Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-12-14

Managers Office at any time and see
just what it was co2ting in labor and
material to lay every yard OF that
walk.
Furthermore, if any citizen had any
thing to complain about-anl citizens
dc find such things or if he wanted to
know why certain city work was not
being done, he knew that be had only
tc. go to the General Managers Office
end he would find the man to talk to.
This, possibly, became the mot popu-
lar feature OF the innovation with the
average citizen. There is now hardly
a citizen in the town who has not at
one time of another paid business
visit to the Office. The least prom:n-
ent citizen received the Same atten-
ton as the big taxpayer and the
smallest complaint was promptly at
tended to. 49,.
In this fashion, by making every
: item of city buiinees purely bust
! ness proposition, city money began to
reach much farther anu it begah TO
be possible to get things done. -:
! To get the streets paved was Staun-
tcn's first crying need. There we're
three principal streets to consider
West Main and East Main, which ran
up the hills from the butfne5s section
IN residence districts, and a street
had a single park. Each of these
streets had single car track laid on
ties only, at one side. The rest was
Main mud. In wet weather wagons
went bub deep in the mire. and it was
a feat to make a crossing on foot. I've
. sidewalks at one time had been GIN
fdered; but that was long ago and they
] had given up the ghost or respectable
tity and had sunk back into the mlre
in company with the streets. Inc
Stonewall Brigade Band ply every
! warm Monday evening In the PARK
| and Staunton waded and drove.
through mud to get out to1hear music.
/ These were the best residence
streets of the town. There were about
! three miles of them. AS for the side
streets, picture a red clay country road
Z with a gully washed out in the mldole
| and Won may know what they were
| like -. ,.,...
! Stanton never would have got
these streets paved under the system
! BY which lit was managing ITSELF ior
each year it was losing ground phy-
sically and sinking deeper in deot
Financially.
In the first year under the General
! Manager Plan the city was aDle 10
! ms cadamize 9677 lineal feet-nuarlV
two miles-of street; to lay 1924 feet
of cement curb, and 1887 feet OF gran
oIiIhic sidewalk. The second year H.
$50 Hneal feet of asphalt and macadam
streets. 6993 feet of walks, and 25oo
/ feet of curb was the result; Whlle the
third year the achievement was ca"
feet of macadam streets 42o4 feet OF
sidewalks, and 545 feet OF curb. Inc
total for three years was:
/ Macadam and asphalt streets. ..'''.
$3.50 lineal feet
Granolithic sidewalk ..... .........
l. .14,9S4 Iineal feet
Granolithic curb
| 1925 lineal feet
This was done without mourning
any indebtedness. The city actually
had a surplus of $l7.66.
talked with a dozen men who were
active as councilmen or in other OH
cial capacities in running the city
: in the old days, and the consensus OF
their Judgment is: 'Staunton never
! would have got any of that work done
under the old system.
West Main Street and East main
Street now run up the hllls rn:
del macadam and asphalt, with grano-
lithic sidewalks at their sides. and
wien Stanton goes out to the part
j; has firm walk and good strecf
running all the way. One NAV Illus
trate the difference between the two
systems so far as street paving l,
concerned with two statements:
Under council system annual
amount of street paved. 1000 feet
Under General Manager Plan annual
amount of street paved. .S5I7 feet
The water famine that had occurred
every. summer was not due to a lack
of adequate water supply or pumping
facilities, but to the absence of meters
and the consequent carelessness ana
,y&stefulness of water users. The city
wasted through leaks. open faucets.
and, careless usage the water for
which it suffered each summer
Ashburner began to put them IN
every place where there was faucet.
10 matter how small the place.
What" protested the taxpayers,
putting a SO meter in a house where
they use only 50 worth of water,
| And waste $50 worth" supplement-
ed the General Manager.
The meters went in. Soon after the
Va ste. and leakage began to decrease
run when he could hear the meter tick