Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 287, 18 August 1893 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

Ml.NI«TlCK UaMoNI fi«4DCĪtl lUMiwul »hioh wai pmroted at Mw ix»uncil ui»«tiug yr*Xerd*j » oul *» c;««r «ud •Bludj*cU>rjr u w« «uuld hav« «xpect«d. He lUUl tbal Uie (uvernment b&« «peoi oo publ»c «ork« $27.500, but he dues oot uy wh»t mooov b*s heea ueed th«t porpoM. Tbe improv«imou whieh b« elaiou h«re Sn I

roade by the present regime 00 certain r»ad9. bridges, etc. shoald, it aeeme to us, not be paid out of tce generul revenne bul tor pnhlie im- ! prov>*meiit9 ooder Section 2. and s > n >« be>ng replhced by the anuumle denved fro<u the e.ile of b>>nd9 under the loan ael <>f There ie a ?iru of #27.541.60 t«> be p iid yet j f r ,»ai -ue <>f tx»nd8. We preeume then that the i>re«enl puhlie im j pp»ve«nent» are bemg paid oul of i the generai revenu®. and ihe aupI r eiti »n H that if ever sufficient I b>»nd9 are s>>id, the Dr«>ceed9 f >r them will oe poured into the general revenue t<» repl'»ce the aru«»unt9 whieh the g>»vernmeiit 1« *‘b>*rr>*wing” f>*r Secli.»n 1. We cannot eay that wec »n9i«ler 9uch methud9 very wise. uorcan we tenn ita gxxl finaneial po!icv. Should the eale of b>»nd9 9top ait<»gether. whieh there is g>«>d reafl>»n to believe it will,the treasurv will he 90 etripped (*f cash lhat it will be unahle 10 raeet the ordiuary ruuning expenee9. leaveaione,eati9fyingtne dep<»9itor» io the PoeUl Savings Bank. If we understand Mr. Damo:i rightly.the pre«eni improvement8 will coet $80.000 when corapleted. but we fail utterly P> see where that ainounl is g>»ing to eome frora. Mr. Damoii's 9tatement9 give no 9atisfactory indications in regard t<> tnat. Tiie mini9ter i9 de9irous of paying >>fl' the Posttnast9r General’9 nole9, heeauee they bear so heavy an interest. The amounl he refers to is Ihe |95,(KK) whieh the g>»verniiient owed Spreckel3. and about whieh the <»rgansof the governmeut made the 111 ost preposterous as9erti<»n that the debt had heea paid. The note« were never taken up by the government, nor did the government at any time have the money wherewith to pay tliem. Spreckeis 9imply 9<»ld the notes to eonie other partiea through Broker Damon, and the n<*tes are to-day h»nging over thehead ofthe g'ivernment just a9iuuchof a menaee a9 wheu held by Olaue Sprecwels. Mr. Damon does not tell ub though horr he isgoing to pay ihoee notes. but perhaps he has got eome my9t*rious eeheaie in regard to whieP we some day may get an explaualiou. There i9 one thing h}* the wa j we w.»uld like to hear a little more about and th»t is in regsrd to the a»sertion of the Star that the P G. ha9 “rebufl'od” the Japanege government and flatly refused to grant the request of the Japanese here for equai rtghi9. The Star having the entree to Mr. Dole*9 office and confidence ehoiiUl be in a poeition to furniflh pubhcly some documentary evidence or other eatisfactory proof in reg»rd t<» the alleged flat refu9«l. We Bhould be very glad if the Star will trot it out as we elae will be uinder the unpleaaani oblīg»tion oflerming theStar editor a eommon every-day garden Iiar. We referred above to the $27541.60 whieh under the loan act of 1893 are to be p«id into the generai rerenue from sale of bonds, but we noiiee that a further amount of $8.054.42 is placed in the same calegory being an amcuntadvanced by ihe treasury to the Poeiai Savings Bank. Are we to arrive at the conclusion that the debta of Ihe Po«tal Savings Bank are alao lo be paid from th« proceeds of the »ale of boods under the loan act? lf *o, it will be some time—if erer —that the money denved nnder tbe loan act will be turoed into the proper ehanneU and ueed ibr thq purposM on the basis ot whieh ihe «ct waa pas9«d aod tbe gorernmebt autbomed to ieaoe bonds. The two amounU referred to mak« a

total of $35.596 02. and ire presented in Mr. Dacoon’9 statement as : “amonnl due treasury tht9 dale I from Act.” We presum# j that that is *>ne *>f the Driucipai I' a9<el9 of the treas Jry. and it isn t a verv jf'**d one especially if -'l r * D-iroon wouk! plaee ihe a:uount *>t $530,245 10 ae i liability of the treasury t> the Poelal Saving' Bauk. The Hank owna to d»y $21.542.13, and it >>wes $530.245.10 *>ut of whieh demand9 t >r paymenl have beeu roa«ie to the tune of|3',36i talliii*r due d*irtng the next three !uouths. t)f course Mr. llamon may hope ihal there will be sutiicieut new deposits t>> cover the deficit. but il' no depo8its sh*»uld eoiue in wh> re will tlie Hank and the lrea9ury be theo? The lact is lhat the g..vernment could not carry on for one day with the ordinary genuine revenue and meet it9 reckies« ex}«nditure9. It i9 by UHing the aoney gained frum the eale of bonds aud by u«ing the deposits in the S.iving9 Hank that it manages to make both ends meet —apparently —but eueh meth*Kl9 cann*>t last very long. That the government hae epenl the enormous amount of $114,010.33 in itself is an outrage aud it is still more so as no explanatiou of thit amount hus ever been giveu. The appropriation bill should be a puhlie document and there are no rea8<uis why the provisional g •vernaient , B appropriations ehould not be known in detail to the tax-payers. Let the puhlie know how many of the generals and eolonela. and quarter-ma8ters have their fingLT8 in the treasury pie. Yes, let us know how mueh it ia worth to be a resurrected hero and patriot on the Soper plan and an anuexatiooist. Let us have an idea what it costs Ihe government to breakfast and dine the 287 men whom it is understood are feasting daily on poisoned peas and pie at tbe expense of the tax-payers and to the eternal glory of Mr. Dole and his seventeeu —beg pardon-sixteen-subs. When the people see an amounl of $114,010.33 heing swalIowed up m a secret and unexplained manner they are justified in kicking and in wanting“to know.’ The government has heen “in” for seven months let it now give an aeeounl of how it has carried out its st«wardahip and what becomes of the taxpayers’ money. It must be doue some day Mr. Damon, so don’t ahirk the diangreeahle tusk auy longer! In the explanation of the miaeellaneoua accounts, we noliee that the tax-payers paid last w<ek $70 for printing, and this week $131.75. We don’t wonder that the “gt-ntle-men’’ of tbe Star and 4dvertiser are tumbling over eaeh other in their frantic efforts to bolster up theP. G.—and get the fat advertising.