The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-11-24

Attorney Warren emphaticaly OBJ.
iected TO the answer as not responsive,
and after he had been sustained by
James L. Coke, commission attorney,
in long argument, the answer was
stricken from the record. Field finally
answered the question by the state
ment that he could give no absolute
opinion. Continuing under Forbes
questioning, Field went on to say;
ct see, no reason why any nom
public utility enterprises should have
been established because II the public
utility end Of the business-the steam
ers for instance-needed merchandise
OF ship-chandelry, such supplies accord,
ing to my idea should have been en-
tered as part of the public utility end
of the business and not segregated as
separate business.
"If coal supplied to and used by the
| steamers had been charged to the
steamers at absolute cost instead of be-
ing sold at q profit for the company :
coal business in other words IL no
profit had been made for the non
public utility end of the business, it
would have been a different matter"
Stil Another Protest
Field IS reference to the company 8
1 method of accounting in supplying its
ships with coal called forth another
| protest from Warren Who declared, in
denial of Field s assumption that no
official Of the company had stated that
the company sold coal to its steamers
at profit to the company's coal bust
ness.
H. Discussion of the company insur.
ance fund, as shown on Fields report
| opened the hearing. The report shows
that from this insurance fund, built up
by monthly charges against the Operat
ing expenses of the steamers, three
Withdrawals have been made, totallinc
$649, 264.77, to make up part of three
stock dividends. The balance in the
insurance fund March !, 1916, after
the last withdrawal was $500, PESO ac
cording to the report, making n total
of $l,l5S,537.27 that has been with
drawn for the insurance fund and
charged to the operating expenses OF
the steamers. Referring to this amount
Field said:
Expenses Overly Large
aKOvfp,bel mfawd aw Vt va yaf wtyo
1.-THE operating expenses of the
steamers of the Inter. Islhd company
have been unduly burdenel and excess
siVely charged in accommodating this in
suranee fund.
II of not charged to steamers on &c
count of insurance this amount woulC
have shown in the profits Of the steam
ers, that is in the net profits. The ne'
i 70 hnNy ,rrh
4 which would have shown q. greater sur
. plus; and funds available for casI
dividends would have been larger, hence
the percentage of dividend payment,
would have been higher"
Field pointed out here that the non
, utility end of the business had been est
ablished from accumulated surplus.
! Consideration was then given the tn
! BILE in Field = report, published in full
H In The Advertiser of Saturday, Novem
Der Is, which shows the dividend pay
ments on the capital stock issued t.
have been paid out at rate ranging
3 from seven and cight-tenths to clever
and seventy-fve hundredths per cent
: IN average of nine and fOTty-seVeI
: hundredths for eleven years from l90i
} to 1916. Field tabulates beside this
list of percentages figured on 81, 100,
900. which he calls the actual invest
ment" of capital stock, barring stool
dividends which shows the cash divi
dend rate ranging from ten and nine
tenths to twenty-four and ffty.fou
| hundredths per cent, an eleven-yea
average of seventeen and fifty six hun
dredths per cont Out of discussion o
these comparative percentages cam'
Fields definite and direct criticism o
tn" company financing.
Field again repeated his assertio,
, that the depreciation. insurance, re
pairs, and construction and repair
furds were covered only by the cNsl
surplus of the company, when the,
, should be actual funds set aside anr
"camarked" consisting of cash o
negotiable Instruments He pointe'
. out that his reading of the last bal
, Rn"e sheets of the rOmpanv shove,
} orIv about 5000. 900 Of available cash
I negotiable paper and bills receivable
= which wRs less than the total Of tn
; depreciation, insurance. and cOnstru"
ton and repairs accounts, which sur
plus is supposed to cover.