The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-03-19

over government wharves, and to call
your particular attention to the discri
| miDatiOn and injustice it will work
against the merchants Of Honolulu.
As you all know, the bin provides
for the levying of a toll charge not to
exceed ten cents per ton on all mer.
chandise and supplies entering the
ports of the territory and passin over
q government wharf, and similar toll
charge on all merchandise and supplies
, leaving any port in the territory and
passing over a government wharf.
Means thirty Cents Tax
Now gentlemen, what docs this
meant Simply this: That all goods
which are sold by the merchants o,
Honolulu to customers on the other
islands of this territory, will be liable
to q tax of thirty cents per ton, fol
in addition to the toll of ten cents per
ton in, and ten cents per ton out OF
Honolulu, this same merchandise will
also be liable to pay another toll Of
ten cents per ton when it is delivered
on a government wharf on any of the
other islands. Is not this an unfair
discrimination against your cityi
| 81 submit that it is, especially in
view of the fact that Honolulu is q
way port and the principal distributing
point Of the territory. Honolulu has
always been such and will always re
main so, on account of its excellent
and sheltered harbor, but if such
legislation as is now proposed is en-
acted, very large percentage of the
business now enjoyed by the mer
chants of Honolulu, will be lost to
them, as it will be driven to the out
side ports on account of the discrimi
mating and unfair treatment which Ho
nolulu viii receive by such a law. - .
els itsfair that such laws should''bI
enactedsG A law that will benefit ono
section of the territory at the expense
of anotherf think not, and / be
lieve, gentlemen, that after you have
given this matter your earnest ant
careful consideration, you will come t.
the same conclusion.
CAT q conference held few day
ago between the members of the, boarc
of harbor commissioners and the legis
lative committee of this chamber an,
the planters association, the statemen
was made that the collection of toll
on merchandise was nothing new, tina
all other ports of any size collectel
such tolls. do not believe, gentle
men, that an investigation into tn,
actual facts will bear out this conten
ton, and it is my opinion that you will
find on Investigation that in nearly al
cases where the port is a distributing
point, or way port such as Homo
lulu is, tolls on merchandise are no
collected, for the reason that il woul'
be unfair to attempt to collect such 1
tax. -
II desire further to call your atten
ttion to the manner in which it is pro
posed such toll charges are to be col
lectcd. The act provides that the own
ers or agents OF the water craft dis
charging merchandise onto, or loadin
from a government wharf, shall collec
the toll charges and pay same to tn
board There is probably no one i
this room who realizes exactly wha
this means, so ] will endeavor to eu
tighten you on the subject.
Burdens Steamship Companies
In the first place, the proposed al
rangement would no doubt be an ca
cellent one for the board of harbo
commissioners, for they would not
, put to any expense or trouble in co
Letting the tolls, but how about tn
steamship companies, particularly tn
local company, which it is my priv
lege to representa- ....' a-@,I
"Let us look into the details a littl
and see what it means to them. 1t wi
perhaps surprise you when / state tina
during the year 1914 our freight clerk
signed more than $4,000 bills of laG
ing for merchandise shipped by on
steamers to and from the port of He
nolulu, and when you stop to conside
that there are often seveIal separat
items on each bill of lading and tina
the tax for tolls would have to be con
, puted at the time of shipment and tn
money collected, you win rex1ize wha
, stupendous amount of clerical wor
it is going to involve.
at is true that one of the member
of the Board of HarbOr ComInissiona 81
suggested to me some time ago, tina
some provision mi hit possibly be pu
into the hill, to compensate the Inter
Island Company for making these co
, lections, but gentlemen, il we too
one half of the entire amount tina
would be realized. for our compensl
ton, it would hardly pay the extra c>
pense we should be put to. This prof.
ably seems to BIO a rash statement a
, fr't glance, hut if YOU will look care
, fully into the matter, you will fin
r that it is not 80 very wide of tn
mark.
"In addition to this, think of tn
| inconvenience and delay it woul
; cause shippers, when you consider I'll