Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-12-18
Elements
crease in Rev.
onueS Somehow

Declaring the present revenues
from wharves in the Territory insult
ficient to meet the demands for im-
provements made necessary by COM
merce of the present and Immediate
future, James Wakefield, special COM
mittee of one of the board OF harbor
commissioners, Is this afternoon pre-
senting to the entire board q report
recommending that tonnage tax
lie imposed on all incoming. and out
going cargoes.
Together with these important rec
concentrations, the committee urges
that the policy involved Is such .
vital matter to the commercial inter.
ssts of the entire Territory that al
the available data should be gathered
and submitted to the Chamber Of
Commerce, Merchants Association
and other like organizations in Homo
lulu. the Hilo Board OF Trade. Maui
Ihamber of Commerce and other
civic and business organizations
throughout the territory
The report of Mr.. Wakefield Is ss
follows:
b. Honolulu, December 18th, 1912.
II. X. Bishop, Esq, Chairman. Board
of Harbor Commissioners, Honolulu.
Dear Sir: Your Committee appoint
ed to report on Revenues" from Ter
ritorial Wharves beg to state a. foI.
lows:
Investment.
After careful investigation Of avail
able data the Territory OF HaWaiis has
Invested in Wharves In Honolulu Har-
heI, and landings on the Island Of Hh-
wall, Maui, Kauai and Molokai the,
sum of $l,396, ,70159; this total does
rot include any portion Of the sum
prropriated for the Hilo Wharf Con-
tract, Of this sum the Wharyes In Ho-
loIuIu Harbor absorb $t.247,701. 50.
md some 26 landings on the above
named Islands account for the balance
of $149, 900.
ource OF Revenue.
The only source OF revenue from
his large investment is the collec-
on of a charge of .02 per ton per
+ ay on the net registered tonnage OF
teamers when actually lying along
ide one of the territorial wharYes:
indings or wharVes which are so sit
ated or constructed that vessels can
OF he berthed alongside, yield the
'erTitory absolutely no revenue un-
'er the present system OF charges,
matter how costly the wharf may
ave been to the Territory to con-
truct and to maintain.
tetuaI Revenue.
The total earnings OF wharyes tn
honolulu harbor over the past year
rom Oct. |. 1911, to Sept. 30, 1912,
Ias $44,691.1S, all landings and
wharves- owned by the Territory on
the islands of. Hawaii. Maui, Kauai
and Motokai yield no revenue what
ever. These gross earnings show
return of 800 per cent on the Terri
tory's total wharf investments, or
3.58 per cent on the TerritoTy's in
vestment in Honolulu harbor wharves
alone.
Expense.
The last legislature appropriated
the sum of $49,50O for repairs to
wharves and landings for the present
biennial period, $4,000 Of which was
for the repair of wharyes In Honolulu
harbor: this sum, as you are aware,
was wholly inadequate TO maintain
the wharves in Honolulu harbor in q
fit and proper condition for the traffic
they carry 1t is safe to say that the
present type of wharYes and the char
acter of construction, will absorb for
repairs only, for some years to come.
the whole of the gross earnings of the
wharves from the present sources Of
wharf revenues, and will leave no
Continued from page two.C