The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-11-15
PROPERTY NOT
ON TAX LISTS.
cFrom Thursdays Advehtiser)

waiian Realty and Maturity Company,
peculiar transactions appeared. The
statement of the company, made to
the Territorial Treasurer at the begin
ming of the present fiscal year, showed
that the company had assets of $780,
3747O OF this many thousand dollars
may be disregarded altogether. The
charter and franchise is worth $3.50,
according to the statement. AS a mat
ter of fact this may be counted as a
large 0.
Real estate is said to be valued at
s21, $50. Investigation through the tax
assessors office, shows that there is
no record that the company owns
single foot of real estate in this dis
trict Treasury stock is valued at $780,
10, which could not be sold for five
cents on the hundred dollars. Loans
on other securities other than real es-
tate are mostly to the officers Of the
corporation or to those who have bor-
rowed on their partly paid up certifi-
Gates. This money, amounting to So
274.11, will be hard to realize. The
office fixtures, as second hand furni-
ture, may be worth $75, or a little
more, and outside the cash on hand,
which amounts at most to 5000 and a
few mortgages, which are hardly pos
sible to collect, form the small pick
ings for the creditors. whose claims,
acc ording to clerk in the office,
amount to s2sO29.
P. H Burnett, who was one of the
originators of the company, but who
left the concern after a year, on &C
count of the manner in which the
finances were conducted, tells an in
teresting story of the workings Of the
concern. He said:
81 left the company, Mr.. Kentwell
buying me out, twelve smonths after
it had been started. There were sew
eral causes of dispute, among which
was the drawing of $4,000 from the
treasury of the company by Kentwell.
1t had been agreed that for the first
year, until the affair was on paying
basis, there should be no salaries paid.
No, Kentwell did not give note. He
simply took the money.
Another cause of the trouble was
the acceptance of a note from John D.
Hull, LOT Tic SUM VI StOVB OClLSfS,
which was unsecured. l refused to
stand for such transactions. and Kent
well was forced to buy me out and 1
was glad enough to get away I'M
scorched Mrs. Kentwell took over my
stock Was it at par? Well, 1 don't
care to say. She bought the stock
from me, that is all
IT went UP afterwards with Gene
Cutting when he was employed as ex-
pert on the books, and the books of
the first year, which 1 had kept per-
sonally, were not there. They must
have been destroyed. There were en-
back, but they were not in my hand
writing and were not the original en-
tries. The manner in which the books
had been kept was such that it was
Impossible to see where the company
stood financially"
When asked about taking in money
recently, Kaohe, the clerk in the Of
fee, for Holt did not appear during
the day, stated that he had been told
by Holt not to take any money on
October % and had not taken any in
since that time. He had evidently
been coached, as Holt made different
statement on the night before.
Kaohe, with the assistance of the
$21 $50 worth of real estate, which does
not appear on the tax assessors books,
attempted to show that the firm was
in good condition. He became very
much mixed in his attempts. He
brought out the deed by which Mrs.
Kentwell had transferred her property
to the company for stock worth $780,
$40, in par value of stock, to show that
they had real estate, forgetting that
this land had been sold since that time.
From all that can be learned Kent
well himself has not a cents worth
of property in the city. His wife,
through whom the deals were made,
has a home at Waikiki and some prop
erty at the corner of School and Fort
streets, also a half interest in other
property in Chinatown. Altogether
this is worth perhaps $4,000 but it is
said to be mortgaged heavily.
Attorney General Hemenway yester-
day directed Acting Treasurer Hapai
to make an examination of the books
and accounts of the Hawaiian Realty
and Maturity Company. and to make a
report of its condition to him. This
was done in the belief that an exact
statement of things as they are now
will be the best basis from which to
work in determining what RESPONSE
bility, civil or criminal, rests on those
connected with the company. An ex-l
act statement of the affairs of the con-
Germ as they exist now will also be the
best basis of determining what should
be done in the matter of winding upl
its affairs. either by a receivership or
by throwing the concern into bankrupt |
cy and having a trustee in bankruptcy |
appointed.
Acting Treasurer Hapai will prob |
ably make the investigation himself. |
beginning it to-day, or at any
rate not later than Sunday. He says
that the law authorizes the Treasurer
to make an examination at any time
he sees fit, and also to make an exam
nation at any time on the request of
those interested. AS those interested |
have never asked for an examination
il is to be presumed that they were
satisfied with the way things were
going, and the Treasurer has not felt
himself called on of his own motion to
make an examination, especially when
semi-annual reports have been made
by the company itself.
b. However, one examination was at
by the Treasurer. But the