The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-08
THE COUNTY
GOVT. BILL.
A. B. Loebenstein
Doesn't Want it
to Pass.
LAW WOULD BE
DISASTROUS
He Favored the Measure Before
and Ran for Legislature
to Aid it.

The Hawaii Herald has the following
| A. B. Loebenstein, who was nominated
for the Senate on the Republican ticket
at the last primaries, is opposed to coun-
ty government under the existing condi-
tons.
when matters shape themselves so
that the government of the Islands may
be decentralized,'' he said yesterday, II
viii work in favor of it; I favored the
measure before and was nominated on
that platform. But who thought the re-
suit would be as it was?
The actions of the Independent party
| in the Legislature during the present
session convinces me, with everyone else.
that county government under such con-
dltions would be disastrous. In the first
place we would need money for improve
ments, and the usual mode of procedure
is by bonding. If the affairs of the
county were administered by reputable
men there would be no difficulty met
with In securing the necessary loan be-
cause the status or character of the Of
| ficials would have much to do with the
credit of the country so long as we do
not control the lands. l am of the opin-
ion that there will be disruption in the
| ranks of the Independents within a
short time, certainly before the next
| election and I believe there will be an
entirely different and more agreeable re-
suit two years hence than we experience
ed at the election last November If l
am correct in this, believe we can elect
men to county offices who will have the
confidence Of the people. You under
stand that l oppose centralized govern
ment, l have opposed Mr.. Dole as Pres
| ident and Governor but I would prefer
! to have things go on as they are than
| fly to evils we are not quite sure about"
COMMENT OF THE HERALD.
| The views expressed by Mr.. Loeben-
stein relative to county government will
probably not be shared by the masses,
| though there is some pretty sound logic
in them. The idea of a continuation of
centralized government, even for linn
| iteG period is repulsive to most people,
and a change is desirable. Whenever TO-
cal government has been called for in
the past the press of Honolulu has
laughed at Hilo for thinking it could get
along efter the apron strings were sew
cred; city so situated and the people
so surrounded by officials with almost
unlimited power in the matter of orde.-
ing improvements has superior advan-
tages over every other district or town
in the Islands. Not content with reeur-
ing practically everything that was ask
ed for they wanted to say what other
towns should have and when. Hilo had
the nerve on one occasion to make n re-
quest that the Government band be sent
here so that the people who contributed
toward its support might have an oppor-
tunity to hear the music. The request
was met with jeers and a suggestion
that if the people of Hilo wanted to pay
the expenses of the trip, the band might
come up-some time And this state of
affairs has existed ever since the Ini
was organized. 1t Is in history that it
did come to Hilo once at the expense of
the players, but if there is another in
the twenty-five years of its existence it
has been blotted out by the ravages of
time. Early in the present session of the
Legislature it was mooted that the bill
to discontinue the appropriation for the
band would pass. Then, and not until
then, did one of the papers come out and
plead for a continuation of the organi-
cation, promising that other towns
might hear the music they paid for.
That is probably the last Hilo will ever
hear from it, and in the future as in
the past the people may do their own
whistling. This is mentioned as only
one, and probably the most unimportant
evils of centralized government as it ex-
lists here and is mentioned merely to
show how the pulse of Honolulu beats.
If they want to dance in Honolulu let
them pay the piper and the best way
for Hilo TO get out of the expense is to
ask for a change. The Herald does not
believe Hilo is ready for city govern
ment, but county government is feas-
ible and should be given the Islands, not
one county for each Island, that will do
for little strip like Oahu, but let the
counties on Hawaii be so divided as to
make the transaction of business less
irksome than under the present system