The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-07-03

RESIGNS
CONTINUED from Page one,

health of Honolulu and the Territory
in general. Moreover, he is an ener,
getic, decisive man, while at the same
time he is fair and equitable in his
methods and has the faculty of getting
along with the people with whom he
comes in contact.
''The suggestion has been made that
he is ineligible to hold the office on
two grounds:
First, that the Statutes of the Uni
ted States prohibit a Federal officer
from holding Territorial office, and;
''Seeond, that the fact that he is
receiving no salary for acting as the
president of the Territorial Board of
Health constitutes technical bribery
and the office is therefore vacant.
GAS to the second point, it is, in my
opinion, nonsense The eases that have
been cited as sustaining this position
were in connection with an elective
Office, where the candidate for the Of.
! fee had held out to the voters that
! if they would elect him he would serve
either without salary or at reduced
salary. In other words, the candidate
was making such offer as an induce
ment to vote for him.
CDR. Golfers case is not parallel
one. He made no overtures to me to
appoint him. I sought him out and
offered him the position, which at
/, first, he was not inclined to accept I
continued to press him to accept it
| whereupon he finally agreed that he
would accept the position, stating how
ever that he would hot accept a salary
in connection with the position. The
office sought the man and not the man
the office.
Gas to the point of DIR. Cofer s be-
ing ineligible by reason of his being a
Federal officer, take the position that
the law does not prohibit Federal
officer from at the same time holding
a Territorial office.
Il do not know just why the pro-
test has been made in Dr. Golfer s case
when for years, both the Territorial
Government and the Government at
Washington have construed the law to
be that there was no prohibition of
Federal officers also holding Territorial
office, if there was any good reason for
so doing.
'"There is no matter of policy in
yolved in the matter, either of DR..
Golfer holding two offices at once or
in that. of the other Federal officers
who are in. like position. In each case
it has been simply question of the
fitness of the man and of economy.
I'm the case of the Territorial Vet
erinarian, neither the salary offered by
the Federal or the Territorial Govern.
ment was large enough to secure the
services of a frst-class man and by
joining the two offices the two salaries
have been enough to secure the SER
vices of Dr. Norgaard, who stands sec
ond to none in his profession.
''The same is the case with Mr.. Dun
can, the chemist, who represents both
the Territorial and the Federal Gov
eminent.
FNow that the question has been
raised [ shall take steps to secure an
authoritative Interpretation of the
STATUTE
Attorney General Hemenway stated |
that he had checked up the claim that
the failure of DR.. Golfer to receive a |
salary was constructive bribery and |
was satisfied that there was nothing to
the claim, all of the eases relied upon
being elective cases in which the can
didate had held out as a reason for
voting for him that he would serve |
without salary or for less salary than |
the official one.
Gin my opinion,'' said the Attorney
General, San officer who has not held /
out such inducement to secure his cleo
ton or appointment, has the privilege |
of accepting or not accepting salary |
for his services to the public, as he |
may choose. In the case of DIR. Cofer,
the facts, as [ am informed, are that |
he did not seek the office nor hold out
any inducement of any kind.
81 have not finished my examination
of authorities upon the point of wheth-
er Federal officer is eligible to hold a
Territorial office; but so far as I have
gone, I take the position, upon behalf
of the Government, that there IS moth
ing in principle preventing such hold
ing and that the Interpretation of the
law upon this subject which has con-
tinuousl7 been placed thereon ever
since the Territory was organized is
correct, and l shall maintain this pos-
ton until I find some stronger authcs-
ity to the contrary than I have VT
come across, or until I am authorta-
tavely reversed. -