The Hawaiian star., 1906-04-13
REPORT ON
REBATE BILL
Continued from Page One).

mercial body of the mainland, with the
currents of commerce and money cir
culating through them; instead. they
are detached units with a definite
amount of circulating medium within
each. To constantly take revenues from
such detached territory without some
systematic return of the same can not
but result in injury to it.
In the case of Hawaii, we took over
an established government which had
been a separate sovereignty for three
quarters of d century During that
time Hawaii had built up it's own fiscal
system, with its customs receipts fur
nishing more than one-third the entire
government expenditures 1t is claim
ed on behalf of Hawaii when it's or
ganic act was before Congress, that all
| those reVenuesl should be returned TO
the Territory for it's use, and It was
! predicted that their loss v ou1d seriOua-
ily embarrass the local government. For
five years the Territory has tried the
present system, with increasing diff
Guilty
I A total of SS5O2, 146 in local taxation
mas been raised by taxes on land per-
sonalty. income tax, Inheritance tax.
licenses, occupation tax, stamp tax
and every known form OF taxation ~
this sum approximately $S5O.OO has
been spent for the care and mainten-
ance of lepers. Their local tax per ca
ipita has during the past five years in
creased so per cent.
Even these means could only meet
the current expenses. and i'm order 10
build schools and necessary public
works an Indebtedness of 1854, 900 has
been incurred.
The total per capita tax of every
man, woman and child in the Territory
us now over S22 per annum.
The cost of living in the Hawaiian
Islands is very high, owing to the fact
that all the necessities of life, includ-
ing almost the entire food supplies, are
imported; the cost of government i'm
Hawaii is necessarily high. both be-
cause of the high cost of living and
consequently higher salaries. and also
because of the machinery of govern
ment necessary on each separate ISL
and, and the high cost of inter-island
communication. Road construction and
maintenance is expensive for the above
reasons, and further because of the
mountainous character of the islands
and the numerous deep gulches to be
crossed
During the five years since annexa-
tion Hawaii has paid into the Federal
treasury $6,323, 462 80, or an average of
over S1,250OOO per year. The annual
cost of Hawaii to us for collection of
revenues and for Federal salaries is
about $l50,000. The total of all Federal
salaries, expenses, and appropriations
for this same period, except defenses
which are for national protection. have
been about $2,2OO,OOO, or an average of
$4,000 per year
It viii thus be seen that, after de-
ducting all payments and appropria-
tions that have been made for the use
and benefit of Hawaii, we have uncon-
sciously drawn a net sum OF "a 100, 900
from that Territory or a net balance
OF slightly over SSOOOOO per year, which
has been withdrawn from the islands
circulation and shipped in gold coin to
the subtreasury at San Francisco.
Ignoring, for the moment the wishes
of Hawaii and acting only from a ma
tional standpoint, your committee be-
lleVe that for a time, at least, three
fourths of these revenues should be
set aside to meet the need for public
works in these Islands and to assist in
building up substantial American
territory in the mid-Pacihc.
1t Is both unsound as a national poll
icy and also unworthy of the dignity OF
a great nation that an insuluar terri
tory which voluntarily gave it's own
sovereignty to us should be compelled
to send revenues needed to develop its
separate and detached life merely to
form a driblet in our national income.
COIN FOR HAWAIIAN WORK.
WASHINGTON, April 1.-Senator