The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-07-03
HUMPHREYS SAYS
IT IS BRIBERY

DIR. Cofor, chief quarantine officer of
the United States Marine Hospital ser
vice at the port OF Honolulu. and the
president of the Territorial Board of
Health. is, according to the contentious
of the parties back of the quo war
ranto proceedings against him, "guilty
of bribery in obtaining his appointment
under the Territory, and Governor
Frcar is an accomplish to the bribery
The bribery, if there was any, is of
purely technical nature, involving
neither crime nor intent of crime, either
on the part of the occupant of the office
in dispute or of the Chief Executive
who put him In ONCE, OUT the charge of
bribery will be raised among other
| points as reason why the office of
president of the Board OF Health should
be declared vacant, and why the ap.
| pointmcnt of DR.. Golfer should be do.
clared void.
The bribery consists in having agreed
before appointment to serve the Terri
| tory in position for which salary
has been appropriated without drawing
that salary. This, according to the au-
thorities, is the bribery of the Terri
tory, the practical giving to the State
of the amount of the salary due.
Mechem. standard authority, in his
legal treatise con Pubic< Officers, I"
says, in section 372: "An agreement
by which public officer agrees to sur
render to the public the fees or salary
of his Office in whole or in part is void
| and invalidates the officers appoint.
ment, and he may be removed upon quo
| warranto. -
DR.. Golfer agreed to serve the Terri.
tory as president of the Board of
Health and draw no salary.
The authority quotes the decisions in
eight cases in support of this rule, and
there are no cases to be found with
contrary decisions. The authorities all
agree on the question. In the reports
of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, the
question was gone into in the State OK
rel. Newell vs. Purdy. In this case a
candidate for county judge of Vernon
county publicly offered to serve, if
elected, for one-half the salary appro-
priated. He was elected and the cleo
ton declared void because he had in
effect bribed the taxpayers with the
portion of the salary due the Office
which he had disclaimed. The decision
of the court In that case cited other
instances, running back to the time of
Edward III. of England, in which it
was shown that state or county could
be bribed and that an offer to accept
an office for less than the established
remuneration would constitute such a
bride. in case in New Hampshire it
was decided that at is against public
policy to sell public offices to those
who will pay the most for them, or to
sbestow them upon those who will dis
charge their duties for the least COM
pehsation.
This is not the main argument which
will be raised by A. s. Humphreys, the
attorney representing those behind the
quo warranto proceedings, but it is an
important one. The main contention is
that the appointment of DR.. Golfer, a
Federal officer. Is unauthorized by the
terms of the Organic Act.
81 am not at liberty to state the
names of those who are instituting
these proceedings said Judge Hum
phreys yesterday. "It may be deemed
advisable that their names will not be
announced at all, and all the proceed
ings brought in my name. am tax
payer and eligible to commence the ac-
tion. i will say, however, that I am
representing in this four or five promi.
nent men of the Territory, including
three of the wealthiest in the Islands,
men who have no personal or political
Rnimus against either Governor Frear
or DR.. Golfer, but who have, on the con-
trary, thus far, supported the Frear
administration.
"Thcy are bringing the action as a
matter of principle. When Congress
passed the Organic Act, it gave wide
power to the Territory of Hawaii, max
ing us in many respects the equal of a
State, and it drew clearly the line of
demarcation between the Federal and
Territorial powers. Now, Governor
Frear has been the first one to make n
breach in that line, establishing what
is considered a dangerous precedent. If
the Federal officeholders are allowed to
hold Territorial offices rs well, think
what strong political force they could
create by combining, what a powerful
lobby they might maintain.
1t was never intended that any man
should hold a dual position, one under
each government, and Governor Frear
must have felt that it was inherently
wrong when he appointed DR.. Golfer
under the understanding that lie should
draw no salary from the Territory.
And this appointing man to a |
salaried position on such an under
standing is wrong. There are thirty
five resident doctors in Honolulu com
petent to fill the position of president
Of the Board of Health, but they would
not serve for nothing. Why should
theyf Is it going TO be that only the
the ones who can afford to
work for nothing, are to have the high
est public offices in the Territory
Besides, Dr. Golfer, although the an
n haa To- n 4.