The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-11-16
CABLE FRANCHISE.

of Honolulu business men with the
Executive Saturday to discuss the
new cable proposition fulfilled the
truism stated bv this paper, that
the people Of Hawaii are nightly
interested in cable matters, and are
furthermore inclined to be mighty
careful not to give over everything
into the hands Of a private com
pany. While it appears that Col
Spalding does not directly request
an extension Of time for his pres
ent contract, the new schememight
be regarded as one way Of postpon-
ING the evil day when that con
tract shall be void.
For the past two or three days
the friends of this new cable
scheme have been placing no little
stress upon the extra concessions
the Pacific Cable Company desired
to make in lieu of an exclusive
franchise. Consider the concessions
for a moment. The company offers
market for 1915, 900 of the new
four per cent bonds, and further
proposes to forfeit 1926, 900 In the
event of failure to build an inter
island cable within a year from the
signing of the contract. 80 tar
their proposition seems most mag
unanimous and businesslike. Now
the company ask for two years
In which to obtain concessions from
the Colonies and Japan. Provided
these concessions are obtained, the
cable promoters agree to forfeit
1926, 900 in each instance if the
cable is not completed within three
wears thereafter. In other words,
thew ask to hold an exclusive fran
chise for five years, during which
they will attempt to gain conces-
sions and lay the cable.
At first thought this seems not
altogether a bad enterprise for Ha-
wall to enter into. But suppose
the concessions are not obtained
from Australia and Japan, what
them 1t simply means that all
possibility of the Pacific cable via
the Hawaiian Islands is blocked
for five years. Hawaii cannot treat
with other nations or other parties:
it is simply flat against a stone wall,
tied hand and foot and at the mer
cy of a private corporation. Ha-
waits prospects are entirely DEEPEN
dent upon what the Pacific Gable
Company can do in Japan and
Australia, and if they can do moth
ing Hawaii gets nothing. Let this
company agree to forfeit the $685.
900 bonus in event of failure. to
have the cable laid at the end OF
five years, and then. there. might
be some cause for more serious
consideration on the part OF our
Government. According to the
present request, the company APP
parently confident of success will
only give a positive guarantee for
the inter-island line. This is quite
a little, to be sure, but 1t Is not
enough to warrant forging bonds
that will put the country at the
mercy of a private corporation for
five years.
Col. Spalding and his cOadjutors
have made excellent Roadway up
to certain point, but there is re-
ally no reason why Hawaii should
cast all its fortune with them. This
was brought forcibly to notice in
Saturdays meeting, when General
HartweIl advanced his claims for
the right to make a contract. Gen
eral Hartwell's record as a cable
promoter Is by no means second to
Col Spalding's. But from the
purely business standpoint from
which Hawaii must take its view,
the priority of claim goes to the
man or men willing to make the
best terms. Just which one of