The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-11-12


! teachers salaries FOR the last fou
/ months Of 1899, during the school ad
| ministration of T.. A. Mott Smith upoi
which the Attorney General has giveI
an adverse ruling the following letters
| addressed to Treasurer Wright and At
torney-General Il. =. Dole by DR.. G. +
Rodgers, secretary, explains the Who'll,
subject.
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands,
October IS, 1901.
Mr.. w. II. Wright, Treasurer.
Sir
Your attention is respectfully called
to the enclosed list showing the
amounts due TO certain teachers on ac.
count of rise of salary to which they
became entitled under our salary
schedule on the first of September. 1899
but which they did not receive at the
time and part of which they have never
received. The following is a statement
of the facts Of the case.
At a meeting of the Department held
April 10, 1899 the following resolution
was adopted. NO salaries shall be
raised from now on until the next APP
preparation by the Legislature for any
cause whatever nor shall the Board
consider any application for rise of any
salary whether in or out of the sched-
ule, nor shall any salary be raised by
virtue of this schedule, which is hereby
suspended until the next legislative ap-
preparations or otherwise" The reason
assigned for this action was the made
quacy of the appropriation from which
teachers salaries are paid.
This was fully understood and stated
at the time it being hoped and expect
ed that the Legislature, which in the
ordinary course of affairs was due to
meet in 1900, would appropriate what
ever funds were necessary to remedy
this temporary injustice and any hard
ship arising therefrom.
The Department not only intended
to ask for and expected to get such APP
preparations from the Legislature, but
the teachers affected by the suspension
of the salary schedule were all so in
formed. They naturally expected, as
they had a right to do, that it would
only be a few months before the ar
rears would be squared up.
However, as ii afterwards turned out,
owing to the action of President Nc
Kinley, there was no legislative session
in 1900, but before the raising of
the American flag and the formal trans
fer of sovereignty to the United States,
the Council of State made certain sup
Elemental appropriations which were
intended to enable the Department to
ulSCIdIBt lllt ODllBdllOl dllblllB llOlll
the suspension of the salary schedule,
and which were ample for the pur-
pose.
At this point new difficulty present
ed itself, the Auditor holding that a
current appropriation could not be
used to discharge an obligation re-
over from former period, and
that said period ended December 81,
1899. Under this ruling the Department
paid the teachers who were entitled
to an increase of salary from Septem-
Der l. 1899, the increase due from Jan
uary l, 1900. The amount due from
September /, 1899 to December 81, of the
same year still remains unpaid.
The same technical difficulty that
prevented the Council of State appro-
priation from being used to discharge
the obligation remaining from 1899 VIII
also prevent the use of any appropria-
ton made by the Legislature of 1901
FOR that purpose. these appropriations
being for a current period beginning
July /, 1901, unless otherwise specially
provided. Therefore if this obligation
s to be discharged, as it certainly
ought to be, it will have to come out of
he lump sum of Ten Thousand Dollars
for unpaid bills not other
wise provided for. 1t is hoped that !
he justice of making this claim
,harge against such appropriation will |
Je apparent.
Very respectfully
(Signed) c. T. RODGERS,
Secretary.
p. S.-The Superintendent of Public |
instruction tells me that in CONVEX
alton he had with you on the subject |
,ou admitted the above mentioned |
.laims to be Just and agreed that so |
a. nffipi1il action |
(signedJ G. T. R.
Honolulu. October 81 1901.
., p. Dole ESQUIRE, Attorney General.
Dear Sir: / have received your COM
of October 18th, and goth, |
elative to certain arrearages of sal /
.ries due teachers for the last four
months of the years 1899; the number of
eachers interested being about forty |
md the total amount due them being
eleven Hundred and Sixty Three Dol
ars and Fifty cents Sl16S.5O)
A statement of the nature of this in
ebtedness and the circumstances that
aused it's existence were set forth in
ny communication to the Treasurer of
he Territory under date of October
5th which communication or a copy
hereof / understand is now in your
ossession.
Notwithstanding the care taken to
make that statement both full and
lear, the Treasurer as well as yourself
ppears to have misunderstood or mis-
onstrued the same in an essential par
icular.
In the Treasures letter to you, quot
in the first paragraph of your letter
o me of October Goth, he speaks of
back pay on account of increase of
alaries under the new schedule rate
or the four months" etc, and at the
ottom of the second page of your let
er just referred to you ask Was the
bove resolution passd before or after
ne adoption of the new schedule" etc.
am at a loss TO understand how this
can have arisen. | said
othing in my letter TO the Treasurer
bout the claim for back pay based in
ny way upon new schedule, and after
careful re-reading of my letter / fail
} find any language suggesting such a
hing. Both you and the Treasurer APP
ear to have in some way got the inn
ression that this claim for back pay in
1879 Is or may be based upon some
lange in the salary schedule or some {
ew schedule adopted at some later (
ate, making the transaction virtually
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