Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-16
POLICE PENSION
BILLDEFENDED
BY THIS OFFICER

+ "Gel rid OF everY i.it OF favoTitiSn
and put it On the merit system de-
claRes a police officer, referring 10
the police department of Honolulu, in
a letter to the speaker and members
OF the house of representatives in
which he boosts the bin providing a
pension system for police officers.
The letter, which was handed the
Star-Bulletin for publication by Speak
CT ri. L. Holstein, is as follows: ri
Honolulu. T. II March 10, 1917.
TO the Honorable Members of the
House of Representatives. ... +
May IL please your Honorable Body:
II beg to state that | read in the
local papers that some real wise Rep
resentative with more than ordinary
sense has introduced bill to pension
police officers. ..... "
To the foregoing proposition.
please allow me TO state: To you
honorable gentlemen and more par
ticularly to the Representative who in
troduced the bill in favor Of the po-
Ecemen, have this much to say: r
Il, as police officer who has been
on the Honolulu police department
more than 10 years, am in position
to state that every police officer is
more than glad to hear the news.
Since you honorable gentlemen are
taking into considerable nthe fact that
there should be some attention paid
to policemen, / have the honor to re-
quest you to listen to the following:
81 respectfully request you to put
the police department purely on a
civil service basis If it is to be main
tanned What / mean is to get rid
OF every bit of faVoritism, and put it
on the merit system. As it is today,
a police officer who has been on the
force more than 80 years is drawing
less salary than the man who has just
come on the force, when that new man
knows no more about police work
than an unborn baby and is absolute
~ unqualified. How would man
who has been on the force so years
feel, when he sees a new man get
more pay and have more show and
he has to be steered by greenhorn?
Will you gentlemen consider this JUS
tee and civil service? Is not the
present system of civil service huge
joke? This is no lie, because If you
viii look in the police pay roll of the
Honolulu police department you will
no doubt find that the longer the po-
Iiceman stays on the force the less
pay he gets. AS It is today, whoever
makes the better sucker, he is the
best officer whether he makes any
arrests or not or whether he gets sHs-
pended about a half dozen times a
year for bad behavior
AS to the police department Of
Honolulu today you cannot find a bet
ter police department in the whole
world, bat the whole failure is that
head officers do not give the inferior
a square deal and favoritism
always rules. AS it is today, it does
not matter how faithfully one may
work or how long one may have been
on the force he will always get less
salary and always be turned down I'M
less he, is a good sucker. VIII you
consider all these as justice and
civil service VIII you honorable
gentlemen give US a fair and square
deal? Whether pension or no pen
sion, We are all good if you put
the police force purely on the civil
service basis like the federal govern
ment. And / want to call to your at
tentio ntllat it is not the politics, but !
the suckerism that always works.
For the foregoing reasons, uni. |
formed officer or a detective will not !
appear in court In the morning to pro-
secute the arrests he made the night |
before because he feels that he does |
not gain anything by the conviction of /
his prisoner or his discharge. If you
10 not believe this statement please /
ask Senator Chillingworth and he
will vouch for my statement because
ne has been prosecuting Officer
ong enough. Many a time that prose.
cutting officer has had to send a spe.
eial officer to call the arresting off,
GER to come and testify against his
prisoner. Who loses by this farce but !
,ur government
You honorable gentlemen, I res
Dectfuily. request that the foregoing |
acts may be taken into consideration
md give US our square deal and see
hat the older men receive more pay /
han the new
IL respectfully beg to remain.
"A POLICE OFFICER.
a"P. ST. am afraid to sign my name,
Al, I'll h. II -