The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-10-25

largely TERRITORIAL maCJerS because
the counties outside of Honolulu have
not the means to carry out such work
Is it not then the means that you want
rather than that the Territory should
build roads? IF so, all that is neces-
sary is that the Legislature should so
allot the revenues as to give the coun-
ties outside of Oahu sufficient means
to carry on the work. I can not agree
in the argument that until all the
means are given to the counties, they
are entitled to Territorial assistance.
The trouble now is that Territory and
county are too much mixed up.
You state in your letter that it
would be in line with the idea of de-
veloping county government to place
the responsibility on the county of
selecting the specific purposes of
county expenditures. I am willing to
follow this to the extent of their own
current revenues, but I believe that
before the counties are allowed to bor-
row money they should in each in
stance go to the Legislature with a
request Or recommendation for the
right to issue certain amount of
bonds for specific purposes.
The amount of means that the
county or the Territory possesses de-
pends entirely on the amount that the
people will give them. One of my OBJ
jections to the present form of county
government has always been that it
did not carry with it the right to levy
a tax. In this way an eXtravagant
administration of county is not felt
by the taxpayers and does not react
against such an administration. On
the other hand, an economical set Of
officials who reduce the expenditures
and relieve the taxpayers receive no
credit for such course. This, to my
mind, tends to put a premium on ex-
The reply to this, that
the county act limits the expenditures
to the income, is insufficient, as expert
ence will show that such limit can
not be enforced.
Returning to the loan bill proper,
in consultation with the Superintend-
emit of Public Works (and not little
by your own recommended
tions), have concluded that it is
sounder course to ignore
the classifcations under Islands, as
contained in Act 6, and weigh the diff
ferent appropriations purely from the
point of whether it is buSinesslike and
sound to borrow money for such an ex-
penditure, and in a general way under
take only those works which produce
4 direct revenue Or affect the health
and commerce of the community, in
addition to buildings for educational
purposes. In my opinion, it is not
light to eXpend many of the small ap-
thrown into that bill as a
;op to several of the districts or to
larry out this idea of giving definite
to each island. When the
ponds fall due, in many such cases
here will be nothing left to show the |
We have no right to ask |
to pay for any public work
" building that will not be in exist
nee when the bonds mature, and thus |
cave them TO pay for something the |
lse of which they will not enjoy.
In 1898 the inhabitants of these
Stands wiped out their last public OBJ
igation and were free from all debt.
Afterwards, the theory of a public
.ebt was justified only for such
rojects the revenue from which would
lot only pay the interest but finally
he principal. From this we have
igressed until the Legislature has ac-
ually appropriated money out of the
ban fund to buy so perishable an arti-
lie as road machinery; in other words,
his community has gotten to point
here they appropriate loan money to
ke out what they ought to pay out of
heir own pockets. It is very easy to
orrow where you have a credit, but
hen you borrow it has to be paid
ack. and our children will groan and
ompIain when it becomes necessary
as it surely wilD to increase the
axes in order to pay the interest and {
rincipal of our debt. The former /;
ebt was paid by annexation, and {
.om that experience it would seem i
lat we still trust in some such Incl |
snt to again come to our relief. {
If the readjustment I have 1nd1- I
tied be carried out in the present
an of $3.50, 100000, it can be made to 6
clude the Hilo Sewer System, s15,- :
600. and the Hilo High School, $780, :
/. Continued on Page 81