The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-09-21
Agent
System Is Good
Asserts Hollinger
kaimnh Supervisor Submits Min
GRITTY Report Strongly Opposing
Proposal To Do Away With
Municipal Department


Attracted by the report that the
meeting Of the supervisors yesterday
afternoon would be a session de luxe,
In that each of the city dads would at
tend meeting, arrayed in assparrowtail
coat, a large and curious gathering
graced the assembly. These sightsee-
ers were, however, doomed TO disap.
pointment, as nary "supe' wore
anything but his usual workaday toys,
with the exception Of Mayor Fern,
who was alfred in nifty Palm Beach
raiment, cool and alluring. II
The supervisors, several Of whom
would be wearing dress attire for the
first time, decided in caucus. TO cut
the oratory. as short as possible, and
then 90 each TO his home. and array
himself in good, black broadcloth. in
the privacy OF his own dressino.roon,
and later meet at the Moana Hotel n nd
enter the banquet hall en- masse. In.
stead OF wasting the splendor Of their
array on the, 80 to speak, desert air
Of the city hall.
Minority Report
Outside Of fpay.rolls aud number
Of trivial routine matters, the only
matter Of business which kept the sh.
pervisors from their dress suits, waS
the reading of the minority report Of
Supervisor Hollinger, in connection
with the investigation by the WAYS
and means committee of the city pur-
chasing department. The report, which
was tabled, was in part as follows:
'fThe purchasing department was
created in 1915 to eentralize municipal
buying, TO standardize so far as pos
sible the materials and supplies bought,
and to make asaving where possible in
such purchases Before the creation
of this bureau all the buying was done
by city employees of the several depart.
ments, and that it was often improvi.
IDENTIFY, necklessly and extravagantly
done is shown by unmistakable evi-
denee. Instances Of actual dishonesty
were frequently brought to light. /
This condition was unwholesome.
The actual instances of dishonesty
might not have totaled a. large sum,
and the cases Of favoritism might not
have amounted TO much i'm dollars and
cents, but the moral effect was bad.
Your minority member il not ques-
tioning the honestly of any particular
employee. He is dealing more with a
principle and human nature than with
concrete cases. ~ - &Gt.t.#
Not Businesslike ~ i G,FN..- /"
emo business house would think for
moment of conducting, its buying in
such hap-hazard manner. II would
ruin the firm. And the ruin would not
be due alone TO the extravaganza of
the purchases, but as much to the
breaking down of the fine morale
which must be preserved for the sue
cess of the business. - VA T.
Everything must be done to develop
the spirit of service in municipal EN-.
ploes; and nothing under any circum.
stances must be done which might tend
to lessen or destroy IL. Your minority
member sees danger, such as he has
suggested here, in, theFproposal to do
away with the purchasing department,
and he is therefore unequivocally OPP,
posed TO the proposal. ~
Cure Instead Of XIII ed
of the purchasing department has
not been in all ways successful. remed.
les should be applied. It should not be
killed. Obviously changes should be
made in the department. A new ordi.
nance, for one thing, should be passed
to give the purchasing agent more
power, and something should be done
once and for all to destroy the naQRinp
opposition of seyeral departments Ia
the bureau. A few departments have
fought IL from the day of its birth on