The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-04-23
NAY make AN OFFER
NAVY DEPARTMENT AND Pearl.
HARBOR COMPROMISE.
A Dispatch From Washington and its
Possible Meaning-Counter Proposals
May Be In The Mail.
oWashIngton. D. G.. April 10.


Navy Pay Office, San Francisco, Cal,
(for Naval Station. Honolulu, II. J.
Request District Attorney to appeal
BRADFORD"
The above dispatch, turned over to
United States District Attorney Breck-
ons yesterday is the answer of the
Navy Department to the compromise
proposal in the case of the United
States against the Honolulu Plantation
company. Whether the dispatch means
that the case must be fought out in the
courts or not, is a question which the
next mail viii probably answer
If the compromise is rejected alto
gether it means that the appropriation
for the naval station at Pearl Harbor
will go over to the next session of Con-
gress, as the litigation will undoubtedly
be quite prOtraCteu. This would mean
long delay in working on the naval sta
ton. Already plans are on paper, and
an appropriation of $50O0,000 as a start
er would have been asked for from
Congress by this time, had the titles to
land been Strengthened out. Settlement
of the suits will be quickly followed, it
is expected, by the beginning of work
on an extensive scale at Pearl HarbOr
1t is thought quite likely that the
mails will bring a counter proposal
]
an absolute rejection of the compromise.
The fact that one jury brought in a YER
didt for 100000 and another jury Ver-
dict for $103, ,523. indicates that the gov
ernment has little reduction to hope
for from juries here, and a new trial
would be not unlikely to leave matters
just as they are. An appeal to the
Ninth Circuit is the only other step, and
that would be long and costly pro-
ceeding.
1T is evident from the dispatch" :"
said United States Attorney BreckOns,
that the compromise as submitted is
not satisfactory. Further than that we
cannot tell until we hear by mail, which
ought to be by the next steamer 1t is
possible that the instructions to appeal
are pending the consideration of a
counter proposition.
'"Of course if the matter is to be
fought out in the courts it throws the
appropriation into the next session of
Congress and will mean much delay in
| beginning work at Pearl HarbOr. That
| is the unfortunate feature of it,"
The amount said to have been agreed
upon in the cOmDrOmise,-$9O ,0OO,- is
about midway between the amount of
the lowest verdict of a jury,-$103, 523,-
and the sum which Judge Estee offered
to the defendants after the first verdict,
-$75, 900. There are other considerations
in the compromise agreement, however,
to which it is thought that the Navy
Department may have objections. One
of these is that the Honolulu Planta-
tion company shall retain the use of
some of the lands for a time, or at
least until the government takes the
land for its station. 1t is thought pos
sible that this feature of the agreement
is not satisfactory at Washington. 1t
is known that the authorities are anx-
ious to begin work at Pearl HarbOr, and
it may be that they object to anything
but an absolute transfer of the land
and all rights therein.
The dispatch from the department
was dated the 10th, some time before
the last steamer left San Francisco. If
a letter of instructions left Washington
on the same day or within a few days,
it should arrive on the transport that
was due this morning, or on the Ala
media due Friday.