Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-07-07
Defends Action With Conten-
ton That Work Did Not In
terfere With Official Duties

A private caucus of the board OF
supervisors is expected TO be held
some time during the day TO decide
upon the final disposition of the
charges made against Joseph J. Miehl
stein, building and plumbing inspector
of the city and county, who faced and
made answer to the accusations at 3
meeting-uf the board of supervisors
last night. At 1880 o'clock this even
ing. the members of the board are TO
assemble in open meeting and decide
formally whether Miehlstein is to re-
tain office or not. ....
For three hours last night the board
sat as a committee Of the whole, and
took up the accusations, all of which
were preferred against the now sus.
pended building and plumbing inspec.
tor by Supervisor NJ c. Pacheco, for
the purpose of hearing evidence in
substantiation and refutation of them.
At the conclusion of this hearing the
board adjourned until this evening
without giving any direct indication OF
how II stood in the matter. IL
This in substance is what Miehl-
stein admitted as true among the &C
cusations: That he was to receive
four and one-half per cent for drawing
the plans for the Improvement of the
King and Oahu markets, and three
per cent as supervising architect; that
in addition he was to get lump sum
OF SIS for paying the bills of material
men and laborers. For all of this
work he said he had received but $500.
He admitted receiving commission
of So each on four fans, and of selling
two other fans, which he had bought
new for $40, for s35, the regular mar.
ket price, he declared, being $3.50.
He also acknowledged that he had
purchased secondhand marble, which
he later sold to the markets at a
reasonable and fair price" He demur-
red to the accusation that he had done
his private work during office hours,
and said that he had always, during
the three years in office, given the
municipality more time than required
by law.
One point was brought out by E. c..
Peters, attorney for Miehlstein, and
given much empha3is, and that was on
the question of whether the inspect
or's private contract with thu markets
interfered with his official work there.
Miehlstein contended that it did not in
any way. He said he was not requir:
ed, as inspector, to pass on this job,
as 1t had nothing to do with the build.
ing itself, being only improvements
within it. The plumbing for the new
fixtures installed required inspection,
he said, but it was agreed before he
took the work that he should have
nothing to do with that phase of the
improvements
THE Cinnamon came to me and
asked that do this work" said Miehl-
stein. For long time there had
been a great deal of trouble between
the marketmen and the board of
health and supervisors over the con.
dition of the markets The supervis-
ors had finally refused to have any
thing more to do with it and withdrew
their fish inspectors. The board of
health was threatening to close them
up. They came to me at that time
and asked me If would draw up the
plans, saying that they believed !
could make them more satisfactorily
than anyone else in town. / agreed.
l felt it was to the advantage of the
city that this work be carried out,
and so took it at a figure consider.
ably less than the regular fee