The Hawaiian star., 1906-03-29
OPPONENTS SAY BILL
IS TO HELP THE RICH
DELEGATE KUHIO WRITES FROM
WASHINGTON IN REGARD TO
THE REFUND BILL.
washington. March 1s. 1gOt

Washington, March IS, 1906.
EDITOR HAWAIIAN STAR.-Since
my last letter influence brought to
bear upon Speaker Cannon, has result
ed in his yielding so far as to consent
that our Revenue Bill should be report
ed by the Committee.
l accordingly secured a Committee
meeting, and the bill was considered
yesterday in an executive session which
included considerable warm discussion.
The leading opponent of the bill charg-
ed that its main purpose was to tighten
the taxation of the rich people of Ha-
wall; this charge l warmly denied,
showing that the rich people can get
along very well under the present con-
ditions, and insisting that the main
purpose of the measure was to benefit
the general citizenship of the Terri
tory by means of better school build
ing, the opening up Of lands for settle
ment by the construction of new roads,
and the general benefit to the com
munity by the returning of portion
of our revenues to be spent in the ISL
ands
The chairman cited the action in
favor of Porto Rico as a precedent for
this legislation; but the opponents of
the bill now seek to shift their argu-
ment from the question of precedent
into a general opposition to the estab-
lishment of a treasury fund for the
benefit of one Territory
After a considerable discussion the
were instructed to
amend the bill, limiting the term to
five years and make it begin July /
next, instead of July l. 1905, and to
prepare a report upon the same to be
resubmitted to the full committee for
final action
This does not fully assure us a fa-
vorable report although l am hopeful
that a report can be secured within the
next two weeks.
Further conversation with some of
the leading members of the Committee
develops the fact that while they are
friendly to the bill to some extent, yet
they have not been sufficiently con-
vinced of our needs to make them earn !
est partisans of the measure, and it is
this half-hearted attitude, which just
now is giving me the greatest concern. |
nents of the bill are going to fight it
very hard, and without equally enthu-
siastic support upon the floor its chan
ces viii not be very good. We can
however rely upon the strong support
Of Col. Hepburn, and some other mem
bers of the House, who favor the bill
more strongly than does the average
member of the Territory Committee
1t still remains to be seen whether
We shall be able to get the bill up for
after it is reported in
the House We shall not try to cross
that bridge until we reach it, being
engaged now in the prob
lem of securing the report. We are
now working with the subcommittee
on the preparation of the form of the
report, which is to be acted upon by
the full Committee.
The delay in having instructions ca
bled to Honolulu for the 100000 appro-
priation for filling Quarantine Island,
has been due to the fact that this ap-
was made not by a separ-
ate bill, but by a rider attached to the
Urgent Deficiency Bill. AS this does
not specify its method of expend' ture,
1t was necessary to secure an opinion
from the Comptroller of the Treasury
in order to proceed without advertising
for bids. That opinion has already
been received and / have been shown
the Endorsement made by General Mac
Kenzie, for submittance to the Secre-
tary of War, recommending that a
certain maximum price per cubic yard
no OFF
they were to refuse, the appropriation
should be allowed to lapse. General
Mackenzie viii cable these instruc-
tions to Lieut.. Slattery, as soon as the
formal signature of Secretary Taft is
obtained, and they will doubtless reach
there long before this letter.
The Committee on Elections having
charge of the contest against my seat,
took formal action on Wednesday and
adopted a unanimous report sustaining
my right to a seat i'm the fifty-ninth
Congress; printed copies of this report
will be available by a later steamer.
Upon the advice Of a number of MEM
bers and Senators, most interested in
Hawaii, 1 have introduced a separate
bill, providing for the purchase of a
site for a Federal building at Homo
lulu, as they all advise that it would
be impossible to secure an appropria-
tion for both a building and site at one
time. Senator Scott particularly ad-
vises this court as the only means by
which he was able to secure a building
for the capital OF his own state. We
are to- be given a hearing on this bill
tomorrow before the House Committee
IN puhIic T2ui1dipgo