Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-09-20
LONG DEBATE.
OVER COUNTY
PLATFORM
No Division as to Principle,
but as to Methods of
Carrying Out


the establishment of civil service Tegu-
! lations in the police and fire depart
mcnts precipitated a fight on the plat
| form sctiOn by section that kept the
convention debating over the docu-
ment for more than three hours YES
! terday and last night. In fact 1T was
this discussion on the platform tat
delayed the nomination OF candidates
SO long.
! The platform had been read In full
and apparently was on the point of go
! ing through without much change,
: the delegates being anxious to get to
/ the nominations. However, the II III
plank was picked up by John Wise
and vigorous objection was made to it
on the ground that it would be the
! height of political folly to carry tIG3
plank into the campaign, and that it
/ isn't necessary now. The convention
upheld his action, and the platform
committee itself acknowledged that
this section might be cut out and no
great harm done.
! This discussion brought on the read
! ing of the platform section by section
and then the objections came thick
and fast, but in the main the platform
! stood the assaults and when it came
| through the fire., it was not badly
mutilated. i"
Fight Not On Principle.
The big fight came over the adop-
! ton of the plans calling for the seTp-
ration Of municipal and legislative
elections and placing the supervisors
J ;,1 al -
! lar to those of the senators. The fight
I was not against the principle of the
plank, which is to prevent the present
! tack-and-forth trading, the dickering
between legislative and municipal
candidates and their friends and ali
the politics played between the two
sets of offices because of the fact
that their nominations are at the
same convention.
All factions favored eliminating this,
and the objection came from those
who did not wish to see a municipal
election one year, legislative cleo
ton the next, municipal election
again, and so on. Finally, after Chair
man Towse and w. r. Harrington had
made hard fight for the plank, it
stood and the exact method to be fol-
lowed will tie left to the legislature TO
work out. p.
| When the platform had been read;
a motion was promptly made to adopt
/ it. but Achi and others insisted upon
its being considered section by sec
ton, there being planks with which
they. did not agree. In the section
relating to the responsibilities of the
party touching the Greater Homo
lulu" succeeding to the opening of
j the Panama canal, a successful at
uniting the party to the principle of
g. frontage tax for the building of new
streets and sidewalks In vain Towse
/ cited the example of progressive
cities on the Pacific Coast-the clause
| went by the board.
! Achi pitched into the section advo-
eating municipal elections in years
| other than those of legislative cleo
lions and dividing supervisors into
classes like those of Senators so as
to have holdover members on each
new board. He moved an amendment
/ to make the term of supervisors
1
and the Germ Of supervisors elected
| thereafter four years. A motion to
I table the amendment was lost about
/ six o'clock and the fight went over
to the evening session. w. w. Har-
ris then renewed the motion to table
the amendment, but the motion was
| ruled out of order. He next moved
to strike out the section with the
| amendment, and after a tussle on
points Of order Towse succeeded in
getting the section through amended
! without destroying it's original intent
but leaving details to be settled by
| the Legislature.
Free Sewerage Only Recommended.
An anvil chorus greeted the pledge
to provide free garbage and free sew
erage, Lucas and others contending
that sewer taxes were necessary to
| provide money for paying the cost of
| construction. An amendment By
Logan was adopted retaining the
pledge Of free garbage but only re-
| commencing free sewerage if the
Legislature can provide ways and
| means.
| The SECTION providing for COM
mission to ascertain and award dam
ages for growing bananas destroyed
| during the Gnti-mosquito campaign
was, after sharp contest, sent to
the waste heap.
! Payment of wages to prisoners for
work done for the Territory or mu-
nicipality, the money to go to their