Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-08-30

phone service. etc. they came TO see
that statistics were essential and
then they became ware that the IL
ures OF municipal cost accounts, If
any. were nearly worthless.
The urgent neCessm; to- relIa Ole
costs Of operation IN private business.
resulting from increasing competition.
was rejected IA ,Ul.lIa. demand
for q, 80 which WOI!d SHOW, il! con-
aC:>ONs. the operating costs Of mu-
Nl,ii,al and Ctuc- eTuutntaI aC-
ti'ltIcs. SINCE I*r4 mis- demand has
steadily increased. until today there
Is not PROGRESSIVE Clty on the main.
land W.tce The taxpayers do not IN.
slst "a SUCH information, and the
movement has spread 10 Canada Civic
or -aHIZduOns in the United States and
Canada have placed themselves on
record in favor Of the adoption Of
uniform accounts and reports, and q
very large number Of state Organiza-
tons a!e on record to the same ef-
fert Ohio was the first state TO take
rOlnirehenslN e action toward tnls end
and by the rO|lslCnS Of law passed
III 1902 established department for
IN" InsIertlOn and sui eTNIslOn Of the
accounts OF Its cities, counties town
ships villages and school districts.
Massachusetts followed suit in 1906.
Ind!tnI, At tie session OF her legiSla-
tuTe ID 1903 Iasspd an act following
closely the Ohio law. and New York,
Iowa. WASHINGTON West Virginia, Wis
u IClo
haze enacted similar legislation. |
""s responsible for the drafting of
q law along the lines Ct the Ohio law
Tor the territory OF Hawaii, and.
which, after several months Of COL
id0O,All"n with the members OF the
tOn0lulu Chamber Of Commerce com.
hlftee on municipal finance, received
the unanimous Endorsement of the
Chamber. This much needed and PROD
TesSIVe measure-which was not a
matter Of party government, but bet
ter government, aiming at the conser-
Vat'on Of our public finance, passed
second reading in the 1915 territorial
legislature, but was thrown in the
discard, and eventually died a forced
death before it was allowed to become
law.
In order to properly conserve our
puDIlC funds, it becomes imperative
mat the accounting record supply
information which will not only meet
current needs but be useful for fu-
ture guidance The necessity for &C.
counting methods designed with these
objects in view has long been recog-
nlzed in private business. The need
is even greater in public business.
PubllC officers whose tenureS of Of
nee are limited, and who, to be eff
Clent must be able quickly to grasp
each problem in hand, cannot match
the efficiency OF private business if
they are uniformed. What informa-
ton, therefore, does the administra-
tor need? What does the head of
int street department, for instance,
need to know about the results of
the last years transactions in order
to manage his department more eff
GENTLY and economically next year?
what information does the board OF
supervisors need in order to act upon
estimates of future expenditures, and
to pass upon questions Of financial
policy? The answers to these and
similar questions in all business trans,
actions, be they municipal, corporate
or private, will be found in a correct
system Of expense accounting, the
value Of which lies in making facts
readily available by means of reports
and in enabling officials to make com.
PARSONS which lead to a study of the
reasons for high costs, if they are
h1gh-in short, to ascertain where
savings may be effected; which en-
ployes have been efficient; which
functions Of our local government
should be expanded, and which may
be restricted. In other words, every
administrative policy and every future
act should be preceded by exact in.
formation of what has happened in
the past
The present method of reporting
the cash expenses of the city and
county of Honolulu by functions-the
classification of which is deserving
of much credit and shows a marked
improvement over the accounting
methods by the city auditor which
were in vogue five years ago-do not
tell the story of municipal costs We
are 20 years behind the times in our
accounting of municipal funds. With
US at present. cash is practically the
only asset considered in the system
it reminds me Of the reference to
such an Anticipated method by Profess
sor Hatfield in his work in Modern
Accounting. It's Principles and Some
OF Its Problems" in which he states
that the primatiye form of such &C.
counting is the slate on which the vii
lage tapster 'chalks up the P's and
Q's' consumed by his regular pat
rons.
What the taxpayer wants to know
is the cost Of specific units of ser.
vice. What it costs for instance, to
keep our highways in repair is best
answered by the cost Of repairs pet
square yard. Data showing compari.
sons with averages and percentages
should be developed in our local gov,
ernmeHtal accounting, and the figures
published with the periodical finance
statements Of the city and county
auditor. The significance Of percent,