The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1914-12-18
Business Men and Officials Elect
Discuss Municipal ASSESS
ments and Taxation
Mr.. THURST0N CHALLENGES .
POLITICS IN GOVERNMENT
Warns Incoming City Administra-
ton That People Expect Eff
cheney In Public Service
(FrOm Thursdag AaverLis 81

I lFrom Thursday Advertis ID
clinic over municipal aud terri.
to1iai affairs, mainly where they relate
10 the assessment and collection Of
taxes; hit incidentally on politicaIism
az eontra-distinguiahed from eniciedcy,
was held yesterday afternoon by mem.
hers Of the chamber of commerce az
their annual meeting.
For two nonrs these business men,
members OF the chamber, with officials
elect and several incumbents, held this
clinic, which l.. A. Thnrston character.
lied as .'an earnest OF better DAYS TO
come. The discussion at the meeting
: extended far beyond the boundary line
implied by the topic set for Il, which
was based on II. Gooding Fields two
reports on taxes--the FIRST being on real
property assessment and the second Oh
auto license taxes.
Notwithstanding the sharp conflict Of
opinions on different subieets--a not
able one being on the question OF poll.
teal patronage, which was vigorously
opposed by Mr.. Thurston, and implicitly
defended by Mayor-elect John q. Lane
1.-The meeting did not have a discord.
ant moment.
Report Defended BY Paris
+, II. Paris, chairman Of the Joint
eommittee Of the chamber Of commerce
and AID Club, which conducted an In.
vestigation, or Survey into the tax
system, presented the chamber with a
statement In which he reiterated that
he believed his report was not unfair.
Personally, am satisfied that the
report has not done any injustice and
THAT the derelietions In Office shown and
conflicts in authority should be brought
out, 2 he said.
IN another paragraph he satisfied
Charles Wilder, district tax assessor,
\ that his statement made at the diree.
tors meeting and published in The
1 Advertiser, that he believed all poll
taxes collected were not reported, was
not meant rs reflection ON him, but
on lie system.
IL was near the close of the meeting
and after the chamber had passed a
resolution urging the iueoming board
mot to do away with Che appropriation
TO the promotion committee, that Mr..
Thurston rose and denounced the system
by which a political aifliiatiop, rather
than competency, qualities one for D
position. Al 81
Next Administration Forewarned
i He urged the supervisors and
mayor elect not TO make the blunder of
their predecessors in Office, who set
politics above efficiency as d quali6ca.
tion for a job, and were defeated 10
their campaign for reelection because
thev had concentrated their efforts TO
'lbuild o political machine rather than
lgiye the people a sound business nd.
ADMINISTRATION.
sit II an earnest Of better days to
come when officials and business men
can get together for two hours like this.
1t is sign that we are going to have
efficiency. Efficiency is the slogan of
the day, and we must have IT, ~
1T siekeDs me 10 read that these
supervisors-elec may make the same
blunders as others have made before
them, by giving over Jobs to men be.
cause they belong to the same political
party. j tell you, IL you are going to
berpetuate yourselves in Office there is
i hothihE bottcf you c3iit 10 thhu 70 dp-
I.oint men who are best fitted for the
Jobs without regard for whether they
are Republicans or Democrats. You
want to show the voters that You are
running the government for the good
Eof the people. sM6.. ~
Efficiency. Not Po''ticy, Wanted y
''If you are to go on and try to
build up a political machine, You will
meet with the same treatment two
| wears from now that your predecessors
have just experienced. We want eff.
4 Cert men in 0fffee. We want YOU to
work for efficiency and not politics. y
| Mayor.elect Lane. who. up to this
time, had followed the discussion oflthe
meeting without making a comment, re-.
l,pled to Mr.. Thnrston.
81 believe we have enough eairient
men among the Republicans to carry on
the government Of Honolulu. he said,
His reply was very brief, and while
in ii he did not, in so many words, say
he favored the plan advocated by some
of the snpervisors--that is, TO throw all
Democrats out of ofice--the impression
made NV his words was that he did
favor this plan.
Il d.
ways from its point OF beginning, in
the matter Of Discussion. -ltf
Mr.. Paris Submits Statement
Before the Pield reports were raaa.
Mr.. Paris submitted his statement,
and after the reports were read, Mt,
Wilder speke, dealing with the col.
lection OF auto taxes. and explainine
the possible overestimate Of such ~
collected taxes. vs.
Mr.. Field, in his report, had foun0
that great percentage Of auto taxes
were nne0lleeted astls. ~ \,
tMr. Field and | worked on these
figures. said Mr.. Wilder. "hpt poN-
find that we should have aided about
fftv 'ar cent ~ place OF ton per eept
to get the number Of cars that annual
/ ~ drop ont OF service. These figures
delinouent upon which Mr.. Field bases
| his findings are approximate. AM;
when come 10 look into them moro