The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-10-22
The City's Chief Executive Is
Delinquent in His
Water Rates.
STATEMENT BY CAMPBELL
Public VI KS Man Brands as a
Lie Accusation Against
Him.
(From Wednesdays Advertiser.)

(trom wednesday AuVerllser.l
Mayor Joe Fern is to be sued today |
by Marston Campbell, superintendent
of public works, for about $500 back
water rates which His Honor has neg
lected for several years to pay.
A statement to the above effect was
made last night by the superintendent
Of public works when he was told that
he had been accused of having RENTED
Mayor Fern s Indebtedness to the Ter
ritory.
The department has been suing hun.
dreds of citizens who are delinquent
in the payment of their water and sewer
rates. Mayor Fern, it appears, is in
heavily, and the superintendent of pub
lie works will endeavor to get judg-
ment in court against him.
Indignation Meeting.
After the meeting of the board of
supervisors last night, there was an
Indignation meeting, Supervisors Logan
and Quinn being the indignant ones,
and the remarks made about Aylett
would have made that individual IS ears
burn if he had not been used to it. He
was accused of having thrown his fell
low members down and of having gone
back on his word and voted against the
telephone agreement when he had prom
ised to vote for it. 1t was the general
sentiment of the indignation meeting
that Aylett was under the thumb of
His Honor the Mayor and had switched
his vote at the Mayor IS command. Also,
Quinn more than limited that Aylett
voted as he did because he thought 1T
would please Marston Campbell, super
intendent of public works, whose en-
ploye the honorable supervisor is and
through whose favor he earns his bread
and butter-the salary of supervisor
paying for poi and fish.
Graft Somewhere.
Supervisor Logan went farther. He
claimed that Mayor Fern was afraid
TO stand for the agreement, and made
the statement that Superintendent
Campbell s books would show that
Mayor Fern had been excused from the
payment of $500 worth of water rates.
ait looks to me good deal like graft
somewhere" said Supervisor Quinn.
Short and Ugly Words.
Marston Campbell was called up on
the telephone short time later, and
told what had been said He promptly
came down town and denied in toto
the statements made by Quinn and
Logan, branding the latter as n triple
falsifer if he ever made any such state
ments.
81 have never spoken to Supervisor
Aylett about this matter but once,
said Mr.. Campbell, "and on that occa.
sion | advised him to cut out from the
ordinance any provision for the collec-
tion of an inspection fee as / believed
that would make the ordinance invalid.
Not Running Aylett.
''I told Aylett that ] thought the
county had a perfect right to have an
ordinance for the regulation of street
work and that provision requiring
a public service utility company tear
ing up the streets to put them back in
good order again would be valid and
would be good thing. But i never said
OF did anything to influence Aylett.
That Is the only time l ever mentioned
the subject to him.
ats utterly ridiculous to say that
l had anything to do with the matter.
! have kept out of it entirely, for |
believed ii to be simply question
between the telephone company and the
county. / have not even seen Mr..
Carter.
Only Poppycock.
';Any story about my having ever
excused Mayor Fern from the payment
of water or sewer rates is poppycock.
The truth of the matter is this. Mayor
Fern was notified to pay up or be sued
He then came to me and complained
that he had been overcharged for water
He was running tenement house and
had been charged for seventeen men
But he claimed that most of them were
sailors and were not there all the time
and he thought he ought not to have
to pay so much.
81 investigated and discovered that
this was true. Mr.. Fern was about
$500 in arrears. Some of the debt dat
ed back before the Act of 1904 and wa'
in the nature of q contract. So l agreed
that If Mr.. Fern would pay up within
certain time, | would reduce tn,
amount.
"But Mayor Fern has not paid with
in the time specified, and Just TO shoN
you that there Is not and never wa
any agreement to let him of from IN
payment Of what he owes the Territor,
suit will be begun against him tomo
row morning,
A.