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

! fo trif1e more than $500, which was
th'business price" ... 1>r
Aunton owns its water and light
insystem. Out at the power plant
thear before the General Manager
ca, they lost" 1872 tons of coal,
VIII, at $2.S5 a ton, amounted to
$500 of city money. There was
ndhe slightest suspicion of graft
inNed in this mysterious disap-
pence; there was no graft in it.
| Busomewhere between the city
scs and the engineers record book,
! 19tons of fuel had vanished into
nong through poor business man.
agent, and the city was forced to
ado its coal appropriation to make
upe shortage. Any engineer knows
no coal will disappear in the en-
gin room when nobody is watching
thfiring. Ashburner put steam
loarecord gauge in the power house
anIcalled the firemen down to his
off. +. H.. e.. T..
Dys," he said, you aren't get
tinenough wages. You ought to be
gehg So more a month. But you're
noyorth it the way you've been fir
ini Now, that new gauge is going
to AXE you fire just as carefully and
we as you know how, because it
wilshow if you let the steam drop,
orsnd ii. up too high; and I'm going
tohtch that gauge. You boys watch
it, 10, and when you're delivering the
COS you'll get the SIS more month
tn; you ought to have"
lie goods were delivered" and
thmen got their advance from that
daI Previously the water pumps had
bel forced to run "a hours a day.
36days out of the year, and in dry
weber there invariably was short
agof water. With the power plant
ruIing on a business basis the pumps
we able to shut down from twenty
foJ to thirty-six hours each week,
ammo water shortage occurred. In
thesingle item of coal alone, bust
ne! management saved for Staunton
cad year the amount of the General
Mayors salary. Nearly one thous-
ant tons less were used each year,
anithe average price was $3.50 per
ton -. ~. ..~ .>z
Buness Methods Put In.
&unton has an excellent, thor
ouIly modern little theatre in the
cit hall. 1t is the one theatre in
and it's business is suffi-
ciet to attract most of the compan-
iesIhat tour the South. Up to 1908,
theity had rented the theatre rights
of he house to local manager I'M
derconditions that made it what he
hinelf called "a soft snap" The city
furnished lights, fuel. aud attendants
total annual revenue of
betieen $500 and $500. There was
no thought of graft here, either,
thogh two councilmen had perman-
ent rec seats in the house. The Gen;
eral Manager secured authority to
put he theatres lease on the market
and sent for the representative of a
New York theatrical syndicate to
max bid. The syndicate offer was
n trims that would yield the city a
minimum rental of $1,250. 1t was too
yooda thing to let go out of town, and
he bcal manager rented at this in
,reaed figure, to his own ehagrin
Ind he benefit of the city treasury.
In purchasing supplies, the city
ormirly had operated in the old,
way that is chronic
With most cities. Each department
purchased its own supplies wherever
t plased without any system what
yer. The graft that is nauseat-
ng art of most city purchasing de-
it is sad but true that
rims are willing to resort to bribery
o gd city buSineSs-was absent here;
nut BUSINESS management was absent,
lso, and when any records of pur-
hasts and expenditures were kept it
fas not unusual to find, for instance,
wo different merchants selling the
anne item to two different depart
lens at different prices. There was
o attempt to save city money by
uyilg economically. How many dol
IRIS of taxpayers money were frit
ereG away in this fashion the alb
enct of records makes it impossi-
lie 10 compute. When the General
Tanager came he made all purchases,
rom horse-feed to sewer pipes, a
usiness proposition. as the purchas-
lg agent of a business. corporation
ould do. acquisitions for purchases
ere made out in duplite> One
ent to- the merchant as his or
er, the other was. filed in the
ecords of the General Managers
flee. Any citizen was entitled to
ak in and examine these records,
nd by doing so he was able -
lder this simple comprehensive sys-
III of book-keerinG-to see just what
cry cent of city money was spent
r, who got it, and what was got in
turn. The records also comprised
lily reports OF all work done. Thus
a sidewalk was being laid in front
the property OF Mr. William Jones.
r. Jones could wall into the General