The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-04-30
|HOHOL.LIl.U'S
FRANCHISES
owTheyWerePu Put
Through House
and Senate.
Senator Foraker Did
the Right Thing
as Usual.
tMan Special to the Advertiser.o

J. 1
and that for electricity in Honolulu
finally passed Senate and House with
out any ado ana they are now witt
the President for his signature. Their,
was little debate on the bills in eithe
House. A special rule for the con
sideration of the bills in the House
was brought in, the Committee OF
Rules having granted 1T on a requesi
| by Mr.. William Haywood. Represen-
| tatiye Robinson, of Indiana, handled
the electric bill well in the House
There was little questioning about
the changes made in the Committee on
Territories and the vote on both bills
was taken without division.
Mr.. Dalzell, of Penn, brought up
the special rule by which the electric
light bill was considered. AS soon as
the rule was offered time was yielded
to Mr. Robinson, who observed that
when we can melt the hearts of the
Committee on Rules and get consid-
Grafton for non-partisan measure, it
must be meretprious.e He then briefly
explained the provisions of the bill,
told what the Territories Committee
had done towards modifying it, and
| cited the provisions of law. formerly
enacted by Congress which were OF a
Ike character to the provisions propos-
ed in the bin. Mr.. Gaines, of Tenn,
| showed some disposition to interrupt
but. as he listened to the presenta-
ton of the case from Mr. Robinson.
he gradually subsidized. On the ques-
,tion Of compensation Mr.. Robinson had
this to say:
Nov, upon the question Of price the
sf<
OF the State of Massachusetts, and the
census bulletin upon the subject of
rates OF wages and the price of coal
The price in Massachusetts, as found
by taking twenty selected plants, runs
about 20 cents per kilowatt. Several
We're above that and two or three be-
low 1T out of those twenty plants The |
price OF steam coal and labor in the |
Hawaiian Islands is quite important. |
The United States price is $206 per /
ton; in Massachusetts,. 1897; in Ha-
wall, $500. They pay for Australian |
coal, having SO per cent only of the |
heating property of American COAL |
considering that difference 1872 per cent /
more than it costs in the United States, |
being four times the price that it costs /
the electric plants in the United States
They pay two and one-half times the
amount for coal in Honolulu than they
pay in the United States, and the item |,
is important, because coal makes up
"A per cent of the total cost OF, produc-
ton of the current there. I might sug- |
gest to the House that this is not an
exclusive franchise. There is a NUM-
cipal lighting plant in Honolulu run
by the Territory. 1t does all the gov
eminent lighting in the public build
ings and all the streets, except about
seventy are lights in the outlying dis
tricts of Honolulu. 1t does no COM
lighting.
again, in Honolulu there are only
from six to eight thousand white peo-
pie who use this electric current, and
in comparing the prices with the price
in Massachusetts we must consider ;
Honolulu to be city of $4,000 instead
Of city Of $4,000 inhabitants, because
Of the small number of people who |
this electricity. Further, they
have long days in Honolulu, and I
more than about three hours {
for lighting; yet the company must I
carry a large load all the time in that g
country az long days. Honolulu be-
ng on the sea level, the deterioration
works hardship, and in addition to
hat. not being a manufacturing city.
hey must keep supplies on hand in
abundance in order to repair machin-
sry The cost OF officers and clerks
Ind that class of work is IS per cent
higher in the Hawaiian Islands than
t is as shown by the census bulletin in
he United States. The cost of labor is
8 per cent higher in Honolulu than it
) i'm the United States.
'sThe bill guards the rights of the
Ieople and preserves the rights of the
ompany. AS it came to us before, it
lad passed the Hawaiian legislature :
nd received the governors signature | :
letters came to the Speaker then from
Ex-Governor Dole, now the United
states judge appointed by the Presi~
ent, telling us that that bin should
ass. Governor Carter wrote the same {
ind OF a letter. and, with the super b
ntendent of public works. all recon- !,
lended Congressional action favorable
D the bill as 1t was then presented.
IT'LL this day no member of the | o
ommittee has heard dissent from | =
ne Hawaiian Islands, and I venture
D say that none has come to any II
Iember of Congress- W
The bill. after being read and after ?,
Ir. Spalding, of North Dakota. and
IT. Thayer, of Mass. had spoken in -
ahalf of it, was passed Mr. Thayer's b
marks were largely on the matter of II
rice. He said: n
This matter having been recommit- l
d to the committee, the bill is now lie
ported with five changes from the a
rrn in which it originally stood when !.
st before the House. The first -
ange we made was to limit the juris- 1 ST
ctson of this company to the district to
Honolulu instead of allowing it to IT
tend over the whole island. as
iginalIy provided for. That is the e>