Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1912-01-18
EXPERT SHOWS
PUBLIC Waste
H. GOoding Field Tells Men,
berS of Chamber How
Figures Prove 1t.

That Honolulu as a city Is spend.
ing far too much money in current
expenses and far too little in perma-
nent improvements, and that much Of
the present waste can be rcmrdtod by
scientific organization and manage
ment of its business affairs was the
declaration made yesterday by n.
Goodng Field in the course Of an adj.
dress before the chamber Of com
merce.
Mr.. Field was formerly chief ac.
countant and cost expert for the 18TH
milan canal commission. and his adj
dress dwelt largely with the business
elements entering into public admin
istration He Is a man with the happy
faculty of making figures interesting,
and the comparison he drew between
various cities of the United states. in.
Guiding Honolulu, the conclusions
taken from what are ordinarily but
masses of uninteresting data made his
extended address an absorbing one all
the way through.
Leaning. apparently. strongly to.
ward commission form Of govern
ment rs solving much OF the problem
of economical administration. Mr..
Field pointed out in detail tho pro.
gress made by various mainland cities
under this plan. He ran over briefly
the astounding figures Of cost Of run
ming cities generally, and 3 Pike Of
marked savings effected by a little care
in handling the finances scientifically.
In part he said:
"The increasing demands now he
ing made on the territorial cNrhequer
for the construction and maintenance
of public works are assuming sori.
Gus proportions. When II Is cOnsid.
cred that seventy per cent Of the
bonded debt limit Of this Territory
has already been reached leaving an
available margin of but fifty per cent
Of the amount actually required to
meet urgent demands In the near fl.
ture, mere speculation must give
place to sound reasoning. II this sit
uatiOn Is attributable to the present
discriminating methods Of taxation to
meet current outlays then readiust'
ment of the taxation schedule becomes
imperative. but IL. on the other hand,
the cause can be traced to administra.
tive waste-and there Is no gainsay.
which the people have thus far oh
ligated themselves on bonded indebt
edness, eighty cents have been alb
sorbed in fixed charges and expenses
while but twenty cents have been
actually expended In permanent i'm
provements and for which the dollar
was originally intcndcd-thCn radical
changes in the mode of procedure
should be promptly made.
when II is furthermore considered
that sixty per cent of the total rev.
enues of the City of Honolulu has in
the past gone for current expenses,
the hypothesis Of waste would be the
logical one.
Figures Down to Date.
'ln Analysing the appropriations
Tor current expenses, permanent I'M
provements and road work for the city
and county of Honolulu for the year
1912, based on the six months ap.
preparation bill to June 80, 1912, the
following deductions can be made:
'Of the total estimated revenue for
1912, placed at sSl4190. the sum of
sG3S,iG2 is set aside for salaries and
expenses. or 7S4l per cent Of the
total revenue. OF this sum, over 80
per cent will be paid out In salaries
alone. In other words, out of every
dollar collected for the upkeep and
betterment of the City of Honolulu for
the current year, over seventy-eighr
cents will first be expended for fixed
charges and operating expenses before
one cent can be applied to the actual
Improvement of physical conditions of
the city.
Cost Excessive.
That the cost of general govern,
ment for the City Of Honolulu Is ex
cessiye. and out OF all proportion ia
population there can he no douhf