The Screen Guilds’ Magazine (November 1934)

4 The Screen Guilds’ Magazine To Yon — and Yon — and Especially Yon .. . W HEN I learned that the pages of our magazine were to be thrown open to political discourse it presented an opportunity to bring to light a pro¬ position so vital to the interests of writ¬ ers and actors—and even supervisors— that I cannot refrain from mentioning it. It deals with the protection of the natural resources of Los Angeles county and because of the stress laid on the gubernatorial campaign this most im¬ portant piece of legislation is likely to be sloughed off into the discard. I refer to County Amendment Number 6 . With the adoption of County Amend¬ ment Number 1, which limits the tax rate in' the county to 80c—and this amendment will and should pass—all dis¬ cretionary branches of the government will be discarded because of lack of funds. One of the most important branches— one that protects our homes—our hills— our trees and watersheds—to say noth-' ing of our fish and game,—the Depart¬ ment of Forester and Fire Warden— will be abolished, unless we take steps to retain it. This means that those of us who have homes in Malibu—in the hills above Beverly—in San Fernando Valley—or in any unincorporated village or town, such as La Creseenta, Montrose, Topanga, or mountain cabins throughout the County, will be without fire protection, excepting such scant assistance as the State Fire Warden and County Fire Protection dis¬ tricts can offer. This also means that the fifteen hun¬ dred miles of roadside tree planting which require trimming, watering and other care will be neglected and the trees will perish. It means that twenty-four parks, rang¬ ing in size from one-quarter acre to ninety-six acres, will have to be aban¬ doned. These parks are so situated as to give service not only to the unincor¬ porated areas, but to the incorporated areas, and serve as an additional fire prevention measure in that they tend to concentrate people instead of increasing hazardous foothill areas. It means, that should the office of Forester and Fire Warden be abolished and the average 550 fires the department extinguishes each year be not properly extinguished the property damage that would result could not be estimated. As an example take the Mt. Lukens fire of November 21, 1933, which burned 4831 acres. This fire was a comparatively small one, but the rain of December 31, 1933 and January 1, 1934, fell on the By Johnnie Grey denuded area and the subsequent debris- charged flood waters swept out of the His Excellency canyons through Montrose, La Creseenta, the City of Glendale and on to the sea by way of the Los Angeles River, through the City of Los Angeles. Forty-five lives were lost and many hundreds of people severely injured or mentally dis¬ tressed. The total cost of the clean-up alone was well over two million dollars, not counting the irreparable loss to the water shed. There is a bond issue before the voters on November 6th, in excess of $26,000,000, for flood control. A greater part of this is for the Montrose district. All flood control engineers admit that the best flood preventive is the native forest cover on your hillsides. If a small fire of five thousand acres can cause such havoc, think for a moment what the result would be should a con¬ flagration start in the foothills of Beverly Hills—Malibu Beach, Holmby Hills or Bel Aire, and be allowed to run its course without the Department of Forester and Fire Warden to check it. I personally know were it not for the excellent work of this department on the Mt. Lukens fire of last November, Mt. Lowe, Mt. Wilson and the area of Flint- ridge and Altadena would have been a shambles. Instead of approximately five thousand acres this fire would have reached nearer fifty thousand acres. The Department of Forester and Fire Warden consists of four division head¬ quarters, 14 patrol stations, 10 lookout towers, 100 miles of fire motorway, 170 miles of fire breaks, 205 miles of trails, 374 miles of fire telephone lines, two nurseries for reforestation stock, a cen¬ tral warehouse where equipment needed by the department is stored, handled, maintained and repaired. Equipment such as tanks, trucks and improved hand . tools in each patrol station and division headquarters—an outlay of over two mil¬ lion dollars for equipment, a greater part of which will be a direct loss through deterioration should this department be abolished. The department employs 276 perma¬ nent employees and 2860 temporary em¬ ployees, a total of 3136 men and women. Were the department abolished this would mean that at least 85% would be forced to request the County Charity De¬ partment for assistance, which would be a great detriment to all forms of busi¬ ness. Unless you vote “YES” on County Amendment Number Six it will mean increased tax expenditures to repair the damages caused by fires which are now prevented or immediately extinguished by the department; loss of investment in fire equipment, including 18 patrol sta¬ tions and 10 lookout towers; deteriora¬ tion of miles of telephone lines, motor¬ ways, trails, fire breaks and other fire prevention and protection facilities, and the disbanding of a thoroughly trained and highly efficient force of Foresters and Fire Wardens. Remember—fire unchecked is followed by flood, drought and famine. The de¬ partment of Forester and Fire Warden is as important, if not more important than any service of County government and its abolishment would be the greatest blow to conservation of natural resources, to the protection of person and property, that could occur in the County of Los Angeles. It is up to us who appreciate the beautiful—who love the out-of-doors, who have investments in homes, cabins, ranches and property to retain our de¬ partment of Forester and Fire Warden —which is on duty 24 hours every day to save us in fire, flood, earthquake and other emergencies—by voting “YES 77 on proposed County Charter Amendment No. 6.