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n t Contract - City of Los Angeles with American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. September 17, 1914. N r. IP. A. Warm, General T raffic Manager. Bear S ir: I hare your le tt e r o f the 16th re ferrin g to contract between the City of Los Angeles and American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. The contract or "permit* in question is rather pecu­l i a r in it s terms. Apparently your construction of the contract is corredty and the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company w ill have the right net o n l y to use the wharf fo r their own ships but to co llec t fees from other ships using the some, and they also have the right to hold and store free any freight unloaded from vessels . I f the e ffe c t o f the permit is to lease to the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company the wharf in question, there may be some doubt as to whether they would have a right to waive wharfage, dockage and handling charges or their own vessels. Certainly as to any other'vessels they world be obliged under the ordinance of the city to collect- the regular charges. Under the opinion of the City Attorney, addressed to the Honorable Board of Harbor Commissioners, of date August 24th, he says: "The City as proprietor of the wharf charges and receives a l l the fees fo r the use thereof mentioned in the ordinance ,* This language Implies that the Steamship Line is not the lessee of the wharf, but that the City is s t i l l proprietor thereof, but the City Attorney is in error in stating that the City receives a l l the fees, for the contract provides that the American-H&w&i iar Line sh all pay to the city 30fi o f the wharf­age and dockage fees (omitting handling), unless such propor­tion shall in any calendar year amount to leas than $15,000.00 and in which event the Steamship Company sh a ll make up the d iffe ren c e. I would suggest that a conference be arranged with the Crescent Company, the P acific Ih a rf & Storage Company, and possibly the Southern p acific and the Outer Harbor Bock & Ih arf Company, who are interested, lik e ourselves, in seeing a uniform ap licatio n of rates, for the purpose o f determining upon a course o f action, in order that the confusion now surrounding the situation may be cleared. Copy to Mr.H.C.Kutt, General Manager. 9 Very truly yours