The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-11-17
FIELD REPORT
TO UTILITIES
. BOARD GIVEN
TO THE CITY
Commissioners After Many ver-
bal Spats and Minor Battles
Agree That the Subject Matter
Rightly Belongs To the Public
CoNTAI!S CRITICISM OF
INTER-lSLAND COMPANY

ternoon Was Secret" Or That
the General Public Was Barred
NDELETED ami uncensorcd, the
IL complete report on the financial
affairs of the Intcr-Island Steam
Savieation Company, compiled by H.
Gooding Field, special auditor of the
pebble utilities commission, which con.
aims critieism of certain of the com
ysany s methods and transactions, was
5Ormally accepted and made public by
he commission at a meeting yesterday
fter heated discussion punctuated by
sigorous and repeated objections to the
procedure from l.. J. Warren, attorney
for the company. = IN
The report, from which pages had
5een sexpunged Monday at a star cham.
Der session of the commission and
which had been withheld from the pub
lie Monday, continued yesterday, as il
lid Monday, to be the subject of evi.
dence and testimony for two hours be
fore il was formally admitted as o
public document.
Charles X. Forbes, chairman of the
'ommi ssion, opened the hearing yester
day with the statement that Monday 5
secret meeting had been "open to al
who cared to attend" but still insisted
that, as an "ihformal conference. &" u
was not a commission meeting Twice
otcr. during yestcrdnv's hearing hi
inadvertently referred 10 action takeI
in the star-ehamber gathering as cot
the commission.
Not Afraid Of Report
During the anI'na,ed and almost acri
moniOus debate that centered on the
acceptance of the report Attorney War,
EN- frequently and emphaticaily stated
the position of the Inter Island com
pany in clear-cut terms of protest. He
aid:
owe are not afraid of what is con.
tanned in this report. The Inter
Island company has nothing to hid
from the commission. But we do OBJ
iect to an ex parte compilation of fg
nres by one man being made a matter
Oft public record. when this man, b,
she courtesy extepded him in the us
If the cOmpa nv 3 books, has been abb
o anafyze the accounts of the non
Utility, side of our business and present
70 this commission matters which arc
not within the scope of its authority.
owe object to the making public
he portions Of his report that deal
solely with matters of a private com
mercial nature. The document con
tains, in addition, many statements
which are incorrect and conclusions
that can be proven wrong. The fac'
hat the commission might later rejec'
he statements in the report is Of small
consequence. Placing the report on
public file docs all the mischief. Mr.
Field y private judgement is going t.
be the criterion that will spread on:
private matters to the public. If thi'
export is placed on public file it vii
constitute coniisGatior OF property with
| out due process of law
Withdrawn From Fund
There are two principal points il
| he system Of financing and account
ing, which Auditor Field alleges tn,
company uses. that are assailcd in the
report. The report declares that tn
company has withdrawn largely from
Is depreciation or "safety' funds
| transferring the amounts to surplu
or utilization in the payment Of StocI
| dividends. Under cTOss-oxGmination
| Field admitted that he "didn't know
absolutely that this had been done
Attorney Warren tried throughout
he discussionN yesterday, and partially
| succeeded in shooting holes in the re
tort and Field 3 conclusions. The 9th
| r criticism was directed ct the al
legged practise of the company in con
nectiOn with the distribution of op
| rating expenses of the steamers il
which Field declared that Cooperating
expenses have been burdened will
| excessive costs.
| Field 3 report opens with review
" the purchase by the Inter Island o.
he wilder Steamship Company and tn
, capitalization and dividends declare
" the concern. In a TecapitulatiOn o.
| dividend payments, the report show
that since July !, 1905, 81 99S, 900 ha
1een paid out in this manner from sur
Illus on a capitalization that has grow
| Turing the same period from 81 5000
! o $1,000, 900. Two stock dividend
rave been declared by the compnn,
| nncR I"'H, according 10 the report
one in 1909 of $750,00O, which the re
Oort shows was made up of 1928, 00l
from the repairs fund, $476, 1918 from
the insurance fund and $l4S,S06,S!
from surplus; and one on March !
1915, which the report shows was made
up of *07.O7S.7l from the insurance
fund, $42,94I.47 from the construction
and repairs fund and 1929, 1889 from
surplus.
Verbal Battle RACES
II was in connection with the 1919
stock dividend and the alleged relation
or nOn-relation of the 5000 1882 takeT
from surplus and a sum of Sap ,020. II
closed out of the steamer = deprecia
ton fund two months previously, thai