The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-03-03
ORDINANCE is
IN LIMELIGHT
BUILDING MEASURE rs CAPTURED
BY NATURALIZATION
WILL BE FORCED.
tFrom Thursdarls Advertiser.l

(From Thursdays Advertiser)
The most strenuous experience which
has yet fallen to the lot Of the mys-
FERROUS building ordinance occurred
yesterday when the senate Judiciary
committee again took up the hearing of
senate bills and IA, which it had com.
meneed the day previously and which
had resulted in sudden and decisive
discussion Of the forlOrn building meas
ure in the supsrvisorial halls.
Yesterday Is meeting resulted in Presi.
dent MottSmith of the board Of health
marching triumphantly out with the
building ordinance under his arm and a
gathering Of officials, both city and
territorial, wondering what was going
to happen next, If any political jug.
Cling, sleight-of-hand or legordemain
can again slip this important ordinance
into obscurity it will be legerdemain
of the very first quality.
The ordinance is squarely in the
limelight now, President Mott Smith
and the superintendent Of public works
both appearing before the committee
and in effect practically demanding that
the ordinance or some measure to the
Same purpose be passed. Building In.
spector Miehlstein was present to tell
how the ordinance was drawn and what
it was to do; City Attorney Cathcart
was present to tell how it was "done"
or in other words, give the committee
an inkling of why it reposed for months
in his office.
lit is very voluminous; it requires
a lot of work; it is highly technical. -
These were the principal excuses,
Miehlstein recommended that the com
mittee wait until it was seen whether
the supervisors wanted to pass the
measure before it made any reeommen'
dation regarding the bill repeating the
building permit laws. Campbell thought
it best to recommend its passage set.
ting the date of its going into effect in
about four months, during which time
the supervisors would practically be
compelled to pass the measure by sheer
public necessity.
No immediate action was taken but
the bills will again come up Monday,
by which time Mott-Smith will have
had time to look the ordinance over
from sanitary standpoint.
Cathcart Explains.
Cathcart explained that the ordinance
had been drawn up in March year
ago and turned over to his Office last
December. MilvertOn had taken II in
charge and Cathcart believed that the
former had gone through about one
hundred pages of it.
cit is an ordinance Of great length
| and took eight months to be drawn up.
It takes some time to go through it, -
added the city attorney. 81 under
stand that one of the members of the
old board of supervisors got up and at
tackled Mr.. Milverton about it, but Mr..
Milverton had too much other work to
do to get at it. l heard nothing more
about it.
Miehlstein here explained further
that it had taken up eight months Of
work only because those who worked on
it had but the few hours in the even
ing and sometimes not that mich time
to give it as it was out Of their prov
incs.
eff it had not been for that it would
not have taken up nearly so much
time, he added.
Quite Nice Ordinance.
While Miehlstein was talking, Cath
Ecart kept going through the pages of
the ordinance itself, turning them over
and back, glaneing at the index, read
ing a note here and note there.
"This ordinance seems to be very
complete he added finally, "and COW
ers about everything" thereby render
ing a verdict in two minutes which
was not reached in three months by his
deputy.
Miehlstein gave some of the good
features of the ordinance to back up
Mr.. Catheart's official opinion. 1t COW
ers structural points almost solely, but
provides proper air spaces and a gem
sral construction intended to place the
building on a decent sanitary basis.
1t also forbids the erection of build
ings on ground unsanitary or in an IN
sanitary location where the health of
the inmates would be impaired. It deals
otherwise only with the strength of the
structure and goes into every detail
Of construction, giving standards. 1t
was drafted from several models, in
Guiding Los Angeles and San Francisco
building laws
Economical.
Miehstein stated that the present
I
board of supervisors would probably
think it was too long 10 pass, as it
would have to be advertised and would
consequently cost considerable money.
He explained to the committee that the,
present supervisors were running things
on an economical basis.
The length of the poor ordinance
seems TO be sore point with the city
officials. Miehlstein believes it can be
trimmed down little and Marston
Campbell also stated that he thought
some Of the formulas might be re-
moved without impairing its valve.
There is no doubt that the work Gov
ers a lot Of space for there are several
hundred pages Of II closely typewriter,
but II does not seem likely that any
pruning coald be done that would make
itself evident In the pile Of paper that
lao a.. Al. taEIa ff.ltukfun. a. tha ann.