The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-04-20
Speaker and President Of Houses
Believe That Work viii Be
Ended On Time
LOAN FUND BILL STANDS
WITHOUT MANY CHANGES
Senator Cooke Talks Of Changes
In immigration Policy Of
the Territory

In the senate yesterday the Loan
Fund Bill was put hurriedly through
second reading without debate, and
will come up for third reading and
free discussion, probably in committee
'of the whole, as soon as 1t Is returned
from the print shop. That is not lilse-
ly 20 be until Saturday, although the
committee ON enrolment was instructed
to hasten the printer as much as pos
|sible.
In the house the General Appr0pria-
ton Bill, which apportions the current
revenues Of the Territory, has been
thoroughly revised by the finance com
inittee and is ready in typewriffen
form, to be brought up ont on the floor,
but there are still certain items on
which the committee has not reached a
final decision and the bill may or may
not reach second reading today.
Both the speaker Of the house and
the president Of the senate now predict
that the Legislature will be able TO
finish its business within the allotted
sixty days and that no extension BY
the Governor win be necessary.
With the exception Of the action on
armories for the National Guard, rs
published today in another column, and
n change in the means by which the
department Of public instruction Is TO
get money for buying more land in
Honolulu, the Loan Fund Bill stands
pretty much as already forecast. The
important Alterations are in tho Gen.
cral Appropriation Bill.
win Change Policy
We feel," said Mr.. Cooke, stthat
the Territory has discharged all its OBJ.
legations TO the federal government in
respect Of immigrants. The federal
law Is that steamship companies or
other carriers bringing immigrants to
the United States must carry them home
free Of charge il they become public
charges within three years Of the time
they are landed.
When the Territory began to import
Immigrant labor, the same requirements
we're exacted. But It is now more than
| three years since the last shipload of
Immigrants was brought here. There,
fore the obligation no longer exists.
In view Of the further fact that
this country is at war and that nearly
all Europe is at war, Il seems unlikely
that any more immigrants win be i'm.
ported by the governments in the next
biennial period
q Therefore there Is no legal reason
why the department. OF Immigration
should be continued. I am not prepared
to say that the committee win recom-
mend that the department be abolished.
There are questions Of policy involved
as well as Of fact and law. 'i
Less Money Needed =
Some of the immigrants brought
here are now dependents, others viii
continue to become such. II is ques-
ton of policy whether the Territory
should pay for repatriating these indi.
gents or not. But II the department Ii
continued solely for this purpose, It will
need much less money than has been
asked" fs gtf
In the senate, there was evidence yes
| terday o. different feeling. The Judi
eiary committees Of the upper chamber
reported out Senator Shingles bill to
amend the famous Act lO0, with further
amendments which entirely altered its
purpose, and the senate passed the bill
as amended, Senator Single voting
| with the committee.
Sin the session Of 1885, says the
report of the senate Judiciary commit
| tee. "an Act was passed as part Of
| the Immigration Law. authorizing the
board Of immigration from time TO time
to spend money from its appropriation
as the board might deem best for the
temporary relief Of INDECENT suffering
or helpless persons. IT was not con-
fined to immigrants. The sum or sums
were to be administered by the com
missioner Of immigration, labor and
| statistics under the advice and approval
of the Governor This was intended
| to apply TO the relief Of immigrants, but
| under the technical wording Of the act
sums were diverted to purposes not in
tended by the Legislature.
"The bill seeks to repeal the act.
The committee. however, feels that il
would be a mistake TO repeal the act,
for there are times when the board of
immigration in its wisdom, ought to
have the authority 10 relieve immi-
grants. The expenditure should be
confined to immigrants and should be
under the absolute control, of the board
of immigration, and the board of i'm.
migration should not be ignored as IL
has been during the past two years. y
The COMMITTEES then o1ared q substi.
i tute paragraph TO accomplish this pur,
pose, and IL was adopted, even though
4 President Chillingworth notified the
senate that he had it on excellent au4
thority the house finance committee
was about to abolish the entire de,
partment, by emitting any sppropria-
ton for IL,
4 Whatever may happen to this de
partment the house has other amend
ments to the General Appropriation Bill
of far reaching Importance, Senator
i Shingle's committee itemlzed specific
salaries for all department employee
Representative Cooke q committee feels
this to be poor policy,
1. Mr.. Cooke pointed ont last night
that IN the case Of the department OF
public works, for instance, the salary
Of the engineer now on Hawaii "a. G