The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-04-05
LFrom wednesday s Advertiser.l
x x 4 4 y y 4 x 4 x 4 X x \,

Through the exercise of business
principles in the city government, as
it is now constituted, the taxpayers
could be saved nearly one hundred
thousand dollars year, in the opinion
of II. Gooding Field, the expert in
municipal accounting, who has been
studying the workings of the city gov
ernment for the past two months on be-
half of the chamber of commerce.
Mr.. Field advocates a complete revi-
sion of the city's charter as the first
real step towards efficiency in govern
ment. The commission plan as in force
in Spokane and other mainland cities,
minus the referendum, initiative and
recall features, is practically what he
recommends.
The report is equally drastic in its
other features and outlines in its rec.
concentrations an actual "business gov.
ernment,' one in which the territorial
government may have sufficient faith
to bring about complete and defiuite
division of responsibility. Mr.. Field
prefaces his report by a surmise that
the present municipal system was in
tended to supply the means for a bene.
fetal administration, but states that rs
a result of the "petty chickering's and
political counter interests of the
supervisors, ga state bordering on
business chaos in the City Hall'' exists.
"Under the system now in vogue at
the City Hail." says the report,
'there is no semblance of that business
like order which bespeaks effective ad-
ministration and esprit de corps.
At the regular meetings of the board
held at night, the time devoted to the
administration of city and county af-
fairs averaged one and one-half hours
for each meeting. At these
meetings, matters not only involving
the expenditure of large sums of public
money, but also questions of vital in
terest to the community are brought
up for discussion, the very nature of
which demand the most careful con-
sideration, but with the limited time
which is now given to each subject,
only most perfunctory investigation
rs made. Stereotyped reports are sub
mitted by the heads of departments for
the consideration of the board, which
are passed or rejected by them as the
spirit moves.''
The Departments.
Mr.. Field s report goes into details
to show the present lack of business
which permeates practically every de-
partment of the city's government,
while each department is taken up by
itself and practical suggestions made
for improvement.
The city clerk IS office, for instance
be finds overmanned. One clerk has
nothing to do but look after the Great
Register, which so far has only had
twenty-five names day placed in it
a work that would not take up az
hour time day. A stenographer anG
an office boy, with the city clerk, coulG
handle everything that has to be done
The auditors Office requires the
adoption of a uniform system of book
keeping to be wholly efficient. M
criticism of the auditor is made, bu
the report states that the official
hands are tied by "the old order o
things" The auditor sis fully aliv
to the Importance of the matter an
has so expressed himself to member
of the governing board,' says the re
port, which suggests a system of UNI
form accounting throughout all the d'
partments, the adoption of which, tn
expert thinks, "would not only pay fo
itself by enabling the auditor, as we
as the citizens, to secure a knowledg
of the financial condition of the city
and thus furnish essential data
secure economical administration-bl
viii unquestionably raise the credit {
the city"
Useless Implications
The report point out a number of i
stances where useless duplication
work is done in the auditor 8 and trea
urer's Office, the time of the latter OF
cial being taken up in unneeessa
bookkeeping, while essential things
such as the collection of license fees
are not attended to.
Where Taxpayers Lose.
An instance Of direct loss to the ts
payers through the fact that the ter
tOriAl government does not trust