The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-02

. . Q
One of the most important meetings
held in Honolulu for some time was
. that of last night in. the room of the
House of Representatives, when the
leading business men of the Territory
met the members of the House Finance
Committee and the Senate Committee
on Ways and Means and discussed
with them the matter Of taxes, income
and expenses of government. There
was plenty of plain speaking, and Co
hen s tax bill and the graduated tax
measure of A. v. Gear came in for a
general rafting at the hands of bank
ers, fnanciers and heads of great cor
porations.
County government received warm
er lot of criticism than it has
for many moons, while practically
every speaker urged the Legislature
to keep expenses within income, pre-
serve the present tax rate and adopt
a business policy in the expenditure
of loan money.
Representative Rice presided over
the meeting, at which were present
the Governor, A. L. G. Atkinson, Pres
ident of the Senate Smith, ex-Govern-
or Carter, J. R. Calf, E. D. Tenney, E.
I. Spalding, W. W. Harris, Judge
Perry, Treasurer Campbell, F. W. Mac
farlane, H. F. Wichman, E. Faxon
Bishop, J. F. Haekfeld, J. P. Cooke,
L. Tenney Peck, A. V. Gear, A. N.
Campbell, Auditor Fisher, Norman
Watkins, members of the Legislature
blouse and Senate) and others.
Chairman Rice explained that the
meeting had been called to get the
opinions of the business men of the
city on the matter of taxation, it be-
ing practically decided by the commit
tee that the revenues would have to
be increased. He called first upon ex-
Governor Carter.
Mr.. Carter thought that there would
not be so much anxiety over taxation
and revenue if the government did as
business man would do and cut it's
expenditures down to its income. He
believed there were enough taxes col
leeted now to cover all legitimate ex-
penses. Taxation, in its final analysis,
| is confscation and the only excuse any
government had to tax was because by
collecting from all in common pool
it could use the money to the advan-
tage of the public better than the
public could use the money spending
| individually.
He questioned the necessity of in
| creasing the revenue and warned the
| which the tax rate could not go, will
| ing as the people of Hawaii had al
ways been to pay.
Paying Enough.
'When a population of two hundred
| thousand spends two million and half
of dollars, we are doing pretty we'll.
! We must realize that there are some
| things we can do without, some things
| we can not afford, some things we have
now we can do without. We can not
| do all the things that everybody
wants.
Cohen asked the speaker if he favor
ed an appropriation for forest conser-
Walton, Mr. Carter stating that he be-
| lieved some money was now being
spent that could better be applied to
| the conservation of natural resources.
He reviewed the status of Territorial
and county affairs, believing that some
things in both instances could be
saved.
Cohen asked if efficiency would not
| be in danger if the departmental es-
Inmates were now further cut, Carter
acknowledging that there was always
danger in anything. What the FL
nance Committee had to decide was
how to get the maximum of efficiency
with a minimum of expense. In his
administration he faced a situation
where he had to cut 50 per cent. in
some instances. It had to be done,
even at the expense of efficiency.
Cohen asked several questions until
Mr.. Carter began to ask questions HIM
self. asking one pointed question;
| "Whv is two and half million not
enough9"
In reply to a question by Rice, Mr..
Continued on Page Five.)