Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-02-01

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election.
The council should be given an O.
the powers now enjoyed by the board
Of supervisors and the charter shoulc
be drawn 80 as to make 1t possibn
to take over additional powers from
time to time, or in the future, may
be induced to transfer them to tn
city to the end that Honolulu may be
come, what il should be, a normal cit,
with Jurisdiction ocer it's sewer sys
tenn, school and public buildings an
equipment, its water works jails
streets and all similar matters as vel
as provided with reasonable taxing
and bond voting powers"
Five councilmen commissioners
with the mayor one Of their member.
has met with favor in the great maj
ority of mainland cities and towns
Election for four years is favored
two years in ONCE is not long enough
time for an efficient official to demon
strate his full worth to the city mol
tc initiate and consummate any i'm
rcrtant public work he may have beer.
! elected to perform. IF he shout
rIove inefficient of incompetent O.
unworthy of the confidence Of the maj
orty of the voters he would be sub
! ject to the recall before much harm
could be accomplished. By returning
the commissioner selected by his as.
scciates as. mayor to stand for indorse
n.ent at the end Of two years-hy rea
soE of majority rule in the council
tie policy of the body as a whole Is
as completely under the control of the
VI tiers. as though an entire new coun
ell was elected every two years as az
present. But by, the rotation prin,
ciple public business would not be
subjected to the fdisorganization am
turmoil through which our municipal
a1fairs are now passing owing to the
axit Of the "outs" and entrance of tn
in" in every city Office.
Riof,t of Recall Essential.
The right of recall in popular gov
eminent, and especially where great
power is given to officials, is almost |
as important to the proper working
out of government by the will of the
people as the right to elect in the
first place. That such recall should |
be initiated by a considerable body /
of the electorate is also important. In |
the charter under conside tne
number is fixed at twenty-five per
cent as being high enough to indicate
widespread dissatisfaction. and yet
low enough to be effective in the
hands of interested citizens-rather
than as an instrument of persecution
in the hands OF asdefeated candidate{
of designing clique Except an open
petition kept on file at the office of
the city registrar, would favor each
petition being limited to say two hun
dred names secured by any one voter.
The person filing such list should
be required to make affidavit that the
names were bona fide signatures Sc
cured without compensation or coer-
cion on the part of the voters or the
calculator of the petition This would
prevent professional trouble makers
from traducing this feature and insure
It's use only as an emergency meas
ure. To be specific it would mean
IN our local election that there were
1t least a hundred active citizens in
.erested enough in the removal Of a
to take steps to bring
t. about, i
Press Has Great Power
To my mind the short ballot form
If government confers peculiar and
powers upon the daily
press. An inscriptions newspaper
With it's powers for creating and
speaking news if supplied with a few
employed runners could set an effec-
i've recall in operation that would
,e more pernicious in its effect than
my thing a boss ridden party could =.
if not checkmated in some -.
'uch way as I have suggested.
As to the property all seem to agree
ion of the roads, streets and parks =
# the city as well as the school
waterworks, markets, sewer
ystems, garbage disposal, public r
and equipment and all other =
Inblic property not territorial in use =
# nature Whether this can be done
" the legislature in every case, with a
nut the power to do so being granted :.
" Congress, is somewhat doubtful. =,
However, the charter should be SO -
rawn that the city can take over city .
property at any future time. y
AS to taxing and bonding powers. =
be city should have the customary -
over to levy taxes on real and per- =
onal property, to collect specific >,
axes on the various vehicles and on - =
etc.; to levy special taxes -
Or various improvements (as side -
'alks, for opening and grading =,
treets, extending the sewer and -
-ater systems and so on) and especi- ~
lily to provide for the frontage tax -
Or street improvements in which the ~
epth of the abutting lot should be -.
efined as not exceeding two hundred e.
nd fifty feet. All back lots and .un- -
ivided property within definite n,
adius from the capital building, q,
hich limits should be gradually ex- o.
ended, should be subject to a front
&c tax based on the rate charged 70
er square foot on the nearest street W
Such a law would auto ri
latically have the desired effect OF n.
pening up streets, providing for "a
ewers and bringing about the grad o.