The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-03-27
No More Can the INDECENT Militia
men Eat At Expense
Of Territory
WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
or SENATE FILES OBJECTION
Single Urges Upper House To
Rescind Law Creating I'M
migration Department

NO more "indigent, suffering and
helpless" national guardsmen will be
fed from the funds Of the department
Of immigration labor and statistics, II
the recommendation of the senate
committee on ways and means, B. w.
Single chairman, are adopted by the
legislature.
In order to end an anomalous stu,
alton, which brought into conflict the
Governor, the commissioner Of immigra-
ton, the board of immigration, the
auditor and the attorney general, with
General johnson lowering in the back
ground, the committee will recommend
that Act LOG of the 1915 session laws,
amending the general statute under
which the department Of immigration
was created, be fescinded.
The general statute says that the de-
| partment shall "be in charge OF n
board Of immigration.
Act LOG, amending the general stat
ute, says the board "may, from time to
time, set aside and expend such sums
| Of money from its appropriation as II
may deem best for the temporary re-
lief of INDECENT, suffering and helpless
/ persons, which sum shall be admins
| tered by the missioner of immigra
/ non, lapor and statistics, under the ad
| Sice and approval of the Governor
II, developed yesterday, at a hearing
| of the ways and means committee u
| which Ralph A. 0Kearns, commissioner
| Of immigration, and e. H. Wodehouse
president of the board of immigration
had been summoned, that $830.57 haC
been expended "under the advice and
approval of the Governor" by thu
commissioner, without the approval o.
the very board which the gen
eral statute said should be in charg,
of the department K E....'.Ss"t a,. ,
! These payments, made in January
February aud March l9l5.19l8,, wer,
deferred by the auditor until ne hat
l,SJ1nFinformeds By the attorney genera
chat they could legally be made. Ever
then the board of immigration, in tok
IN of its dissent, withheld its approval
and the commissioner certified tn
vouchers under advice" from tn
GoVernor.s ~ hsif - ..-r... e..
The board refused to believe tina
the Legislature had intended to diver
hts funds to general eleemosynary o
military purposes, not connected wit
immigration. However, the amendin
Act merely said persons.n The
might be INDECENT <guatdsmen, citizeni
or aliens And, under the ruling of tn
, attorney general, what the Governc
! advised and approved must be don,
whether the trustees placed in eharg
of the funds approved or not.
II was pointed out that the eur
} for the situation was to insist tina
whenever the Legislature in the futur
wished the Governor and the commit
sioner of immigration to spend govern
: ment funds for general charity, tn
money co be spent be provided in tn
Act specifying the legislature g inten
Commissioner Kearns told the way
. and means committee yesterday that b
/. believed he could have found work q
the plantations for every one of II
= Filipino, Portuguese and HawaiiS
: guardsmen fed out Of Ills moneys. ]
8 fact, at that time he believed he cou
] have found work for six or seven hu