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July 15, 1958
By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer
Los Angeles and the Dodgers lost a round in court in their efforts to build a baseball stadium in Chavez Ravine.
Superior Court Judge Arnold
Praeger ruled that the contract between the city and the Dodgers was
invalid. The deal had been struck when the team moved to Los Angeles,
then voters narrowly approved it in a June 1958 election. Two local
taxpayers then filed lawsuits trying to stop the deal.
The Times' main story led with
a couple of painful sports metaphors, reporting that Judge Praeger
"struck out the Dodgers' Chavez Ravine deal," which according to the
paper was "a 32-page doubleheader decision."
The paper was a strong
proponent of the ballpark and there were often clues in stories if you
weren't sure where the paper stood. Deep in the main story on Praeger's
ruling was this passage: "As for the voters who decided last June 3
that they were in favor of the Chavez Ravine recreational park--that
doesn't count!" Interesting how the project was described.
In a story about city
officials' reactions, Councilman John Holland was referred to as
"perhaps the bitterest foe" of the stadium plans. The ruling seemed
certain to be appealed, but Holland instead hoped "that plans may be
speedily revived to have the major league baseball stadium constructed
near the Coliseum in or adjacent to Exposition Park."
Dodger owner Walter O'Malley remained confident that the ballpark would be built in Chavez Ravine.
"We came to California in the
first place because we felt it was a fine country and because we wanted
to build a new modern stadium," O'Malley said in a story by The Times'
Al Wolf. "Chavez fits in perfectly with that plan--and we are not
abandoning the program."
keith.thursby@latimes.com
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From The Times' editorial page, July 16, 1938. Note the Bible passage.
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e can add this to The Times' editorials against a federal anti-lynching law (not necessary) and offering refuge to people fleeing Nazi persecution (they would just go on welfare and take jobs away from Americans): What's all the fuss with a recall election? One thing that's evident about The Times' editorial pages in this era is that they were staunchly in favor of the status quo.
Meanwhile, we seem to be in favor of a ballot initiative on working women that I don't entirely understand. Looks like some digging is in order.
At left, petitions are filed seeking to recall Mayor Frank Shaw. He says his opponents are a "disgruntled, discredited, hypocritical handful of politicians, racketeers and misguided zealots...." Los Angeles? Why it's the "white spot" of the nation!
And we'd be willing to host the 1940 summer Olympics after Tokio was forced to withdraw because of the war between Japan and China.
Also ... Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes? Let me say that again: Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes?
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Note to Jaded: It's not such a bargain. Adjusted for inflation, $13.33 is $190.61 USD 2007.
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July 12, 1958
 By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer
Los Angeles officially threw its hat into the Olympic rings for the 1964 Summer Games.
Mayor Norris Poulson announced the bid after a meeting with the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games.
"We in Southern California, Los Angeles in particular, already have unparalleled facilities for the successful staging of the Games," Poulson said in Braven Dyer's story in The Times. The 1932 Olympics had been a success in Los Angeles.
Money was already an issue in picking future Olympic cities.
Dyer wrote that "many European countries claim, after having made the long trip to Australia for the 1956 Olympics, that they will seek to keep the big international program in Europe for years to come, travel expenses being so heavy for many nations which lack the financial standing of the United States."
Unlike many of the paper's stories leading up to the Dodgers' move, Dyer's piece kept the Olympic bid in perspective. He pointed out that Tokyo was expected to make a bid in 1964 since the city was awarded the 1940 Games, a competition that didn't take place.
Tokyo was named the host city in 1964, with Detroit finishing a distant second in the International Olympic Committee voting. Detroit was viewed as a better Olympic city than Los Angeles? California did get another Olympics in 1960, with the Winter Games coming to Squaw Valley.
L.A. had to wait until 1984. Detroit is still waiting.
keith.thursby@latimes.com |
 By Keith Thursby
Times Staff Writer
The Times published detailed results of the Chavez Ravine ballot initiative that showed just how close the vote was.
The June 3 measure to approve a baseball stadium for the Dodgers passed by nearly 26,000 votes and was favored in nine of the 15 City Council districts. Four of the six districts that voted against the stadium contract were in the San Fernando Valley where, according to The Times' story, "sectional opposition to downtown attractions is fostered by some interests."
That sure seemed like a line better suited for an editorial. But anyone reading the coverage had to realize by now that The Times was clearly on one side of the debate.
Councilmen John Holland and Patrick McGee, two frequently quoted opponents of the stadium deal, served districts with the biggest margins against the Dodger contract.
Holland's 1970 obit by Times staff writer Doug Shuit included a quote that summed up his view of the contract. "It was the biggest steal of public lands and money since the trade for Manhattan Island with the Indians for a basket of beads," Holland said.
keith.thursby@latimes.com |
Even allowing for artistic license, it's difficult to see how Charles Owens could have City Hall looming in the background from our blacksmith shop on Garey Street. Below, a view from 1st Street and Garey via Google maps' street view. Owens would have been several blocks farther away for this July 1, 1938, entry.
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ometimes one can only sigh. At his sentencing in the Harry Raymond bombing, former Police Capt. Earle Kynette speaks for half an hour in defense of his conduct.
Unfortunately, The Times didn't quote a single line of his remarks. Instead, we summarized them in one paragraph:
"The onetime head of the police intelligence squad immediately launched into a recital of his accomplishments, including his education, military experience and record as a police officer. He accused most of the state's witnesses as perjurers and wound up with the statement that he presumed that because of the political background to the case Judge Ambrose was loath to grant him a new trial."
Also on the jump, Mayor Frank Shaw says a group of Methodists acted in an un-Christian, un-American manner by endorsing his recall and in criticizing his brother Joe and Police Chief James Davis.
And two city analysts begin an audit of the Police Department. "Results of the survey, expected to require one to two months, may presage a complete or partial reorganization of the department," The Times says.
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A panel from "Buck Rogers," Sunday, June 26, 1938. |
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arry Raymond finally goes home after 163 days in the hospital, The Times says. He promises a $1-million lawsuit against Mayor Frank Shaw, Joe Shaw, Police Chief James Davis, several subordinates and members of the police intelligence squad.
"It's swell to be home," Raymond says.
Also, 140 Civil War veterans leave Los Angeles by train for a reunion marking the 75th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. More than 1,600 Union and Confederate veterans are expected to attend the event. The travel expenses are being paid by the U.S. government, The Times says.
On the cover of Part 2, a group of Methodist ministers supports the recall of Mayor Shaw, criticizes Joe Shaw and Chief Davis, and censures the governor and attorney general for failing to help expose corruption in government.
And federal narcotics agents confiscate 50 pounds of marijuana seeds from Japan marked as "prepared food."
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 e have more fallout from Earle Kynette's conviction in the Harry Raymond bombing. On the jump, The Times reports that seven officers will face a police board of rights on charges of obstructing the Raymond investigation.
Mayor Frank Shaw sends a letter to members of the county grand jury noting the achievements of the Police Department ... but more important, he also tries to remove Police Commission Vice President Charles W. Ostrom. An attorney, Ostrom has clients who include Milton "Farmer" Page, a leading underworld figure. Shaw says Ostrom should either quit the commission or stop representing Page. Ostrom, however, says he will "go out fighting."
Shaw was unable to remove Ostrom, who remained in office. But the victory was temporary... (Bonus fact: Ostrom died in 1959 at the age of 77).
Milton "Farmer" Page, above, was a major underworld figure in early Los Angeles and was among the defendants in the case against Tony Cornero's gambling ship, the Rex. I'm going to have to dig up more about him; he sounds like quite a character.
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uestro Pueblo is a new discovery for me, and a very happy one. The Times began the feature by writer Joe Seewerker and artist Charles Owens in June 1938, publishing installments Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The series ended in October 1939 after Seewerker and his young son, Joe Jr., were badly injured in a car accident. The last installment bids farewell with a jaunty "hasta la vista." The series was published as a book with an introduction by The Times' Lee Shippey.
And never mind the fallout from the Harry Raymond bombing, here's really important news: The two leads of "Gone With the Wind" have finally been cast, The Times says. The movie will star Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Norma Shearer as Scarlett O'Hara.
The Times says three supporting roles have been cast: Walter Connolly as Scarlett's father, Gerald; Maurice Murphy as Charles Hamilton, Scarlett's first husband; and Margaret Tallichet as Scarlett's sister Carreen.
Of course, we know GWTW didn't quite turn out this way.
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 ne thing you have to say about Los Angeles Mayor Frank Shaw: He has a sense of humor.
Upon returning from Washington, where he spent the final days of the Earle Kynette trial, Shaw was given a list of written questions.
He was asked for "any comment he cared to make on the conviction of Acting Police Capt. Earle Kynette and Lt. Roy Allen; his position in reference to a resolution by Councilman Hyde asking the mayor, the chief of police and the Police Commission to resign; whether he intended to ask for a reorganization of the Police Department, particularly as to the intelligence squad; an investigation of the squad; will his brother, Joe Shaw, remain with the administration; the $90,000 secret service fund; Dist. Atty Fitts' announcement that he is going after the 'higher-ups' in the Raymond bombing case; and other items."
Shaw said, in part: "Out of 18,000 city employees, three have been charged with crime and two of them have been found guilty. As a public official, sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the charter of the city of Los Angeles, I was required to regard these men with the same presumption of innocence as the law grants to every other citizen....
"Councilman Hyde's resolution calling for resignation of myself, the police commissioners and Chief Davis was clearly the gesture of a candidate for office who must use sensational means to get his name before the voters. The City Council refused to take it seriously. Upon the face of it, it is ridiculous."
Note: On Sept. 16, 1938, it won't be so funny.
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 ermany begins the systematic roundup of Jews on the pretext of putting them in "protective custody" or claiming that they are foreigners "without proper papers."
"At Buchenwald Concentration Camp, near Weimar, it was reported that 65 army buses were arriving nightly from Berlin, filled with Jews," The Times says. "Other centers sent smaller contingents."
... In the case of two youngsters who are Jehovah's Witnesses, a federal judge rules that it is unconstitutional to force students to salute the American flag if that violates their religious beliefs.
On the jump, a brief follow on the conviction of Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing ... The American Medical Assn. is divided over a campaign to treat the needy. Dr. Hugh Cabot is calling for the government to pay for preventive medicine, healthcare for the poor and scientific research for the good of the people as a whole, The Times says. The AMA concedes the need to treat the poor, but balks at anything that resembles socialized medicine, The Times says ... A woman says she left her 10-week-old baby in a cafe because she wanted to go to a dance. She says she has three other children, two of whom have been adopted while the other is being cared for by a friend.
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irst, we have tragic news from Berlin: Panicked Jews wander the streets in hopes of avoiding mass arrests in which entire families are hauled away in the middle of the night.
"...officials explained that the anti-Jewish activities were necessary because 'the Jews' behavior lately has become provocative, resulting in growing indignation among the population,' " The Times says.
The Times leads with a story about repercussions of Earle Kynette's conviction in the Harry Raymond bombing. The most significant story is on the jump: Councilman Hyde introduces a resolution calling for the resignations of Mayor Frank Shaw, Police Chief James Davis and the entire Police Commission. The resolution was sent to a committee, where it was expected to lie dormant. But by the end of the year, a recall election will have changed the landscape.
Also note Betty Rowland, the "Ball of Fire," at the Follies.
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he Times concludes its series on traffic in Los Angeles with a call to action: "Are the beaches and the sea to be separated by impenetrable masses of congested cars? Is mankind to stagnate in Southern California, fettered by its own lethargy when a means of release is offered? Those are the questions that must be answered either willingly or unwillingly. They cannot be escaped."
"...The monster of Frankenstein--the motorcar which has wrestled free from its master--must be made a willing and useful slave again!"
To emphasize his point, Ainsworth cites some figures from the Auto Club: Going from 1st to 10th on Broadway took 14 minutes, 12 seconds by auto and 12 minutes, 2 seconds by streetcar. The Auto Club re-created a horse and buggy trip that took 10 minutes, 21 seconds.
Ainsworth also talks about funding the freeways, a subject that I will leave to interested readers.
And yes, the contrast between the Holocaust in Germany and Southern Californians worrying about traffic is pretty stark, isn't it?
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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times
Police Capt. Earle Kynette, after initially refusing to be interviewed after his conviction in
the Harry Raymond bombing, meets with the press. (Howard Decker writes of the flashbulbs the photographers are using: "Methinks them suckers put out a whole lot of light. Stop down
your apertures, guys!")
Photograph by the Los Angeles Times
Bombing victim Harry Raymond in a photo published June 17, 1938
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Above left, Auto Club Chief Engineer Ernest East, sometimes called the father of the freeway, and Assistant Engineer Harold Holley.
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os Angeles Police Capt. Earle Kynette is convicted in the Harry Raymond bombing. No surprise, except perhaps to Kynette, who spent the next 10 years in custody.
Officer Fred A. Browne, who was cleared in the case, died of a heart attack the next year in a Vermont Avenue bowling alley. Former Officer Roy J. Allen died of heart problems in San Quentin in 1942.
Kynette was paroled in 1948 despite Raymond's protests. His wife had divorced him while he was in prison. He was sent back to San Quentin in 1951 for violating his parole after he was convicted of being drunk. He was freed again in 1952. His pharmacist's license was restored and he was working in a drugstore in Twain Harte, Calif., when he was charged with drunk driving in a car accident that killed two people. He was later cleared.
In 1963, Kynette was stabbed in the abdomen and left arm during a drunken fight in a skid row hotel in Oakland. The Times failed to note his death in June 1970 in West Hollywood.
Raymond died in 1957.
For me, the most surprising discovery in the Raymond case is The Times editorial, below. As far as the unsigned editorial is concerned, Kynette was a rogue officer in charge of a rogue department. The rest of the Police Department--and City Hall, presumably--was free of corruption.
Below left, the next installment of Ed Ainsworth's series on traffic in Los Angeles.
Listen to some of the predictions if the "motorway" system is built:
Los Angeles to Santa Monica in 15 minutes. Pasadena to Inglewood in 19 1/2 minutes. Los Angeles to Long Beach in 21 minutes.
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 ou might well wonder whether the designers actually expected to run "motorways" right through buildings in downtown Los Angeles -- the answer is yes, they did.
There's quite a bit of data in this installment of Ed Ainsworth's series on traffic in Los Angeles. If I had the time, I would track down population growth figures to see how successfully the Southern California Auto Club predicted the future. Alas, there are so many stories, and only one Larry Harnisch. I'll leave it to my interested readers to see how the Auto Club did.
But here's the interesting material that should resonate 70 years later:
"... Los Angeles, above all other cities, depends upon the automobile for its actual everyday traffic needs.
"This is what Automobile Club engineers say: That if the streetcars were to stop, life would go on about as usual. San Antonio --a city of a quarter of a million -- has led the way by being the first major American city to abolish the streetcar in favor of buses.
"If the buses were to stop, there would be hardly a flurry.
"But if automobiles were to suddenly to cease to function, the whole economic and social structure would be disrupted."
And the jury is out in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing ... Stay tuned.
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A detail of the arch, as shown on San Pedro High School's website. For the full image, go here. |
A cloverleaf interchange, as envisioned in 1938. Note the extensive landscaping on both sides of the freeway.
A map of proposed "elevated motorway" routes. One of many that have been prepared over the years. |
 his victory arch at San Pedro High School was salvaged from the Federal Building (1910-1937), which was at Main and Temple. I'm always thrilled to discover that any piece of old Los Angeles has survived, no matter how small. If you click on the photo below, it will appear full size and you can see similar entryways all along the right side of the building.
At left, the prosecution's closing arguments in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette follows the trail of civic corruption to Joe Shaw, the mayor's brother. With Kynette convicted, attention will turn to the Shaws and the recall movement will gain momentum.
Part 4 of Ed Ainsworth's series on Los Angeles traffic lays out an elaborate proposal for 420 miles of "elevated motorways." As superficial as this story is, it contains key elements of what transformed Los Angeles transportation into what we contend with today:
"Street railways would gradually be eliminated and bus service substituted, both on surface streets and the elevated motorways."
"The elevated motorways would not run along above present streets. They would be cut through the middle of blocks. Preliminary surveys disclose that is is possible to run practically all of these through so-called blighted areas."
Would the motorways be an architectural eyesore?
"Definitely not. It is almost an axiom of modern civilization that man's highest achievements in industrial design are in themselves objects of symmetry and beauty."
Recall that there are some essential differences between what was proposed and what we have today: One of the original plans called for parking structures to be placed at intervals along the motorways. Also take a good look at the map of the network: It's massive.
So here we have a blueprint from 1938: Get rid of the streetcars, switch to buses that can use surface streets as well as elevated lanes and build a massive freeway system.
Most important, note the source of the proposal: The Auto Club of Southern California. Not a name one usually hears in discussions of what happened to the streetcars. But the Auto Club was a major player in the demise of the streetcar system.
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Photograph by the Los Angeles Times
Police Capt. Earle Kynette before altering his appearance for his trial in the Harry Raymond bombing. |
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  erhaps it came as a shock -- at least to Police Capt. Earle Kynette, if no one else --that he was convicted in the Harry Raymond bombing. At the moment, the trial is in its final few days. Not to give anything away, but the jury is going to find him guilty quite soon.
We also have the third installment of Ed Ainsworth's series on traffic problems in Los Angeles, which included the illustration above.
For some reason, Ainsworth illustrates the problem of traffic by using three women who are running errands, which I'm not sure is entirely fair or accurate. His point is that surface traffic is prone to congestion: "Automobiles and streetcars were mixed in a jerky, slow-moving mass, all practically paralyzed."
Next, he explores the strengths and weaknesses of subways, particularly the cost of tunneling (sound familiar?) and Los Angeles' lack of densely populated urban areas that benefit most from underground transportation, he says: "In Los Angeles, the sprawling population is too spread out."
The conclusion, according to Ainsworth, is to build elevated transportation. To be continued...
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s difficult as this may be to believe (and I'm sure it is), traffic is not a new problem in Los Angeles. The city's streets were congested 50 years ago, they were congested 70 years ago and, yes, they were a mess a century ago. As regular readers of the Daily Mirror know, proposals for elevated trains, subways, one-way streets, bans on curbside parking and prohibitions against large, cumbersome vehicles have been kicked around for decades.
So here we are in 1938, taking yet another look at the city's impassible streets. You might find yourself asking why people living 70 years ago didn't adore our sainted streetcar system, because this is before (according to conspiracy theorists, anyway) the shadowy cabal of bus companies and car manufacturers plotted the postwar demise of the beloved Red Cars.
And there's an update in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing, in which the defense, out of desperation in a doomed case, throws everything imaginable at the jury in a vain attempt keep their client out of jail.
Above left, apparently all one needed for a dialect joke in 1938 was an African American and a mule. Incredibly enough, this gem of ethnic humor appeared on The Times editorial page.
Really.
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Above and at left, Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin poses with Jewish ceremonial items brought from Europe by Henry Weinberger and his wife and presented to Wilshire Boulevard Temple. The Times says the donations include Paroches (hangings for the Ark) from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries.
Officer Fred A. Browne is scheduled to testify in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing ... Seniors graduate at Occidental College and Mt. St. Mary's College ... And the Knights of Pythias hold an elaborate ceremony at Forest Lawn in tribute to deceased members.
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June 5, 1958
By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer
 So it was close, but a win is a win.
A day later, participants in both sides of the battle over building a baseball stadium in Chavez Ravine seemed to agree that the measure to approve the city's deal with the Dodgers had passed. The Times reported June 5 that with about half of the city's precincts reporting Proposition B was being approved by about 15,000 votes. Mayor Norris Poulson said the measure would ultimately win by 30,000 votes. A story the next day in The Times put the margin at 24,293 votes.
"The vote appears to be conclusive," City Councilman Earle D. Baker said in the story written by Carlton Williams. Baker said he considered the result a mandate and would no longer oppose the project.
The main story in The Times gave lots of room to the winning side, with quotes from Poulson and other city officials.
Councilwoman Rosalind Wyman, an early backer of bringing the Dodgers to Los Angeles, was understandably elated. "I sincerely hope the City Council will now pull together and assist the Dodgers with their plan to build the finest baseball stadium in the nation as soon as possible," she said.
She might have been thinking of Councilman John Holland, a fierce opponent of the Chavez Ravine deal. He was not quoted in the June 5 story, but a day later in The Times sounded like a man not ready to give up the fight. Among other things, Holland said the close results in his district were "a clear mandate from my constituents to continue the fight against the Dodger contract."
Dodger owner Walter O'Malley, pictured with a victory cigar, said construction on the ballpark could start as early as July 5 "if there are no roadblocks such as problems of proper clearance or delays due to litigation."
keith.thursby@latimes.com |
June 4, 1958
By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer
Too close to call?
The election night story on Prop. B, the controversial measure to
approve building a baseball stadium at Chavez Ravine, didn't have a lot
of details. That might have been because of time constraints but also
because both sides were still hoping for the best and didn't want to
say anything concrete.
The Times said Prop. B piled up a steady lead, but the voting was so
close "a nearly complete count of all votes cast in the city might be
necessary before the issue is settled."
The story said Mayor Norris Poulson said he had expected a close
race and wasn't surprised by the early numbers. And opponents such as
City Councilman John Holland refused to concede defeat, The Times said,
because opposition to Prop. B was centered in outlying areas (such as
the San Fernando Valley) where the vote count will take longer.
Things will be very different a day later.
keith.thursby@latimes.com
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