monopoly and has been
enabled to place a burden upon the peo
ple which they have been forced to
bear, complaints being futile. Accord
ing to the rates now in force, and they
have been reduced year by year for
Borne rlx or seven years, there is an an
nual profit of $400,000 accruing to the
stockholders of the water company.
The citizens have long realized this
but In a good-natured way they have
borne their burden almost without
murmur. They had to. But they had
ail the time one bright ray of hope In
the future. In 1898 the lease, franchise
all rights of the water company
were lapsed by the contract and the
property reverted to the city. Then a
greater era would dawn. People could
have all the water they desired for
household and other purposes and It
would be furnished to them by the city
direct, at the simple cost of distribu
tion, which would be exceedingly light.
All agreed that when this time arrived
their troubles as to water would be
over.
The water contract that was made In
lobe days of Los Angeles has be
come an historical document, and it is
Inly a most extraordinary paper.
It is given in full, as follows:
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O The Binding Document ©
O On Which o
° Much Depends. °
O O
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atlon Known
as the Mayor and Common Council of
the city of Los Angeles, and their
luccessors in office, for and on behalf
of said city of Los- Angeles, party of
the first part, and John S. Grlffln,
Prudent Beaudry and Solomon La
zard. residents of the city and county
of Los Angeles, State of California,
party of the second part, witnesseth:
That for and In consideration of the
yearly payment of $1500 per annum In
gold coin, such payments to be made
on the first day of January of each
year, after the signing and/approval
of this ordinance and contract, until
the conclusion of the term of this
contract and the further considera
tion that the said parties of the sec
ond part will surrender to the said
parties of the first part and cancel
all claixn3 that they now hold against
said city for repairs of said ] wate*
works, and for damages amounting to
the sum of $8000. a little more or less;
.and for the further consideration of
the said parties of the second part,
shall make the following improve
ments about, in and upon the said
water works at their own proper costs
and expenses, to wit: Lay down In
streets of said city twelve miles of
iron pipes of sufficient capacity to
supply the inhabitants of said city
with water for domestic purposes,
and shall erect or cause to be erected
one hydrant, to be used as a protec
lion against fire, at the corner of each
cross street of said city, where water
pipes are now, or may hereafter be
laid, by virtue of this contract, and
shall, within one year from the ap
proval of this contract an^ ordinance,
erect or causa to be erected an omit,
mental fountain on the pli.ii:. of this
city, of such design as the Mayor or
Common Council shall direct, at a
cost not to exceed. 51000; and shall,
within two years from the approval
of this contract and ordinance, con
struct, at their own expense, such
ditches, flumes or erect such machin
ery In connection with said water
works as will secure to the inhabi
tants of «-aid city a constant supply
cf v/jitei for domestic purpose*, and
shall construct reservoirs of sufficient
ci.p.u'iv for that purpose.
The said party of the first part, for
the above considerations, and $1 in
hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby
acknowledged, hereby covenants and
agrees with the said party of the sec
ond part, their heirs, executors, ad
ministrators and assigns, to deliver
and concede to the said parties of the
second part, their heirs, executors, ad
ministrators or assigns, the exclusive
use, control, possession and manage
ment of the Los Angeles city water
works, so-called, together with all and
singular, the pipes, flumes, wheels and
other personal property composing and
appertaining to said water works in
any manner whatsoever, with all
rights, easements and privileges, and
covenants as described and contained
in a certain instrument of lease, exe
cuted, by the Mayor and Common
Council of the city of Los Angeles, of
date October IS, A. D. one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-five, to Jean
1.. Sansovaine. for the period of thirty
years from the beginning and approval
of this contract and ordinance, with
the right to sell and distribute water
for domestic purposes, and to receive
the rents and profits thereof, for their
own use and benefit, except as here
inbefore provided, hereby giving and
granting the said parties of the sec
ond part, their heirs, executors, ad
ministrators or assigns, the right to
lay pipes In any and all the streets
of said city, and make all necessary
excavations for that purpose, and the
right-of-way through, upon and over
land or streets belonging to the said
city of Los Angeles, with the addition
al right to take water from the Los
Angeles River at a point above or near
the present dam; provided, always,
that the said parties of the second
part, their heirs, executors, adminis
trators or assigns, shall at no time
take from said river for the use of
said water works more than ten Inches
NEWS OF THE DAY.
Weather forecast at San Fran
cisco: Cloudy Monday; probably <
rain; southwesterly wind. •
Maximum temperature for the past
twenty-four hours: «
San Francisco 46 degree* •
Portland .1. 46. degrees
Los Angeles C 4 degrees
San Diego 68 degrees
FIRST AND SECOND PAGES.
LO3 Angeles Water War. BFBfi <
Sanford B. Dole Arrives. i
THIRD PAGE.
Death of Ben Butterworth. <
Forecast of Congress. <
Treatment of Swine. i
Crisis In Cuba Passed, .
Mrs. Lane Shoots Herself.
FOURTH PAGE.
New Warship for Japan.
Gold Digging Illustrated.
Blow Torture and Death.
Chile Was Called Down.
Charles P. Villlers Dead.
FIFTH PAGE.
Cruel Boy Murderer.
Marriage on the Ocean.
Dr. Jordan's Sermon.
A Belle Attempts Suicide.
Entries for Turf Events.
SIXTH PAGE.
Editorial.
Keeping Faith.
The Week of Preparation.
An Immediate Remedy Wanted.
Marked Improvement In Trade.
The Golden Jubilee Edition.
. "Individual Thoughts," by a Mod
> est Critic.
» SEVENTH PAGE.
> News Along the Water Front, >
> Coursing at Ingleside. .
Trying to Move the Hospital.
. Mysterious Death of a" Woman.
> A Suspected Robber Not Identified.
> EIGHTH PAGE.
, Baseball News.
>. . A Whaling Episode.
> Funeral of Mrs. Shafter.
> ' NINTH PAGE.
> News from Across the May.
> TENTH PAGE.
>> National Guard Notes.
>> On the Shooting Ranges.
:> ELEVENTH PAGE.
■ • Births, Marriages, Deaths.
i, TWELFTH- PAGE.
.> Burglars Still at Work. Hfj]
!> * First Mass Celebrated.
5>Y . Ready for the Jubilee.
$> Dun-ant's Life Criticized.
• • Robbed by an Old Game.
:> Waging a Society War.
This agree
ment, made
and entered
into this
!oth day of
July, A. D.
tween
the corpor-
The San Francisco Call
of writer, •without the previous con
sent of the Mayor and Common Coun
cil of Faiil city; :uid that they will,
within sixty days from the d.ite here
of, select the point from which the
water will be taken from said river.
The said party of the first part hereby
covenant anil atrree with the nai<l par-
Ad part. th<-lr heirs,
executors, administrators or assigns,
that at the expiration of thirty y.-ars
from the execution of this instrument,
they will pay to the sail parties of the
second part, tht-ir heirs, executors, ad
ministrators or assigns, the value ot
the Improvements made In, about and
upon the said water works. In pursu
The Mayor of the City Advocates a Plan of
Acquiring the Plant.
To the Editor of The Call— Sir: Who shall supply the In
habitants of the city of Los Angeles with water, the city itself
or the City Water Company? This is -i question that has been
agitating the minds of the citizens of this city for a lons time,
and this agitation has been growing greater and greater with
the general advancement of the city. For nearly thirty years
the City Water Company under a lease, has been in absolute
control of the system for distribution of water for domestic
purposes. The members of the present municipal administra
tion were elected on platforms declaring unreservedly for. the
ownership and operation by the city of the water plant. All
the officeholders were sleeted by large majorities, the: people
believing them thoroughly in sympathy with the great cause.
Twelve months have elapsed, and but little has been accom
plished. Every effort on my part and on the part of others
to bring about a settlement of the controversy has been're
ferred to by certain members of the administration as "gallery
play." and our sincerity has been otherwise questioned by these
people. Procrastination in all matters relating to water supply
is the only "action," if such term applies, that escapes criti
| cism. There are some who seem to be doing nothing more than
to look for stumbling stones to place in the way. It appears to
me as if the water company were exerting every effort to ar
range things so that it may continue in possession of the plant
after the expiration of the lease.
In the month of July of this year the lease h.tween the city
and the City Water Company will expire, SO it will be seen that
there remains only a short time in which to act T do not want
to be understood as advoenting the position taken by some few
citizens that the water company bus absolufc ly no rights In the
controversy. I contend, to the contrary, that the water com
pany under the thirty-year lease with the city has certain
moral, if not legal, rights, which must be respected; and I also
contend that the city has certain rights which must and which
Bhail be respected by the water company.
There is only one logical solution of the problem. I stated
It In my annual message to the <'ity Council. It Is as follows:
"In the event that tho city should, jift.-r having <l<.n. ■ every
thing in Its pnw.-r, fail to bring about a settlement, there Is but
one course to pursue that cannot be evaded ly the water com
pany. At the expiration of the thirty-year contract the city. If
Its Interests are to be protected, take possession of the entire
plant of the water company— reservoir, pipes. In short, every
thing that goes to form the system. No one should for a mo
ment question the city's right to this course. There is not •
SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 1898.
ance of this contract: the same to he
ascertained by arbitration, In case the
parties cannot agree upon the value
thereof, the said party of the first
part, and the parties of the second
part, their h<ir>. executors, adminis
trators or assigi •■ to choose one man
each, and th< j two men thus i
to select a third man, and the judg
ment of the three men thus selected
shall be final In the premises. And the
said party of the first part hereby
covenant and agree to make no other
lease, sale, contract, grant or fran
chise, to any person or persons, cor
poration or company, for the sale or
delivery of water to the inhabitants of
said city for domestic purposes dur
ing the continuance of this contract,
always without prejudice to any rights
already granted.
And the said parties of the second
part, their heirs, executors, adminis
trators or assigns, hereby covenant
and agree with the said party of the
first part that they will pay the sums
of money at the time and in the
manner hereinbefore mentioned and
pet forth, and cancel the claims here
re mentioned, upon the signing
and approval of this contract and
ordinance by the proper parties there
to; that they will make thf improve
ments hereinbefore mentioned and set
forth. in the following manner,
to wit: That they will replace all the
•; pipes now belonging to the
said water works within one year from
the signing anil approving of this con
tract and ordinance, and that they
will extend said Iron pipes as :
the citizens dt-siring to be supplied
M. P. SNYDER, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES.
RINGING WORDS.
with water for domestic purposes ■will
agree to take sufficient water to pay
10 per cent per annum Interest upon
the cost of extending such pipes
through the streets now unsupplied
with water. That they will within
one year from the date hereof place a
hydrant to be used as a protection
against fire at the corner of one
street at each of the cross streets
where the pipes are now laid down,
and will erect hydrants at other
street corners according to the terms
of this contract as fast as the pipes
are extended through the streets of
said city. Thar they will erect or
cause to be erected an ornamental
fountain upon the public plaza, of
such <!» signs as the Mayor and Com
mon Council shall direct, within one
year from the date hereof; that they
will furnish water for the public
schools and city hospitals. Jails, free
of charge, when the same are near
the pipes, the city furnishing the ne
cessary conduits for that purpose;
that they will make all the improve
ments herein mentioned and set forth,
and keep the same in repair at their
own cost and expense for the said
period of thirty years, and return the
said water works to the said party of
the first part at the expiration of the
said period of thirty years in good
order and condition, reasonable wear
and damage of the elements excepted,
upon the payment to them of the
value of the improvements made after
the approval of this contract, to be
ascertained as hereinbefore provided,
Continued on Second Page.
word in the contract which says that the plant is not to come
Into the possession of the city at the expiration of the thirty
ycr contract; but the contract fioes Bay that the water com
pany will mnko all Improvements as mentioned and set forth
nil keep the same in repair at its own cost and
expense for the period of thirty years, and return the said
water works to the Bald party <>f the first part at the expiration
of the said pert* d of thirty years in good order and condition,
reasonable Wear and damage by the elements excepted. The
city of Los Angeles not being Insolvent, the water company
could in duo timo recover all it is entitled tv for improvements
under th<- contract. I consider Uie Water company acting sim
ply in the capai Ity of trustee, and that acting as such the com
pany lias absolutely nothing to Bay about operating the plant
after the expiration of the contract. By terms of the contract
the plant reverts to the dtjr. All the water company his is
a claim on the city for the real value of the improvements
wit during the 1 i r.» of the contract. There Is
no doubt that nearly thirty years ago when the Mayor and
Common Council of the city of Los Angeles entered into con-
With the water company, it was never intended (and if it
had been Intended it would have been expressly provided in the
tract) that the water company should at the expiration of
the contract hare any rights in the premises except to the
real raloe of the Improvements.
The press dispatches made it appear that in my annual
ffe I advocated confiscation and other anarchistic meas
ures. T have not tsid a word about confiscation. Why should
I? The water plant is the property of the city of LOS Anp.-1.-s.
and under the contract all that the city has to no is to pay
for the Improvements. I believe that the City Water Company,
after having made millions of dollars out of a privilege granted
by the city and for which it paid nothing, should be philan
thropic enough to assist rather than obstruct the efforts at an
early settlement.
It is a plain case. Kither th<* city or the water company is
to rule. If the city doesn't demand Its rights, the rock of ages
will crumble away before we are any nearer municipal owner
ship of water works than we aro t<>
In conch rmit me to say that I am standing
firmly on the platform upon which I was elected. I am exert
ing every effort to bring about a fair, just settlement of the
question at issue, and I shall continue to do so while in tsa
office I now occupy. Very sincerely yours.
M. P. SNYDER.
Stayor of Los Angeles.
PRESIDENT SANFORD B. DOLE.
TO FURTHER
THE CAUSE OF
ANNEXATION
flrrival of President Sanford B.
Dole of the Hawaiian Govern
ment as an Err)bassador
to Washingtor).
After a stormy passage from the Is
lands, and nearly four days overdue,
the Peru slipped in through the fog
last night, and just before 9 o'clock
dropped anchor off Melggs wharf.
There had been some anxiety as to
her welfare, but she arrived with all
well, and bearing the President of the
island republic, Sanford B. Dole.
President Dole Is in a hurry. He
will stay no l«inger in San Francisco
than possible, and then he will speed
on to Washington— for Washington is
his goal and Congress is his object, and
his mission the cause of annexation.
Doles arrival just now is particular
ly significant, for the question of an
nexing the Hawaiian Islands is now be
fore the Senate, and the presence of an
embassador no meaner than the head of
the Provisional Government itself
shows how deeply * concerned the an
nexationists are in regard to the fate
of their favorite project.
President Dole will appear before the
committee on foreign relations in the
furtherance of his mission, and his
hopes reach to a hearing before the
bar of the Senate itself, should such a
course be allowed. At any rate, he
comes armed with all the weapons of a
diplomat, and the fight against the au
tonomy of the island government will
be a bitter one.
President Dole is accompanied by his
wife and daughter, both of whom will
continue on East with him.
Dr. Rosenau, the Federal quarantine
officer, whose Jurisdiction in the matter
of inspecting foreign vessels has been
decided by the courts, followed his
usual custom in the case of the Peru.
He made no effort to allow the passen
gers to land, having had no Instruc
tions from Washington to waive the
usual custom.
Drs. Chalmers and Hill, however.
State officers, accepted an invitation to
become reporters for the yellow journal
on Mission street, though they failed In
tatlve that they had made their late
trip through the rain for the benefit of
the press. A singular fatality over
took them, for but one paper received
any intimation that the doctors were
losing their time for the benefit of news
in general.
The ship's officers said that they did
not know that the doctors were act
ing as reporters.
It was learned from both doctors and
from Mr. George Hooper, who accom
panied the yellow paper's tug, that not
anyone of the party was allowed to see
President Dole and that the reporter
was not allowed to leave his tug. Drs.
Hill and Chalmers were very eager to
have the papers denounce Dr. Rose
nau for not allowing the President to
land, though he seems to have stuck
closely to his line of duty, refusing to
lend himself to yellow methods.
The extent of the anxiety felt for
the Peru can be best Judged by the
comparative silence of the Merchants'
Exchange telephone. It has kept up a
constant jingle since the ship was due,
the racket increasing in proportion as
the hours flew by and the ship was
still unsighted. It took the full time of
one man just to answer queries about
the vessel.
President Dole was not the only one
for whom a welcome was prepared.
United States Marshal Baldwin, Uni
PHICE FIVE CENTS.
ted States District Attorney Foote,
Secretary Macao of the Japanese con
sulate and United States Deputy Mar
shal Mi -nekton waited at the wharf for
the arrival of the steamer with war
rants for the arrest of possibly two of
her passengers. One was for a Japan
ese named Kamejtro, who was wanted
at Yokohama for forgery, and the
other was 1 >r. Herbert, alias Onpen,
who, was thought, might come on the
vessel from Honolulu. Herbert was
accused of causing the death of a wo
man in Auckland from malpractice,
and he lied on the steamer Alameda to
Honolulu, and it was supposed he
would come on to this port on the
Peru.
Colonel Hay Goes to Egypt.
LONDON. Jan. H;.— The United States
Embassador to Great Britain, Colonel
John Hay and family, will sail from
Genoa on the North German I^loyd
steamship Prina Regent Luitpold on
January I'O fur Egypt on a tour up the
Nile.
A Great Fire at Trikhala.
ATHENS, Jan. X.— A great fire at Trlk
bala has done damage to the amount of
£50,000.
NEW TO-DAY.
Many, a buisness man -jSrl^
who is envied by his as- Zi\*-^yfc \ v 1
sociates and acquaint- S^SSHj^
ances as a "lucky fel- i2%s^Tj|4r
low" stands but a step **^gf
from the grave. He has • we.
purchased success at the
cost of health. For every ■
step forward in wealth he has taken two
backward in health. Now that he has al-
most achieved his ambition as a money-get«
ter, he is standing on the verge of his grave.
Just one more big business strain— just one
more step backward in health — and he will
step into his grave. No man has the right
to gain money at the expense of health. H*
owes something to wife and children — some-
thing to himself. He may have health easily.
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Every family should have Dr. Pierce'a
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