The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-12-08

the people and their servants who
conduct the affairs of the city are toC
\ wide apart A Mayor and Council are
elected. and thereafter no one among
the citizens seems especially TO con
Germ himself with the business affairs
I OF the city. unless some great and
/ special occasion arises. OF the ordi
nary affairs. and generally speaking, n
the extraordinary affairs, that come W
from day to day the citizens know lit
tie or nothing. Their interest is list
less. They skim the newspaper &C
counts OF municipal transactions. bat
know nothing of the details OF govern
ment
Under an ideal system, or under a
system as nearly ideal as we can hope
for in the immediate future, all this
will be changed. The citizens. whether
they pay taxes directly or indirectly
viii take as much interest in affairs
of their government as do stockholders
in the affairs of their corporations
/ Vital questions will not be left to the
/ decision of the executive and the coun-
ell alone. They will come directly be
fore the people for a vote. No fran
| chise for public utility will be sold
or given away OF voted away by dele
gated powers. All such matters will
be decided at the ballot box. The
spectacle that We often see now. of in
valuable rights bartered by politicians,
will disappear forever, for when a
question is left for the people to de-
eide it is pretty safe to say that the
right will prevail
OF course, under such system. the
mayor and city council will be shorn
of considerable power. but no more so
than is wise or Just. am fully in IA
vor of giving to the chief officer of 4
municipality very extensive powers,
but they should be purely executive.
No private corporation dreams of vest
ing its president and directors with
unlimited power to buy. sell, give away
or exchange any part of the property
placed under their control Matters
such as these are passed upon by the
stockholders. and so it should be in
municipal affairs. The mayor, like
the president of corporation, should
be simply the administrator who exc
cutes the wishes and directions of the
people as expressed at the polls. He
should be held to a strict accountable
". and every voter should feel a per-
sonal responsibility for the action Of
the executive. The city, so far as its
industrial affairs are concerned, should
be considered to be simply big BUSH
ness machine in which every man who
has a vote will also have the right to
demand an accounting from the officers
inrrusted with the administration of
affairs.
In explaining what should be the re-
lation of the citizens to the govern
ment,I have spoken of the condition
under which no franchise would be
given away or sold without a direct
submission of the question to the peo-
pie at the pC{is. In making this state
men of course | am taking the con-
ditions as they exist today and not as
should wish them TO be- Under an
ideal system there would be no fran
chises TO vote away. The city. and
not private corporation, would own
and operate the public utilities. such
as street car lines, gas worksSand elec
tric lighting plants.
Such condition is undoubtedly COM
ing. but how soon no one can tell. t
may come much more suddenly than
even the most sanguine of US expect.
Such an incident as was witnessed re-
Gently in Philadelphia, where a gang
of politicians deliberately gave away,
with the conniyance and active aid of
the mayor. street railway franchises
worth millions OF dollars. may occur in
even s city where the citizens are
more alert In that event il would not
be too much TO expect that the whole
system would be upset at a moments
notice. and that the people would come
into their own.
Municipal ownership is such q COM
nonsense and rational proposition that
the wonder is that it has not long ago
been adopted. The process of evoln-
ton from private to public ownership
is not nearly so difficult and involved
a matter as most people seem to i'm
agine. Nor does il mean thar a mu-
nicipality must OF necessity load itself
down with s great burden OF debt.
Free Street Car Transportation.
Here in Cleveland we are striving TO
bring about q state Of public mind that
viii. we hope. enable Us TO see munich
pal ownership in practical operation at
8 comparatively early date. All the
street car franchises in this city ex-
pire by 1913; most of them expire
much earlier. The companies admit
the expiration of some OF their fran
chiSss in 1894. The city claims an even
earlier expiration than 1894. and pro-
10 declare these franchises
expired viii be brought at the proper
time. With the aid OF these explra-
tons We mean to get our rights with
ont waiting for the special laws that
would otherwise be necessary TO Sc
cure lower fares
The ideal system Of municipal OWL
ership OF street railways would give
free transportation 10 everybody. At
first blush this may seem an extreme
step. but that is because we have not
been used 10 looking at the matter n
the right light In every great once
building system that is in many RE-
spects the counterpart OF the one