The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-03-10
COUNTIES OUT OF DATE.

1 w EllS nav oil IL diSNN--AAA5 NAAS "a
nation of counties. as traditional
American system, a State where the
idea first took hold, is beginning to bt
doubtful of the value of counties. The
Buffalo, y. Y, Express, journal OF
, large influence, approaches this point
of view in manner as follows:
Separate county government has been
abolished so far as the Constitution
viii permit, in the counties composing
Greater New York. There are no
boards of supervisors there. There
lappears to be a traditional notion that
county governments are necessary out
side of big cities, but is it not time
| to consider whether they are worth
the cost of maintenance anywhere? Do
not the rural towns get as little beneht
/ from them as the cities? The towns
do their own police work, or, at least,
the greater part of it, and could do it
| all. They maintain their own local
courts. They get no help from the
counties for their schools, and, except
where the new state-aid law is APP
piled, none for their roads. They usu-
ally take care Of their own poor, by
private charity, except insane persons
and others who are provided for in
State institutions. What does the
Erie county farmer get In return for
the 81 per $1,000 that he has to pay for
his county government?
The Express puts the question as
one who is enquiring, rather than one
whose mind is fully made up. But
as we look over the situation it seems
that the weight of argument is con-
siderab1y on the side of abolishing
counties entirely-at least so far as
governing purposes are concerned. The
effective subdivisions of the State now
are judicial districts, Senate districts,
Assembly districts, cities and towns.
Could not all of the necessary func- |
tions of government be performed by |
one or another of these subdivisions, |
with little, if any, increase in the |
present number of officials credited to |
them, and admit of the entire abolition |
of county government? Assemblymen |
and town clerks would attend to the
local duties of supervisors, such as dis
tributing school money. There would
need to be surrogate districts. the Off
cials of which could assume the record
ing of deeds and such other duties of
the county clerks as would remain
after boards of supervisors were abol-
shed. Poorhouses could be maintain
I'd by Senate or judicial districts. The
county system keeps up an unnecessary
md extravagant number of them.
would be maintained by {
judicial districts, and the localities
would keep up their own town or vii
age jails. Such legislation as would
e needed to provide for the expense i
maintaining these institutions could i
e done by the Legislature or by the c
zeal members thereof, the cost of each t
poorhouse and Surrogate's c
flee being apportioned among the
owns it served, and the supervision f
eng exercised by the State, which S
pes most OF the effective supervising f
them now. g
Such a change may appear radical, W
ut would it not result in greater SIM "
lefty and economy? If there is any h
pod argument for maintaining coun- W
es, let US hear what it is.
While the resources of government to n
Ike the place of the county system 6,
e different in New York than they W
e in Hawaii, this Territory has, in a.
own organization, ar efficient sub ~
ihu'S. AhC PUNT HidQS IN New M
ork that the presence Of other facili- be
rs of administration make counties er
perfuous, applies equally well here. al
e have competent government, one a,
at adequately meets the cali Of 1885, fl
0 people and there is no need that we hs
ggar ourselves in taxes by setting up &C
lother one. We had better spend our -
me in making the Government we in
I've simpler and less expensive. If al
2 must have another jurisdiction one In
unity for the whole group, the Board ~ ~
Supervisors, representing each is n
nd, taking the place of the Legis-
ture, could be made to answer. But pi
by any must" about it? What OF
'und reason is there for so small ~
to demand more than one tt
cal government economically admin G
tered?
AS the Buffalo Express remarks, eff
lere is any good argument for main ~,
lining counties let us hear what it is" w