The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-06-15
RAISED THEIR WRATH.

have struck home, if the display Of
wrath exhibited by the immediate
newspaper defense Of the corpor
alton is an indication.
As the facts i'll the case make
argument an impossibility from the
corporations standpoint, the old
tactic is used of Introducing an
other subject for discussion by
means of a counter attack. The
dodge is a clever one, but it has
been played so often oy ADLER men
there is no danger Of its misleading
the public in the present instance.
However, there is no objection to
dealing with both questions, if the
defenders of the notorious and rn-
popular Tramways Company so
desire; but it must be remembered
that at no time during the discus
sion and investigation of the matter
will the main issue of a cheap,
serviceable and we'll regulated
system of street transit be lost sight
of.
The attack made upon the plan
tations as an offset to the proposed
investigation of the Tramways
Company, while beside the ques-
ton at issue, can be used as a
parallel to show that the public
good would be conserved by plac-
ing the Tramways corporation upon
the same footing as s gar corpora
tons. As to the taxing Of planta-
tons, that is a question which will
receive attention when some much
needed reforms are discussed here
after.
There is in fact no similarity be-
tween the Hawaiian Tramways
Company and the incorporated sugar
estates of the Islands. The Tram
ways Company, for instance, en-
joys an exclusive franchise for an
extended term of years, which is a
special privilege not accorded sugar
corporations. Again, the Tram
ways Company has issued bonds on
its property for nearly two and a
half times its value, as given by
the manager in his returns to the
Government It can be said to the
credit of our island sugar and plan
tation corporations that such ques-
tionable, if not dishonest, business
methods have seldom, if ever, been
followed. As a matter of fact the
Tramways Company has violated
both the spirit and letter of the law
by furnishing little or no informa-
ton TO the Government i'll its
annual statement; while the planta-
tons have in every instance fur
nished full and complete returns as
required by law.
At this point the question ar
rises whether the Tramways Com
pany has not voided its franchise
by repeated violations of the terms
of that franchise, and its persistent
refusal to comply with the require
ments of the law governing cor
porations.
Another point which the public
should keep in view is that the
dividends of the Tramways Com
pany are largely RENTED abroad
while those of the majority of sugar
corporations are paid to home in
vestors. Besides, the capital stock
of the sugar corporations repre-
sents, i'll most cases, the actual
cash outlay, while the Tramways
Company's stock is largely fcti-
tious, the bonds issued being
greatly in excess of the cost of the
enterprise.
The question of taxation is also
an important part Of this issue.
The Tramways Company has here
tofore paid taxes on its own valua-
ton, while in the case Of the plan
tations the tax assessors meet
annually at Honolulu with the
Minister of Finance and the rates
are fixed for growing crops and
cane, pasture and forest lands.
As reference has been made on
this point to the Onomea Sugar
Company, inquiries have been
made which show the allusion to be
unfortunate for the case of the
Tramways Company. The facts
are the amount of taxes paid by the
Onomea Sugar Company for 1898