Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-12-03
governor REFUSES 7OURGE
APPROVAL Off. |. FRANCHISE

given this bill your careful considera-
ton, have you not?
Mr.. PinkhamI have read IL very
carefully. have made my statement
as concisely as possible, and, as ! I'm.
derstand il, the operations Of the sink
ing fund, IL they are carried Gout as
planned, mean that the sinking fund,
simply discharges the obligations to
the stockholders Of their original CAPT.
tai and turns the property over to the
public, and that,~i understand from
Mr.. Peck, is the effect, and Gov. Frear
does not dispute me.
Gov. Frear-That is correct.
Mr.. Pinkham-So one could hardly
ask more from a community than
that. do not quite agree that they
will have a pile of old junk there I'M
der any circumstances because the
public would not stand to have it de-
cline into a Junk pile, even IL there
out OF il or not. II is very rarely that
a corporation has to surrender prop
erty without some reasonable and
Proper consideration. The public does
not appropriate property that way be-
cause the company, l presume, would
have a right TO remove their belong
ings from the street and take their
movable equipment away, and all that
kind OF thing. So that il has not par
ticularIy impressed me, but what does
impress me Is the fact that through
the sinking fund, in q very reasonable
manner, the public becomes the pos
SCISSOR of that railroad unless they
want to previously make some invest
mert and get II in their possession
sooner, and that, they can do today
practically on the same terms as the
sinking fund.
Mr.. Curry Governor, you. approve
this bill, then? .-s-.
Mr.. Pinkham-Yes, sir; approve
the bill SO far as have been able to
analyze II. do not say that have
gone into il in way that ] might, and
be responsible for it like Gov. Freaf.
But there is no reason why ] should
doubt his wisdom in the matter.
What Ex-Governor Frear Says.
Extracts from tentative draft of re-
port, prepared at Washington, d. C.,
by Governor Frear at the request OF
the House Committee on Territories:
when the franchise was granted
the only street railway in the city
was one about j. miles in length,
operated by mule power, and owned
and controlled in London. 1t gave
such poor service that number OF
the residents organized the present
corporation, obtained the present fran.
.chise, bought out the mule-car com.
pany and installed the present electric
system, which now includes Is miles
of main line besides many long sidings
and some double track, and gives exS
ceptionally good service. ~.
The franchise conferred on the cor
poration large powers as, to the issu-
ance Of stocks and bonds, the creation
OF both stock and bond sinking funds,
and the payment Of dividends, but did |
not impose upon 1t any obligations to-
extend the system from time to time
as the needs Of the city might re
quire. Thus far, however; the corpor-
alton has not only kept its overhead
and aggregate operating expenses I'M
usually low, notwithstanding that It'll
has employed citizen labor almost ex.
clusively and at unusually high wages,
hut 1t has devoted its net earnings
largely to extensions Of the railway
system and improvements of the ser
vice. and has not issued as much
stock or paid as large dividends as
the law permits. or set aside any
earnings whatever towards stock
sinking fund, or set aside as much as
the law permits towards bond sink.
ing fund. For instance. although the