The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-06-15

FIRE CLAIMS

SAN FRANCIsco. June twin
5000 claims. calling for a total Of over
f2.0oo.0oo. the finance committee Of the
relief fund n busy scaling and prun-
ing. One arm which deals In hardware
wanted 100000 for its stock. which was
used for emergency purposes. but Il
has been induced 10 'Hlt down quickly
and write nifty" and even with the
$4,000 limit It will be required 10 make
good with a detailed statement for ev-
erything which II claims. This IL but
an example.
Perhaps the most picturesque claims
are those OF isl saloon men, who want
s104, 26s.os for the liquor which was con-
fiscated while the city was burning.
The finance committee finds itself I'm
considerable doubt as to what It should
do with these demands. IL the liquor
had been used to relieve anybody,
then the chance of it's paying the bill
would be better but as IL is the men
who are adjudicating these claims are
inclined to doubt the justice of using
the contributions which were given for
relief for this purpose. 1t is O nice
question.
One grocery firm comes I'm with a bill
of 30,S4757 for what the people re-
ceived from it. Another grocery house
considers that s19,6SO would be suffici-
ent to recompense it for the goods
which 1t claims were confiscated. Per-
haps no one, not even the claimants,
expects that these bills will be paid In
fun without questions asked. If they
do they will be disappointed. The
lmethod pursued is to first find the
Army officer or policeman who made
the confiscation and get his testimony.
Then the testimony Of disinterested
experts is taken on the value of the
| stock In question at the time of the
fire. After this is complete the claims
committee believes 1t is in a better
position to make proposition for set
tlement.
But hold such and such an office,
and so and so is my friend" is an Oft
repeated statement to the members of
the committee. which brings down the
reply that the committee Is not doing
politics.
One ambitious grocer consented to
reduce his claim from $500 to $41S2.21
after the regular machinery of inves-
tigation had been started on his bill.
The automobile bills look large to an
amateur. One company wants $685.
231.S0 for the use of its machines for
emergency work; another would be
content with s459696. Many of the pri-
vate owners whose machines were used
have not put in bills, and others have
. simply charged for the repairs From
that the rates wanted run to $40 an
hour. The committee has settled on a
rate of $35 a day for large cars and
$25 for runabouts.
!, OF the s195 claims. 6004 are now in
process of adjustment. The plan has
been to take up the labor claims first,
and 1t is expected that these will be
disposed of in another week. But not
all have been paid in full. One man,
for instance, wanted full pay for a
months work at one of the relief sta
tions. On investigation 1t was discov-
cred that he had volunteered his SER
vices without pay, and had remained
after he had been told that there was
nothing more for him to do. The
claims of the Board of Public Works
for $1S,700, and that of the Board OF
Health for sS2.943.20, both for labor
I have been paid.
Several firms which put in bills have
since forwarded to the committee theii
receipts. 1t had been their intention
! first to secure the check and then con-
tribute it to the relief fund.
1t will require the entire month OF
, June to go over the claims which are
in the hands of the committee, and II
!, will probably be the second week ir
July before it's work is over.