The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-01-01
FERN IS READY
To STAND FIRE
Confined From Page One. J

the work Of the county and the law
makes it the duty of the Supervisors TO
appropriate funds far the work.
81 am preparing the lists of the com
nittees of the board and viii announce
them on Monday, with the chalrmen.
This also is a part of my duty l have
done now what the law requires. Ii
there is to be any blocking of the pub
lie business it will be through the work
of the Supervisors Politically / have
made fair appointments, nominating
many of the heads of departments put
there originally By Republicans. The
distribution of offices has been an eqult-
able one, believe. =
No Criticism of Ones Named.
There is very little, if any, criticism
of the men named for the various jobs,
the criticism bei@g practically altogeth-
er over the manner of the appointments.
According to the offices filed by the
Mayor-elect, claim many, there is no
reason Why he should not go ahead and
name every employee of the county not
in ne of the departments controlled
by an elected chief If he can nsue
black smit rs, for instance. it is thsnght
that he could as well name shox Ks,
teamsters and street sweepers.
Secretary Rhodes on the Appointns
Mayor Fern had to take the
nieipal Act as he found it,,
Charles L. Rhodes. the seeretar
the Mayor, when asked regarding
announcement of bellieose purpose
the part of the Republican S1pel
| "a al
guage, and there is perhaps room
differences of opinion as to some OF
provisions. But the act has top
taken as it is. By section 146 s N
made mandatory that during the month
of December the Mayor elect shall
make certain appointments. Just what
appointments are intended are to be
determined by a study of the whole
act. Mayor Fern believes he has done
this Objection seems to have been
made because he has made "a long list
of appointments and because they
are mostly Democrats AS to each
one of these, he either had the power
TO make the appointment, or he did
| not. If he had the power to make
| it, the appointment is good. If he did
not have the power TO make it, it Is
not good, but the question of the
power to make it or not to make it
is legal one in which there is no
politics unless the Republican Super
| visors inject politics into it by threats
of .coercing the Mayor such as are
reported to have been made.
Mayor Fern made the appoint
ments that he did hecause upon. a
study of the whole Municipal Act. and
the orders, ordinances, and resolutions
/ of the several Boards of Supervisors
of the County of Oahu, which by see.
ton 142 of the Municipal Act are ex.
/ pressly continued in force, these seem.
| ed to be the appointments he was re
quired by the act to make He did
| not pick out these appointments from
| the whole roster of the public service
of the county because they were the
particular positions he was DESTROYS OF
filling, but because under the law anC
the acts of past Boards of Supervisor.
these seemed to be the ones it was hi,
| duty to make. For it must not be for
gotten thai the Municipal Act saw
| that during December he shall-no
may-but SHALL make the appoint
ments required, and the appointment
he Las made are those that from {
| study of the whole act he believes h,
is required to make.
/ 1t must not be forgotten ais, tina
section 146 of the Municipal Act ex
/ pressly provides that all boards. com
missions and officers of the County O.
Oahu by appointment under exist
ing laws shall hold office no longe
than the iplLr IF noon on the frs
Monday after the first day of Jal
nary, 1909 This ruthlessly cuts of
all those serving the county under ap
pointment, which furnishes the reason
why the law in the same section re
quires the Mayor to make appointment
before the first day of January.
But assuming for the sake of al
gument that these appointments lave t
be confirmed by the Board of Super
visors, which under the law it seem
| pretty clear thew do not have to be, tn
only question then for the Supervisor
to pass on wonl1a E a. tness of tn
persons appointed for the positions t
which they are appointed. The fac
that they may be Democrats woul
hardly be considered by the public a
a sufficient reason to refuse to confirm
them provided they are fit persons fo
appointment. Mayor Fern is not seek
ing to exercise any power the law doe
not give him Threats of coercion
and of compelling him to share his ap
pointing power with the Supervisor
is law-defying.
sit is stated that the Republlea
Supervisors are notifying those dis
tplaced by Mayor Fern s appointment
to stick to their jobs. This is an at
tempt by these Supervisors to appoin
not only list as long as the Mayor ::
but one a great deal longer. And
there is one thing clear in the Munic
pal Act it is that the Board of Super
| visors has no direct appointing power
1t can not even appoint clerks or othe
assistants for its own body until it
authorized to do so by ordinance. s
! that on whatever ground it may den
the right of the Mayor to make all tn
appointments he has, the Republiea
Supervisors can not claim any r ght
| direct appointment themselves. thong
that is exactly what they are dom
/ rrba,, fbax- 4nti