The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-06-30

AsphyMati0n Of the Building 0rdj-
nance, and Poor Water
System.

The f1e insurance companies doing
business IN Hawaii took in in premiums
during the period Of from 1903 TO 1909
inclusive a total Of s2,9@7, >92.>6.
They paid out in losses during the
same period the sum of $3.50, >47.54
In other words, the amount Of pre-
mium- collected exceeded the amount
OF losses paid out by s. 467345.32,
The amount of losses, therefore, IS
! less than seventeen per cent OF the
amount collected IN premiums.
In other words, the fire insurance
companies have in seven years laid by
nearly two and half millions Of dol
! lars to reimburse themselves for the
losses they will sustain when the eX-
pected great fire Of Honolulu occurs.
The building of Chinese tenements
and other forms Of fIetraps goes on
steadily.
And the building ordinance which
would put stop to the building Of fire
trans and which would, therefore, re
duce insurance rates, still slumbers
sweetlv in committee of the board Of
| supervisors.
The supervisors don t care. Few Of
them live where a great fire destroying
the business section of the city would
directly affect them. Only one of them
D has any downtown business, beyond su.
4 peryising. The one exception is the one
who is wroth because OF the asphyX1a
ton of the building ordinance. Per
haps the others are thinking of the
= Chinese vote.
The statement was made a long time
=, ago by the board of underwriters that
i, whenever the water pressure in the
g downtown mains should reach a pres
sure OF eighty pounds, and when the
NUuanu dam should be finished, fire IA
- surance rates would be reduced.
That, however, was before the IN
3 auguration Of the era of the building
= of Chinese tiretraps.
10 Nuuanu dam has been completed ant
VIII 'be formally accepted by the super
lntendent of public works today. Blu
the water pressure in the downtown
mains has not reached eighty pounds
. Nor will it reach anything like that 70
IA long time to cont. There is waite
T. in plenty, but the pipes will not stant
u he pressure. The jumbled, antedilu
Wan, obsolete and Worn-out system o
wains would, according to Superntend
- ctt Marston Campbell fly all to piece
should pressure Of eighty pounds b
10 put on it. I'm several parts of tn
IT downtown district said Mr. Campbell
yesterday, II dare not put on pres
sure of more than thirty five pounds.
System inadequate.
The only way to provide Honolulu
10 with an adequate water system, Nj
At Campbell says, is 10 spend about hal
IN million dollars in Installing a ney
- system of mains. As conditions ar
at present, the mains are, on the whole
entirely too small and contain all kind
and sizes Of pipe Here will be a
- 1s-inch main and running into it w
- be a Pinch pipe. This in turn eN
y pands a little furt her on into an l.
:! inch main again. And 50 il Is all owe
:. the city. Along King street is onl
to an s-nch main where there should h
-. an 1S-ineh pipe. The same conditio
~ prevails on Alakea street,
q The department is being crowded I
- supply pipe for the rapidly huildin
Kaimuki district. \ new 100000
gallon reservoir is being constructed
n that district, but within one year. VI
i, Campbell says. it will not be lare
Id enough and another 1900, 900 gallon re
n. ervoir will have to be CONSTRUCTED
-