Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-10-05
WORSE AND MORE OF 1T,

A THOROUGHLY discreditablc document is
ernergingsfrom the political manipulations anC
ministratIon Of the charter conventions com
mittee offs.
1t is I'M substance The document drafted bN
the majority Oft this committees sub-cOmmit
tee of FIVE with a few more vicious amend
ments thrown into the political hodgepodgC
for good measure As it stands. it will appeal
to the politics for revenue only members of the
convention, and these, together with members
swung to their side by appeals to prejudice
may be sufficient to jam through the conven-
ton charter. which will ,debauch the public
service as sureysas tornofrewsss eun vii rise.
Last night the stanch minority of five tonight
10 secureas something like5asprogressive nhalter.
But their fight was vain in the face of eight
Imposing votes cast on the side of reactionar-
ism. And the FIVE, soon realizing the futility
Of their fight, began to see the ehumor in the
professed disciples of good government, snch
as some af these eightaIf1eHt ares faroring the
majority report with ITS: politic feedtroughs
and patronage loopholes. III.
Ii is significant OF the spirit of this majority
report and the charter il proposes that the
principle Of civil service in municipal employ,
won from the legislature Of 1919 after long
notation, has been cast to the winds. On the
speeious plea that civil service here has been
failure, the .entire plan is abandonedy OF
course, il the civil service plan has not worked
here, the thing to do is to find out just where
the statutes or the regulations governing it
are faulty and then amend them, for there is
Abundant experience elsewhere to prove that
the theory Of civil serviecis sound and valuable
and thatlit can be made to work successfully
inpractiee. 81
Aside from the packing of the proposed char
tel with sections designed to promote poiftical
machines and to encourage job grabbing, the
document is intolerably lengthy cranmed
with trivial detail which should properly be
dealt with by ordinance. Here for instance,
are FIVE of its sections, taken at random and
showing the Unnecessary detail with which the
charter draft is padded: 81
Section is7 Signs. Signs securely fastened to
the building may be suspended the sidewalk not
mere than three feet from the building at clear
height above the sidewalk Of not less than eight feet
ssetior 1ss. HisehnS Pos Posts for the pgr
placed at the outer edge of the sidewalk on the
edge Of The road in front Of any building, and such
posts shall not be more than four feet in height
sectlbn 2o3. Htchna to Trees. No person shall
hitch OF fasten any horse or other animal to any
or shade tree in the streets or sidewalks
Sectbn 216s Driving Cattle, Etc., Across No cat
lie. horses. Mhies grasses. exceeding ten in mum
ber shall be driven over bridge OF wood or iron
In the city and county of Honolulu OF ten span
more nnde he penalty or me not less than
dollar nor more than ten dollars, recoverable
against the drivers Of the BY prosecution etc
Section 2o7. Kites. No person shall fly kites in &
or upon any street. lane. alley or sidewalk. ss~sE
Section after. section Of this absurd document
contains stuff Just about as trivial-for char
ter as the above 1t may be argued that this
charter itself shows the necessity Of regulating
the asses but that point will hardly be insisted
upon blythe trainers of the document. -
The experience of mainland cities shows that
q model charter is one which is brief, concise
Inclusive; whch.ayoids prolixity, which avoids
tying the hands of the city's legislative power
BY detail; which grants powers rather than inn
poses restrictions. But then the majority of
the charter convention s committee of fifteen,
like the majority of the subcommittee of five,
insist on going in the face of municipal expe-
Renee elsewhere.
Successful precedent means nothing to'thcm
when compared to sueculent politics.
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