The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-09-27
OBJECTS 70 WATER DEAL
F. M. SwANZY RECALLS PREVIOUS
EXPERIENCES.
H. b. Gehr and the Railroad Franchise.
Strong Doubt as to Whether Capital is
Subscribed.

Despite official assurance that the
plantations have entered no objections
to the granting of the hohaIa water
proposition, there seems to be a feeling
among many of the plantation agents
that not onIy mas the matter been re-
fused the proper publicity and INSULT
clent time allowed the interested pan
tations TO look into the NATTER but
that the franchise thus asked is OF
the nature of an option on puOlic prop
erty given to private individuals under
/ representation of already subscribed
capital, which from previous expert
ence with the same parties is more
tnan likely not to be forthcoming at the
| time promised; and that the franchise
will be used as a lever to gain sub
scribed capital, easily enough secured
after sucn a valuable privilege is
shown to be already gained.
Il do not think that the granting of
the Kohala water contract was given
sufficient publicity" said F. M. Swanzy
yesterday afternoon. The whole affair
has been conducted in a hole in the
corner method which has not given
either the general public or those more
directly interested in the results of
such a proposition opportunity to either
look carefully and fully into the mat
ter or time to enter protest should
they see fit to make one"
A protest was made at the executive
council meeting by Mr.. Swanzy on be-
half of the many plantations likely to
be affected by the proposed scheme and
for which Davies and Company are the
agents; submitting at the time the re-
quest of the managers and planters
that they should be allowed at least
three months in which to fully look in
to the scheme and realize to what eX-
tent they would be affected by it's car
rying out.
when the first draft of the contract,
as proposed to be given to the fran
chise seekers was issued and sent up
on the Kinau to Hawaii the quick
return of that vessel, owing to regatta
day arrangements. made it practically
impossible for anything to be done in
the way of discussion. The revised
draft was not brought to the office of
Davies and Company until fifteen min
utes before the sailing of the last XII
nau, leaving no time for more than
brief communication from the agents
to the plantations asking that a meet
ing be called and the matter taken up.
At this there is but forty-eigh hours in
which the matter could be discussed"
Mr.. SwanZy expects to receive, on the
return or the kinau. protest from the
plantations which will be placed before
the executive council Immediately on
it's arrival
The protests against the contract at
the council meeting did not come en-
tirely from Davies and Company. ].
b. Atherton also demurred on behalf
of the Kohala Plantation as did Mr..
Wundenberg for the interests of Sam
uel Parker, Mr.. Low for X. II. Hind
of the Hawi mill and plantation and +.
- - Woods nf Il "a a
kona.
David Forbes, manager of the Pacific
Sugar Mill at Kukuihaele made a Wig
orous protest, concerning the likely in
jury to his headquarters, which was
Withdrawn when the second draft of
the franchise, providing for a regularly
circumscribed area was issued.
The chief objections l have to the
scheme or rather not so much to the
scheme as to the manner in which it is
being carried out" said Swanzy, ARE
these: In the first place 1 do not think
such contract should be granted to a
government official or a man that Is
holding a government official as is
Colonel j. w. Jones. | do not think
that is right on principle. Then again
it is excellently well remembered by all
of us how some two years ago a fran
chise for the Hilo-Kohala railroad was
asked for by II. B. Gehr and granted
to that individual upon certain condi-
tions under which we We're assured
that the labor employed on the new
road would be all brought from the
States and would in no way interfere
with the labor on our plantations, while
above all it was emphatically stated
and reiterated that the capital, Eastern
capital as in this case, was already
waiting to go ahead with the project
Immediately the franchise was grant
ed.
THE scheme was a good one / my
self became a director in it, but after
the franchise was Granted the vaunted
capital was not forthcoming, it proved
not to have been even subscribed for
and Mr.. Gehr went to the States to get
his capital after he had got the fran
chise and could use it as a bait
II do not think this kind of thing
should be repeated. l am not antago-
nistic to the development of the Ko-
hala mountains water supply, but, is
the capital waiting as claimed? The
same man that obtained the railroad
franchise, H. b. Gehr is at the back
of the present undertaking and judg-
ing from the actual premises of pre-
vious experience, there is in the eyes
Of great many people reason to doubt
strongly whether the Chicago capital
is not more or less mythical, and will
be sought after the franchise is OBJ
tained.
1.-The capitalists who are interested
so deeply in this matter have never
been mentioned by name and there has
been too much mystery cast over the
whole affair not to make it look sus-
piciously l'I~ a repetition of the rail- |
road franchise of two years ago."
II. MAY e. CO., WILL CLOSE.
The store of II. May & Co., Ltd, will
close at a. m. tomorrow, Saturday, |