The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-11-21
DIRECT QUESTIONS
CHANGE CURRENTS
AT RATE HEARING
Inter.lsland Under Fire Att SEES
sion Of the Public Utilities
/. ..< Compassion ~.
MCLEAN GIVEN TIME in &
WHICH TO ANSWER QUERIES
H.. Goodinu Field Balks At Being
Made Target For continu.
ed Better Grilling v -, :

Six direct questions set squarely be.
fore the officials Of the Inter.Island
Steam Navigation Company for them
to answer gave new turn to the in.
vestigation Of the company's financial
Affairs by the public utilities commits.
sion at yesterdays hearing, indicating
to q certain extent the direction in
which the probe is driving. g. q
The questions afforded but brief res.
pits in the bitter battle Of words over
the report Of, H. lGooding Field com
mission auditor. The proceedings
quickly reverted to their former basis
vi acrimonious argument and cross.
examination of Field with curt and
sarcastic questions, sharp replies and
caustic comments flying freely in the
arena of combat. Z, ~ =
.,.-,J l.. Mclean, vice-president of the
company, to whom the questions were
put by Charles R. Forbes, commission
chairman, answered most Of them, but
for others and inter relating questions
asked by Forbes he was given more
time to consult the company's books
ind records.
Commissions Questions
The queries were: In ...y o.
"Of what do the so-called mon.
public utility enterprises Of the Inter
Island Steam Navigation Company
consist g. ...ar', w. ."
From what sources of revenue has
the company built up these so-called
'nOn.public utility enterprisesi
"IWhat were the values of these
'non-public utility enterprises Sep.
tember l 1916, as shown by the com
reny's booksi
'fHas the company any bonded debt
or has il sold any treasury stockf
"What was the total amount of cash
dividends paid by the company from
September, 1908, to August, I9l6f
"Did the company pay any stock
dividends in addition to the cash divi
dends paidf"
Mclean Answers Queries
Summarized, Mclean 3 answers were
that the company numbered among III
non-public utility enterprises its Goa
business, its ship chandlery business, it,
floating drydock and its real estate
holdings; that the company has NJ
bonded debt nor has il sold any treas
ury stock; that its coal and ship chan
dlery enterprises, established since the
beginning of the corporation, and 1t,
drydoek--the so-called non-utility en-
tcrprises-were established partly from
earnings and partly from capital from
other sources, but that more time would
be needed to give a full answer.
Throughout the questioning of Nc
Lean, l.. J, Warren, attorney for the
company, interposed vigorous and re
peated objections, saying in part:
"The Inter Island intends TO make q
complete showing in the regular order
of procedure. 1t is not necessary to get
the information out of the company BY
jack-scrcws. SThis line of questions Ii
wholly unexpected and irrelevant ant
not proper questions to call upon the
company to answer"
Asked for Records
Among the questions which the com
pany has been called upon to furnish
answers are requests for records by tn,
commission. These include furnishing
copies of the eompany's original char
ter and its amendment charter to see Il
it is privileged to engage in the coal o.
ship chandlery business; an account oil
how the original capital stock Of tn,
company was raised; the value of tn,
public utility and the non public utility
business today, and a list of the stool
dividends and list of cash dividend
paid since 1908.
On these last questions-the matte
of cash and stock diVidends-the discus
sion swung back to the eross.examina
ton of Field, for he has answered botl
questions in his report but the com
pany does not agree with the answers
Go Over Old Ground a..
The discussion was even more tangl
I'd and technical than Thursday p
hearing and covered word for word tn,
same ground as was gone over at th'
last meeting. T. ...
The familiar and now famous figures
of $432,020,70 were whirled back ant
forth and around score of times ant
again Field was called upon to rctract
his statement that when this amount
was closed out of the depreciation funG
it was thrown into surplus. He agar
admitted he was wrong. ".y..,.iN y, a
The other old question that was re
viyed and re.argued was the $3.50 ,00(
issue of stock Of the Inter. Island on &C
count of the purchase of the Wilder
Steamship Company in 1905 AND
Field again, as on Thursday, after al
hours argument refused to withdraw
his statement that $250,OOO of ,thii
amount was stock dividend.
Lie Twice Nearly Passed g.
Twice in the wordy controversy OF
this subject Warren and Field almos
passed the lie and once only the quicl
interference of Chairman Forbes pre-
vented an unpleasantness
Asked what was his authority foI
the statement, Field started to explain
conversation with X. R. G. Wallace
bookkeeper for the company saying:
"Mr. Wallace informed me-
Remember you are under oath, Mr.
Field" Interrupted Warren.
Field hotly answered that he knew
he was under oath and finished hi
statement with deliberate emphasis
Warren promises to put Wallace on thu
stand to refute the conversation