The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-02-13
HONOLULU
IS NOT FAIR

channel dredging has been completed,
-Hhd- -t-y-JOhe the wi1ie 5ob will be Nm.
, ished with an average depth ali around
OF thirtv-tve feet. The work will have
econsumed eight montns' time. although
the contract gives the contractors
twenty.eight months.
But If the contractors are saving
money hy doing this important piece of
work in so short time. they certainly
do not feel that il is due to any assist.
ance from Honolulu. In fact, Captain
Connor. who represents the San Fran
cisco Bridge Company which secured
the contract from the Federal govern
ment. states very positivelyia Homo
lulans have apparently placed every oh.
stacle in the way Of successful dredg-
ing that lay in their power.
Everybody seems TO have taken n
hand in knocking us in one way or an
other,' said Captain Connor last even
ing. Captain Connor has been just n
little hot under the collar lately, and
especially since the Pacific Mail Steam
ship Company commenced suit in the
local courts against his company in
general and the dredger Pacific. in par
ticular, for $4,000 for alleged dam.
ages growing out of the S. S. Siberia
picking up wire cable on her propeller
in the harbor several weeks ago, and
which they allege belonged to the
Pacific.
81 am just as strongly of the opinion
now as before that that wire cable
never came from the Pacific, or even
that it had ever been attached to the
Pacific If anybody wants to go over
to our workshop in the Eva end of the
Lar IL 4 al. th.,.. oh 80, Aa,,.
of wire cables which we have picked
up on our cutter. They certainly
never belonged to us. Wire cables
strew the bottom of the harbor from
one end to the other.
''lt looks to me as if the Pacific
Mail S. S. Co. is trying to saddle the
blame on us just to make us pay their
dockage fees here for the next two
years.
"'The work we are doing is prac-
tically to favor the Pacific Mail Com
pany so that their big steamers may
maneuver about in the harbor without
fear of running upon snags or bump
ing on unexpected sand heaps.
''We have twentyeight months in
which to complete this job. Yet We can
finish it by the end of June, if we want
to. We would have perfect right to
hnger along on the work to the end
of the twenty-eight months if we chose
That would only hinder the Pacific
Mail business if we did, and yet we
would be justified in working to the
end of our allotted time. / say justi-
fed, but | don't believe we would do
this. We want to give the people here
an enlarged harbor at the earliest prac-
ticable date.
cit seems that, just because we are
foreign company which secured a con-
tract in Hawaiian waters, everybody
must try to stop our work. We have
been ordered off unoccupied lands
where we had piled some of our pipes.
For what reason ] don t know, except
general cussedness, / guess. Those
lands have not been occupied hereto
fore.
'Then the merchants have made us
pay the topnotch prices for everything.
For instance, there was a package we
had to buy here, cost us $155. 1t was
an original package, and the sellers
did not have to unwrap it. / could
have bought the same thing in San
Francisco at retail prices for $llS, to
which might be added $3.50 for
freight. These people buy these arti-
cles at wholesale.
GIN the month of December we spent
about $4,000 in Honolulu. We have
been heavy spenders, but III wager
that in the month of February we
won't spend much in this city. / am
determined to buy whatever / can in
San Francisco and have the stuff
shipped here direct to us. The city is
going to lose several thousand dollars
nar month lxy this nntinp I faal tho+
am perfectly justified in doing So
Gas to the progress of our work, we
have about completed the channel to
an average depth of 35 feet, although
in many places it goes SO and 81 feet.
There is a strip $50 feet wide running
clear across the channel and about 1900
feet from the outside entrance which
has yet to come out, and that will
finish up the channel. We are pretty
thoroughly cleaning up the inner
harbor.
1.-THE contract calls for taking out
100000 cubic yards of material.
While We have only removed about
100000 yards ] figure that that is half
of the whole contract, because in the
channel we have considerable difficulty.
We have had to stop work to let boats
pass by us, and there are many other
delays there.
"There is possibility of our going
over to Kahului with the Pacific to
work on the dredging contract for Ka-
hului harbor. We will keep the local
dredgers at work in Honolulu harbor
meantime.
AS to ''Section c." which means an
additional and extensive enlargement
of the harbor beyond the present lines,
and would need a Federal appropria-
tion of million dollars, Captain Con-
nor is of the opinion that Congress will
surely pass the bill. That would call
for an entirely new contract and the
bidding would be open to all dredging
firms.