The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-02-15
MESSAGE BY GOVERNOR TO LEGISLATURE
Continued from page one.

last five years?
1t is true, the needs OF the Terri
tory have increased, because this is
a growing country, and yet for some
Of these needs appropriations have
been reduced absolutely and for
others relatively to the needs and %
the increases in revenue; for in
stance, the school population has in
creased two-thirds faster than the
expenditures for public schools. The
prime cause of the difficulty has been
the establishing of local government.
This necessarily involved additional
governmental machinery; for instance,
the salaries and incidental expenses
of mayor, supervisors and clerks alone,
who are entirely new officers, amount
to about $4,000 in a biennial period.
Local government has also necessarily
, involved much duplication of govern
ldental machinery; as, for instance,
by requiring five treasurer's, auditor s
and attorneys offices instead of one.
the additional four offices of these
three classes cost an additional $780,
600 in biennial period. But this is
not all The Legislature limits the
amounts that can be expended for
! Territorial needs of an elastic nature,
but places no limitations upon the
amounts that may be expended by
local governments in such cases; the
only limitation is the amount of money
available, and that has not always
proved limitation, for in some cases
obligations have been incurred be-
during the last year the counties ex-
pended 1921, 3S0.66 on roads and
bridges, or nearly two and a third
times as much as the Territory ex-
pended for similar purposes out Of
general funds the last year before the
establishment of county government.
Much hope has been set upon a pro-
rosed appropriation of 100000 by the
Territory for roads in the several
counties, while, as a matter of fact
at the rate just indicated, the Legis-
lature practically appropriates for a
biennial period nearly four times that
amount by turning over to the coun-
ties for road purposes revenue to
that extent, although it does not
specify that it is for that object. In
other words, under present conditions
local government is a sieve for ter
ritorial funds; there is no limit to
the amount that can be used or that
will be desired.
This is not necessarily an indict-
ment of county government. Much
of the increased expenditure is in
herently necessary; much, as, for in
stance, that which is expended on
roads is expended for excellent pur-
poses and may be expended wisely;
even il much is expended unwisely,
the increased expenditure may be suf-
ficientiy compensated for in the edu-
cational value and the possible greater
degree Of satisfaction which come
from local government.
There is lacking the one essential
to safety and soundness-definite
The Territory and each county
should stand on its own foundation
with it's own sources Of revenue, to
be increased or decreased indepen-
IDENTIFY according to needs and with
the relation between the pockets of
the people and the expenditures of
their representatives direct and CON
spicuous.
The principal sources of revenue
are the property, income, personal,
inheritance and insurance taxes, and
public land rentals and license fees,
The land rentals would naturally go
to the Territory as they do now, for
they are peculiarly territorial in
nature. Liquor license fees also
would naturally go to the Territory,
so long as the liquor question is
handled as a Territorial problem and
most other license fees would natur-
ally go to the counties. AS to taxes,
the property and personal taxes would
naturally go to the counties because
they are local in nature, excepting
that taxes on property which is not
confined to one county should go to
the Territory, as, for instance, the
property Of steamship, cable and
wireless companies. The income, in.
heritance and insurance taxes would
naturally go to the Territory because
their subjects are not local in nature.
The separation of revenues does
not necessarily involve the assess
ment and collection of taxes by the
counties.
Nor does this plan necessarily in
volve the fixing of the rate of taxa
ton by the local governments, and yet
1t would seem to be desirable that
they should do so within certain
limits. The maximum rate could be
fixed by law as well for such govern
ments as for the Territorial Govern
ment.
1t would probably be advisable also