The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-01-23
lConllnued tlsIn rago Onol

question. now at least. whatever e |
may have been before, should be. not /
how far such government can be eX.
tended or how much It can be curbed, /
but how It may be put on the best :
basis that Is, what Il should be I'm IT,
self in order to be most efficient and
what its relations to the Territorial
government should be; how It may be
perfected in itself and co.ordinated
with the Territorial government.
There must be some REIMBURSEMENT of
functions between the Territorial and /
County governments and development |
within the county governments them. !
selves. This will incidentally result |
in transferring some powers back to .
the Territory and in transferring addi- |
tional powers from the territory to !
the counties, as well as some reor-
ganization and changes within the
counties.
Many changes would naturally oc-
cur to almost any one who might give |
thought to the matter. l will at this |
tine suggest only one line of changes |
which it might be found advisable to
make and that relates to the election, |.
organization and powers of the gov
erning body in each county or city and
county 1t is in this respect that the
greatest advances have been made in
recent years on the mainland in the
matter of local government-advances
that have proved most remarkable in
the degree in which they have increas.
ed the efficiency of local government.
ON the first place, it is now an ex-
ploded notion that the larger the num-
Der of elective officers the greater the
! degree of popular government The
old notion was to elect as many Off
GERS as possible on the idea that there
by the people govern themselves, but,
as matter of fact it has resulted the
other way. The way to get popular
government is to elect those who de-
termine policies, namely, the super
visors, and let them appoint the Off
GERS who are to carry out their pol
| ces. This is essential in order to OBJ
tain a government that is responsible
and responsive to the people. This
principle is now recognized and is be-
ing applied more and more or the
mainland. A board Of supervisors is,
or should be, much like a board of
directors of a corporation. The di-
rectors are elected and they appoint
the other officers. They determine
the policies and are put in position
to carry them out and are held res
ponsible if they do not. Otherwise,
there would be friction and independ-
ence of action with no one that could
be held to complete responsibility
Moreover, this is in the direction of
the short ballot, which is now adj
vocated by the best thinkers on this
subject. The fewer the names on the
ticket the more can the voters find
out about then and form correct judg.
ments in regard to them. Attention
may be concentrated on a few, not on
many. Better men have to be nomin-
ated in order to get elected, and there
is more inducement for better men to
run. The idea would be to elect sim
ply the supervisors in each county
and city and county and let them ap-
point the other officers, excepting the
auditor, who also might be elected
because he should be Independent of
the supervisors.
'In the second place, one Of the most
effective means found elsewhere to
r promote efficiency in local government
! is that of electing the supervisors at
large and not by districts. This has
several advantages. A candidate who
is to be elected by a larger constitu
ency must in general be a man OF
greater ability or higher character, OF
both, than a man who is to be elected
by a smaller constituency. A super
visor so elected is also apt to consider
himself more the representative Of
the whole county and not merely Of
his district. Supervisors are now sc
/ elected in the City and County Of
= Honolulu This might very well be
z extended to the other counties, witt
s possibly a modification in the case o
I the County of Hawaii, where portion
of the supervisors might be elected
from one side of the island and thu
others from the other side, or three
from each side and one at large, o
G all might be elected at large but tire,
o be required to be residents on one sid
II and four on the other.
"In the third place, the old motion
S that there should be in city and coun
z. ty governments, as in state govern
Il | n