The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-09-17
.DISCREOITS ALL
. THE CHARGES
MADE

Particular interest conferred in the |
hearing before Secretary Walter L.
Fisher in the sem te chsnbar yester- |
day, for the line of investigation was |
closely along one of the principal !
charges made against the Frear admin !
istration in regard To- transportation, |
especially by the Inter Island company. ]
But when James A. Kennedy, president |
of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation |
Company, took the stand, his testimony !
in this respect could have given the
Delegate to Congress very little salts
faction, for he went into detail as to
the operations and rates Of his com
pany and utterly discredited the
charges as made, showing that the
small shippers were not Disseminated
against.
Homesteading from bankers
standpoint was gone into by A. Lewis,
Jr., of the Bank of Hawaii, who ex-
pressed the principle that the banks
here would help homesteaders finan-
cially as far as possible, commensurate
with the security afforded.
F. G. Krauss, agronomist of the Col
| lege of Hawaii and homesteader HIM
self, in his statement to the Secretary
thoroughly justified the actions of Gov
| eIuOI tIeaT III EtS dlu W Viz AA@sAN~
homestead lots ON Maui, where there Is
settlement of white farmers success
fully cultivating pineapples.
Steamship Transportation.
]. A. Kennedy, general manager of
the Inter Island Steam Navigation
! Company since 1902, who came to Ho-
nolulu in 1880 and was associated for
many years with the Honolulu Iron
Works, gave interesting facts in con-
nection with the history of the steam
ship company, and its method of apply
ing rates between the Islands, with
particular reference to the difficulties
confronting the company in landing
and taking on freights at island ports
where there were no wharves.
He told who the owners of the stock
are: The August Dreier Estate, 2799
shares; c. NJ Cooke Estate, Ltd, Nc
Cabe, Hamilton & Kenny. There were
about three hundred smaller sharehold-
ers, there being 22,250 shares of stock,
the capital stock being $780, 900, of
par value of 500 a share. Among
the individual owners Of shares are
! Albert, George and S. N. Wilcox of
, Kauai; E. NJ. Walsh of San Francisco;
H. Sinclair of San Francisco; Mary E.
Foster, Mrs. G. Beckley of Honolulu;
Aubrey Robinson of Kauai; Carrie
Godfrey of San Francisco and j. M
Dowsett, part owner of Waianae
plantation, this island.
The property of the company in
, cludes seventeen steamers, the floating
l property being fifty-fve per cent of the
total assets. The forty-fve per cent
5 consists of valuable waterfront proper
ties, an up-to-date coaling plant, ware
? house and repair shop. The company
5 owns no docks or wharves on this oil
, any of the other islands. Last yeal
the company paid 81 per cent il
{ dividends; in 1907, it was 8 per cent
1908, 8 per cent; 1909, S.4 per cent
: 1910, rs per cent. A surplus has beer
| accumulated and this is being put into
the property to a large extent. The
company at one time had its own insur
ance fund, but there being no acci
dents for many years the fund was
: devoted to the company's interests az
e an asset. The revenue from floating
: property was seven per cent that from
= the other assets, twelve per cent. The
a securities of the company were of more
value than the capital account. The
4 Inter-Island company was originally
owned by T. R. Foster and finally be
came a corporation. The corporation
was a 100000 concern, the stock al
' paid in. No bonds were ever issued
e The Consolidation.
: In 1902 there were two steamer com
panies-the Wilder and Inter Island
which worked on basis of not touch
ing each others peculiar field of opera
tions, or ports. The Island secur
ed control interest in the Wilder
: company. Six men took it over and
I then turned in the stock without max
0 ing a profit. This stock was given
: out to the stockholders of the Inter
3 Island pro rata, the men who took the
= risk not deriving cent of profit. The
! capital stock was then raised to ST.,
: 100000.
"What had been the capital stock
of the Inter.Island company prior to
= that inquired the Secretary.
"$6OO,O00," was Mr.. Kennedy's an
swer.
"And it was increase to $1,5OO,OOO.'
eyes"
"What-did you have to pay as
much as par for the Wilder stockf"
"We had to pay $3.50 a share"
ii GAS a matter of fact, you had Ia
pay at the rate of $4,000 for that
company"
eyes, we transferred the whole OF
Q that propert to the Inter-Island com
o pany."
"There was a little increase in the
:. valuation of the stock when you put
I the two togetherf You put your own
: in at more than part"
Eyes, Mt one and quarter.''
AT one and a quarter and called
the whole thing $1,50O,0Oo. What hap.
. pened after that"
An increasing value"
"That is, you issued a stock divi'
) dendf''
. "Yes, in 1909 we increased our CAPT.
, tai stock to $2,250, O00."
''That was an increase of $750,O0OP'
eyes, on physical valuation"
ut was not based ON earning pow
ono"
) GAS matter of fact the theory on
: which this stock was increased was
! that you had physical assets worth
1 hot AkaA Al.