The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-30
LESSON FOR HONOLULU
In CITY GOVERNMENT

consisted at first only of an old dis
carded desk of Mr.. Dohrmann. a sec
rotary and board of directors. and the,
met in borrowed ROOM as the due:
were only 81 per month. They still re
main at that figure. They now have al
organized office force-a superinten
dent, collectors and stenographers.
| They have gradually accumulated by
correspondence and otherwise a Iibrar,
] on muneIpal affairs and other matters
winch is used greatly in Connection
with their work. The directorate con
sists of fifteen members. These belone
to the busiest firms in San Francisco
but in six years they have never failed
To have their regular meetings. a quo
rum never lacking. By this AIR. Dohr-
mann impressed upon his auditors the
spirit which actuated them to work as
they did.
In coming into contact with the NUM-
cipal officials the Association was met
with distrust. So many Associations
had been started usually commencing
with moral reform and ending badly
that 1t was thought the Merchants
Association had the same intentions
called a moral reformer and disclaimed
any intention of working under such a
banner. They have only one thing In
common with the moral reformers and
that is fair play.
The cleaning Of San Francisco
streets was the first mission which the
Association undertook. After making
many experiments they became a con-
tractor with the city governmnt. $780,
900 was raised so that the unemployed
persons who were usually put to work
in the parks for useless labor, were put
to cleaning the streets. They therefore
inaugurated system which does not
clean the streets, said Mr.. Dohrmann.
but keeps the streets clean. They are
kept clean all day long.
IMPROVEMENTS MADE
Street sprinkling was formerly done
at the expense of merchants under a
special tax system levied on them, in
vogue for thirty years. Finally the
Merchants Association said, I'VE will
buy your CARTS The contractors re-
piled that it was worth $4,000 to them
and they would not give 1t up. After
five years the Association has finally
succeeded in getting the contract by
which San Francisco will be sprinkled
better and under good management.
Through the fundamentally of the
Association San Francisco has become
better lighted. They also found the
wires were disfiguring the city and a
movement was begun for putting them
under ground and their determination
was expressed to such an extent that
they finally won their point and the
wires will go into the conduit system
This will be completed h three years
by agreement with the electric light
and telephone companies, and without
friction.
With the street car companies the
same experience has given them an OPP
portunity of making many improve
ments in the systems in vogue by which
all the elements of friction were elm
ina ted.
Mr.. Dohrmanu stated he had made
street paving q particular study. He
had examined the French government
stations for trying paving material and
also had looked over paving in the
Eastern cities, and the result is that
now the present Board of Public Works
specifications so that the best paving
snaterial may be brought to San Fran
cisco.
The Association succeeded after q
hard fight in doing away with the com
mercial license tax. That was in Mr..
Dohrmann's opinion a remnant Of the
past and does not and should not exist
in modern cities. The result is that
under the new San Francisco city char
ter that license tax IS absolutely done
away with; The only tax now neces-
sary to be levied is for the police sur
VIGILANCE Of the business district.
New York has formed a Merchants
Association along the lire Of the one In
San Francisco. and good work has re-
suited in correcting many municipal
evils. One feature of the New York
Association has been TO bring business
to New York by special trains.
EVILS COMBATTED.
San Francisco was once threatened
with trade stamps for use in the re-
tail stores. This matter was discussed
and after a fair discussion il was re-
solved by all that the trading stamp
system should not take root in San
Francisco and 1t did not. It did take a
strong hold in Oakland where it de-
moralized business interests to an ex-
tent. In San Francisco the Associa-
ton believes that it saved thousands of
dollars by keeping the system out.
The Lick Industrial School was Sc
cured for San Francisco through the
efforts of the Merchants Association.
No provision for its location was made
in the will and the matter was In the
hands of the politicians. The Associa-
ton raised sufficient money to buy the
present site on which the school was
built.
The question Of charity for deserving
persons was taken UP and through the
efforts of the Association every request
for assistance is thoroughly investigat-
ed and this has caused the saving Of
much to the merchants. They assist in
charitable enterprises. because the
merchant makes his living by the COM
munity.
Their great achievement was in de-
feating the political bosses. The bosses
had always defeated good municipal
charters by picking out some flaw or
other In them. The Association went