Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-08-07
PAYING. WHAT?

/ The taxpayers of the city and county Of Homo
lulu .lre entitled to know what lies behind the
sudden move on the part of members of the
board OF supervisors for a 'municipaI paper
Supervisors say that they want to get up d
record of the boards actions to present when the
legislature meets
, = And the supervisors also admit that if the
system works successfully they will try to get
the territorial legislature to legaIize this paper
as the official organ of the city and county of
Honolulu
The plan now involves at least one additional
salary, for the supervisors are going to employ
a special clerk, and he is to get 500 a month.
1t also involves payment of 81 page for stencil,
ing the mimeographed sheets. About thirty of
these sheets are to be circulated
The supervisors confess that the paper they
have in mind cannot now carry the citys adver-
tising, because 1T does not conform to the city
charters requirement that bills and resolutions
must be published in a newspaper. They
hope, however, to get the legislature arbitrarily
to change the charter with respect to publishing
city advertising, so that within a few months
they can use this little sheet to carry the notices
die their municipal advertising.
The whole matter SINNERS down to this
Are the supervisors warranted in saddling
another salary item, possibly two, upon the heap
of Soverhead charges under which the city is
already staggering?
And this: ..-.
Are the supervisors justified in their scheme
to change the city charter so that hereafter the
city's advertising may be carried in beet with
no paid circulation and no bona,fd2 rculation
of any kinde F.. -
There is but one answer i. to 7 Sc questions,
and that answer is emphatically, No!
The supervisors have not even secured def
MITE figures as to the expense of the plan they
launched last night with first reading of an ordi
nance. N..
fPE They don't know how much such paper will
cost il it develops as they are schemng for it to
develop u.s..
The whole purpose of municipal advertising
is publicity. 1t is publicity that guards the tax
payers against steals and deals and petty poll
tics and Darkroom bargaining. And the immc-
diate danger in this particular piece of supervl-
serial scheming is that the publicity of the city
operations will be turned over to a ridiculous
little sheet which circnlacs only because it is
handed around free.
Outside of this objection, Which is future
probability, the taxpayers certainly do not want
the supervisors to hire more clerks to get up re-
ports for them. 1t is argued that the special
clerk will work over the boards acts for the past
few months and up to the end of this year,
50 that his salary will average only $50 MONTH:
This is a Juggling of figures. And isn't there
enough intelligence at the city hall to get up this
report without the necessity of slapping anoth-
er salary on the already astonishing list?
The plan of the supervisors now will not i'll
lure the newspapers of Honolulu. 1t will iniure
Themselves and tn city'S welfare The Star
Bulletins orly interest is to see that clumsy
move of this kind does not go through at the cN-
thease of the taxpayers. There is too much i"'f-
l;eA kle,sHpervisorS activities, ;,t1tits tip2ge
S'"s politics on the f$s>'~'
- q -