Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-09-06
THE CHARTER CONVENTION.

The city convention which begins tomorrow
Is considerably more important to the future d
HOnolulu than any convention Of recent years
II will nominate no candidates and promulgatt
no platform, but its activity should be far more
permanent than nominations or platforms. +.
This convention is the result of "a demand
on the part of the people of Honolulu for a bet
ief city charter. Stand-patters who take the
position that there is no need for much revision
Df the present charter must be blind to the
signs of The times and to the results of the last
two city elections. In both of these elections
city administrations which had failed to make
rood we're ousted, but in neither case did the
IaiIure lie altogether with the ineumbents in
0ifice. In both eases they we're fatally bandit
capped from the moment they took office by a
fllarter which makes for inefficiency.
The present charter has the great defect of
|aiIing TO coordinate city activities. The
IlayoT seant as his powers may seem still is
able By reason Of his control of the appointing
power to run several city departments for poll
tics instead of efficiency, if lie wishes to do SO,
and experience is demonstrating how often he
wishes to do so. The sheriff rules in little
||llnieipal world of his own, virtually beyond
|le control Of the supervisors A brief session
0| tile Hawaii investigating commission held
here B number Of months ago in order to get an
insight into Honolulu s accounting system
showed lack Of coordination between the audi
|oI S and tfeasurer's offices. Under the pres.
.ni charter they work with little interdepend4
IIce. There have been constant complaints
that the road committee of the board of super
'sofs attempts to rum the engineering depart.
ntiIi. and vice versa All the faults are
.I60ped around the one great fault Of. lack Of
1entrallzation. The mayor Isl luau incident Of
unhappy memory showed how impossible It Is
b pin - amy official the blame for a public
D|pndel. a.
Gradually the citizens are coming 70 realize
That ii IS not enough every two years to vote
"a ) YET 81 officials and vote them out two years
'1ter They are coming to realize that In
american cities good government often must
depend Oh lack OF opportunity for bad govern
|IeIlt id other words, in the degree that the
|tances for inefficiency and patronage politics
are eliminated in that degree, will an average
Atl Of officials be helped toward good govern
ntht In that degree will they be freed from
the burden of caring for votes and voters that
went right in the last election and hence
claim their consideration when it comes to
handing out jobs. s. 5.s. .ss.zs... !. a.
The present charter has thus come in for in
lIeasing criticism More than two years ago,
prior to the 1913 legislature, there was strong
movement for charter reform. Governor Frear
named q committee Of twenty-five, which did
much good work in drafting charter but
failed at the proper time to- present bill to
the legislature ito substitute the new for the
old charter form. e.s1 - 4. - -. q.
But the movement was not dead. Like all
right movements. it persisted Sentiment
among intelligent citizens has kept getting
stronger and stronger for a new charter and
the bill which passed the last legislature, au-
thorizing this charter convention, is the result
clystallized in the group of men who submitted
to the Legislature this proposal for a charter
convention. 49, -
SO that the convention which meets tomor-
row is no overnight mushroom affair. 1t is the
result of at least four years of agitation and
more than two years of active work.
The sixty-three delegates who compose the
convention have an unusual opportunity to
write themselves down as progressive, patriotic,
Intelligent and public-spirited men. They can
make the convention an ignoble failure or a
splendid success Mere patching of the present
charter, leaving in all the dissolving elements,
all the elements that make for discord, leaving
in the opportunities for cheap politics, will
make an ignoble failure Vigorous and funda-
AL fbo holl horn