The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-03-28

| be entitled 90 a pension not 10 exceed
one-half Of their salary at the time of
retirement
Senate Bill 50, making ex oficio
baiIifs of court clerks, deputy clerks
and assistants.
Senate Bill Is. relating to appeals
from the Court of Land Registration.
Senate Bill Sc, defining the status
of a public school, and Senate Bill 81,
requiring that English shall be the
language in which every public school
| shall be conducted.
THE PENSION BILL.
Longs measure to provide pension
fund for retired public school teachers
was first taken up and read.
Kaniho wanted to know what share
in the fund discharged teacher would
have, which was explained. The ques-
| ton was based on the fact that the
| Hawaiian translation of the bill used
the same word for discharged and
ffretired =
Long explained that no public school
teacher could be discharged except for
cause, in which event every cent would
be returned
This being so, Kaniho moved the
passage Of the third reading of the
bill.
This bill may be good one, but
it looks just Ike a sop thrown to the
teachers" said Long. What the
teachers really need is fair salaries. If
they are given living wages they can
provide for themselves. I think the
proper time TO consider this bill is after
We have passed on Their salaries. 1t
should not be that we can say it does
rot matter what we pay because we
are going to give a pension
Sheldon took issue with the last
speaker.
7 do not think this is a good bill at
all. Why should we pension teachers
and not police officers? The teachers
seem to be well looked after, for they
are always taking trips to foreign
countries / think we should take each
individual case if any pensions are to
be granted. The police have the better
claim anyway, as some of them have
been serving the country all their lives.
THE government is always complain
ing of stringency in finances and 1 do
rot III nix Il is right to take money for
any pension fund. If there is anyone
to be pensioned it should be our queen,
who has been deposed, dIsgraced and
degraded.
RaWIins spoke strongly in support of
the bill, which was no sop but a proper
measure to support teachers who had
spent their lives in the service of the
government. He agreed that there
were police worthy OF pens. oning and
if such bills came up he would not OPP
pose them. At the present time there
is not one teacher in fifty who could
retire on pension. Principal
Scott of the High School, might, but ii
is not to be supposed that he would
retire from his responsible position to
accept any pension just because there
vas a pension bill
Kaleo was afraid the measure might
result in some favoritism on behalf of
the Board of Education. the members
% which might keep UP incompetent
friends n order that they might enjoy
the benefits of the pension fund.
Kaleiopu favored the measure. Ev-
ayyone in the House and in the Terri |
tory was indebted to the teachers of
the public schools.
We would not have obtained our
high positions If il had not been for
the work of the teachers who taught us
what we know and received a meager /
pay for Their work. Now some of Us
are reaping the result of their Iabors /
to the extent Of 5000 to $3.50 a month.
I'VE VIII always be in their debt and
I do not think it is appropriate for any
Of us to assume any doubts about the
bills. When l left the Royal school in
1883. Miss ........ was d teacher there /
and Mr. Macintosh, VINO was a teacher /
there before I entered the school, and I
there are other teachers in these
schools with records Of long service and /
it is for them that this bill viii be
passed.
Rice remarked that the bill was
styled a, pension act but was in reality .
a mutual benefit act.
Now I ask that the House play fair /
nifh the teachers. Give them enough /
10 live on before we allow them to pay /
themselves d pension, believe yet
that this is just a sop to the teachers.
move that this be deferred until next
Thursday. when we VIII have passed
he appropriations and know what pay
he teachers are to get and if they can
afford to contribute to q pension fund.
Pail favored Rice's motion
KaIeo would give his right hand TO
support the bill if It were for the old
eachers, but he thought that it did not
10 so.
Hughes didn't know whether he was
particularly dau or just affected by
payday. but none he had heard SO far
lad said anything for or against the
7i1I one member said II was a good
I'll but d sop to the teachers. another
alked as if we should get down on our
Knees before the teachers and think
hey are the only people on earth.
Every man is a factor in the COM
nunity and think that any man who
las worked through life and grown old
.nd gray-haired = as much entitled
0 a pension as a school teacher. The
eacher is entitled TO pension the po-