The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-03-02
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with an lndlVldual contemporary, OF
including all the other papers in
town. This is probably intended to
increase the magnitude of its own
effort in the eyes of its readers. 1t
is. however, rather small device,
dishonest as well as paltry. A case
in point is that of the captain who
was dealt with at IIilo for importing
opium on his store list. This paper
was the first to give the very inter-
esting piece of news, but only gave
it as news, showing no sympathy for
the person who came into collision
with the law of the country. Yet
the IdpertiSer talks this morning as
if all the other local papers were
seething with an agitation against
the treatment accorded to the captain
of the schooner Excelsior. So far
as this paper is concerned, no opin-
ion has yet been ventured upon the
case. Not that there was no occa-
sion for discussion, as the scrape
Captain Piltz got into would lend
itself readily to pointing moral or
adjoining a tale for the benefit of
other shippers, but being informed
at the outset that he had adopted
the role of injured innocence and
was going to put the case in the
hands of his country's representa-
tive. we considered that it would be
as serious breach of propriety for
a newspaper to discuss the case at
that stage as to argue the merits OF
case pending in the Supreme Court.
Our contemporaries do not seem to
regard the matter in that light, how
ever, but none of them has any right
to drag unoffending papers into the
controversy.
Another gross offense is repeated
in the .4dcertiSer'S article to-day,
from it's former discussions of the
general question of the opium traffic.
1t reiterates the insinuation that the
hackers of the anti-opium views OF
its contemporaries are themselves
smugglers of opium. There is,
however, conspicuous weakening
in the manner of uttering the innu-
endo, which only makes the impro-
priety more despicable. A short
while ago our contemporary was
boldly threatening to expose the
persons it alleged to be guilty of
such nefarious hypocrisy. Dared
to make good its threat, the Adcer-
tiser became discreetly silent on the
subject; but now it ventures forth
again with the insinuation in a
diluted form. "It is" only "com-
mon rumor," now, "that many of
those who are loud in their denun-
citation of legalized opium traffic up
on moral grounds are participants
in the profits of the contraband or
illegal traffic in that drug" Before,
it apparently had list of the
double dealing characters, duly at
tested, ready to unfold to the gaze
of a scandalized community. Al
present, the record is abroad or
the wings of common rumor," the
same bird that within the past few
days has flown away several times
with the present Ministry. If th'
advertiser can name a single persol
who is professedly opposed to licens
ing opium, yet at the same time
participant in the illegal profits o
the drug, then honesty, fairpla,,
and regard for the good name o
the community should induce
either to expose the guilty one o
else refrain from uttering insinua
tions that the masses will take tn
liberty of applying to amy ant
every person against whom the,
may entertain a grudge or harbor
prejudice. Our contemporary
course in this matter cannot b.
otherwise than demoralizing to TIN
community, the evil results newt
able therefrom being so readll.
imaginable that they need not b
atatal