The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-04-08
THURSDAY
ROADS AND BRIDGES.

There is a great deal OF justice, no
doubt, in the complaints from the other
islands regarding roads and bridges.
The great storms and floods OF last sea-
son played havoc with country roads,
and destroyed great deal of valuable
public property This emergency could
not have been foreseen, and was not
provided for The Legislature had made
the largest appropriation ever passed in
the Kingdom, but the loan was not ne
gotiated in full, and as the revenue fell
considerably below the estimate, these
appropriations could not be carried out
in their entirety, and it became a serious
question for the Government to even
partially meet this sudden demand upon
their small income. But with COM
mendable energy the Superintendent OF
Works was sent to the points where his
presence was most urgently needed, and
all that could possibly be accomplished
was done to tide over the difficulty. At
the same time great deal of necessary
work could not be touched, and it re-
mains for the Legislature to provide the
mendations Of the Public Works De-
partment.
The road tax is wholly insufficient for
all local requirements, and while the eX-
listing system is continued it will be in
cumbent upon the Legislature to supple
ment the receipts from that source by a
direct vote in aid. Whether there should
be local bodies constituted to take super
vision OF the roads and bridges in various
districts is question of policy which we
shall not discuss in this place. Our
point is, that if there are to be well-kept
roads and bridges in the Kingdom, the
appropriation for that service must be
largely increased, and this necessarily
raises the question OF taxation. The
Ignorant impatience of taxation" is as
rampant here as in older and far more
heavily taxed countries. In this King
dom taxation is a bagatelle; and the
wonder is that so much has been ac-
complished with so little money.
Be it understood, however, that we
are not arguing for high taxation; but
ers want first-class roads they must pay
for them. They cannot expect the Gov
eminent to do impossible things. But
the Opposition Enthusiastically expect
this at the hands of the Administration.
There are roads in the vicinity of this
city which are in very bad condition,
but which may be put into a passable
state at a comparatively small outlay if
taken in hand without delay. Another
seasons neglect will compel a heavy
outlay, or the thoroughfares must be
closed to vehicles. As a sample, take
Punahou street and the road into Manoa
Valley. The storm water has been per-
mitted to cut deep channel in the read
bed for at least a mile, and with each
shower the cut is becoming deeper. In
places the road is now dangerous after
dark, and as there is a large population
to whom this road is the only outlet to
market, it has become a serious question
for them. Even down on the plains, at
the top OF Punhahou street, near the Col
lege, the road bed has been guttered out,
and the surface water flows in the CEN
ter instead of along the drainage chan
nels at the side. Attention to details
along the roads would prevent such de
struction of public property as we have
described; but money must be provided
for the payment of road men to attend to
storm breaks when they occur, and
keep the road beds in good condition.
We select the road into Manoa Valley
as a sample; other roads are in an
equally bad condition. The longer re-
pairs are neglected the more costly will
the future work of restoration become
Dust and drift are allowed to accumu-
late on wooden bridges, rotting the tim
bers, when a road man making his
daily rounds, could easily keep them free
from such litter, adding many years to
the life of the structure at trifiing cost.
This is question which the Legislature
must face. 1t involves taxation much
more than administration.