The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-05-03
H0NOLuLU'S
FRANCHISES
HowTheyWereP Put
Through House
and Senate.
tMan Special to the Advertiser)


finally passed Senate and House with
out any ado and they are now with
the President for his signature. There
was little debate on the bills in either
House. A special rule for the con-
sideration of the bills in the House
was brought in, the Committee on
Rules having granted it on a request
by Mr.. William Haywood. Represen.
tative Robinson, of Indiana. handled
the electric bill well in the House.
There was a 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 "A non-partisan measure. it
must be meretorous." 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 We're of a
like character to the provisions propos-
ed in the bill. Mr.. Gaines, of Tenn,
showed some disposition to interrupt
but. as he listened to the presenta-
tion of the case from Mr.. Robinson,
he gradually subsidized. On the ques-
tion of compensation Mr.. Robinson had
this to say:
"Now, upon the question of price the
committee consulted the public records
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 it out of those twenty plants. The
price of steam coal and labor in the
Hawaiian Islands is quite important.
The United States price is S206 per
ton: in Massachusetts, 1897; in Ha-
waii, $500. They pay for Australian
coal, having 50 per cent only of the
heating property of American coal,
considering that difference 462 per cent
more than it costs in the United States,
being four times the price that 1t 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
Al per cent of the total cost of produce
tion of the current there. l might sug-
70 he tlNnt is.r nf ~
exclusive franchise. There is a muni-
cipal lighting plant in Honolulu run
by the Territory. 1t does all the gov
ernment lighting in the public build
ings and all the streets, except about
seventy arc lights in the outlying dis
tricts of Honolulu. 1t does no COM
mercial 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 a city of $4,000 instead
of a city of $4,000 inhabitants. because
of the small number of people who
consume this electricity. Further they
have long days in Honolulu, and
scarcely more than about three hours
for lighting; yet the company must
carry large load all the time in that
country of long days Honolulu be-
ing on the sea level, the deterioration
works a hardship, and in addition to
that, not being a manufacturing city,
they must keep supplies on hand In
abundance in order to repair machn-
cry. The cost of officers and clerks
and that class of work is IS per cent
higher in the Hawaiian Islands than
it is as shown by the census bulletin in
the United States. The cost of labor is
% per cent higher i'm Honolulu than it
is in the United States.
"The bill guards the rights of the
people and preserves the rights of the
company. As II came to us before, II
had passed the Hawaiian legislature
and received the governors signature,
Letters came TO the Speaker then from
Ex-Governor Dole, now the United
States judge appointed by the Presi-
dent telling us that that bin should
pass. Governor Carter wrote the same
kind of a letter and, with the super
intendent OF public works an recom-
mended Congressional action favorable
10 the bin ms II was then presented,
"Till this day no member of the
committee has heard a dissent from
the Hawaiian Islands, ana I venture
90 say chat none hps como 60 amy
Member uf Congress"
The hlll Ufter being read Rui ufor
MI fpal1lnF uf hnIh pakHH Wi