The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-07-09

N0N-INTERFERENCE OF GOVERN.
MENT IN ENTERPRISES OF
A PRIVATE NATURE
SOUND POLICY.

SOUND POLICY.
The United States is n country
remarkable for abstinence from
and non-interference with inteprises
of q private nature. The principle
laid down and acted upon by the
Government, is to abstain from all
undertakings which are indicated by
their nature as properly belonging
to private enterprises at the same
time standing out of the way, to al
low private individuals and companies
as free scope as possible, to under
take and prosecute enterprises of
any nature or to any extent, not
detrimental to the public interest;
and also giving special encourage
ment, if need be, to enterprises of
kind calculated to be Of great
public benefit, as in the case of the
first railroad across the Rocky
Mountains, connecting the Atlantic
with the Pacific, in which large
grants of waste lands were given as
an incentive to the undertaking.
This principle of the United States
Government, to which its policy con-
forms, is considered sound and wise
by experienced and practical states
men of other countries, as we'll as
by those of the American Republic.
And so pretty much the same policy
has been adopted in all British con-
stitutional colonies, whose begin
nings were similar to that of the
now Great Republic.
The wisdom or foolishness of any
policy is always best demonstrated
by its effects. What has been the
effect of the American policy? A
growth, a progress, a development
comparatively and absolutely un-
parallel, in a given time, by any
country where the opposite policy
has prevailed This is a fact toe
universally admitted to require
proof. What then is the inevitable
inference? That the American po-
Icy is sound and wise.
In view of the foregoing, is it not
surprising that in Hawaii, where
Americans constitute the greater
part of the white foreign population
and where American ideas and me,
thods in general predominant, the
tendency of Government seems to
be to experiment in distinctly private
Enterprises? Hence, the Hawaiian
Government at one time did the
steamboating between the islands
and later built marine railway fol
hauling up for repairs the ships ol
the Pacific. But it may be here sale
that the Ministers of those days were
wiser apparently than those of the
present generation; for they ultim-
ately sold out the steamboating busi-
ness, and handed over the marine
railway to private management. The
towing of vessels in and out of
Honolulu harbor has been and still
is done by the Government. A
wash-house, which is leased in sec,
tions to Chinese washermen, is
another Government institution.
The present Ministers seem espe
cially anxious to do what in Americ;
and by enlightened statesmen in an,
free country would be left to privat,
enterprise, and the Legislature, or /,
majority of that body, is ready t,
back them up. Recently the Minis
ter of the Interior brought in bill
to authorlse the Government to con
struct poi factory for hire, and tn
House was on hand to pass it. TIL
same Minister now proposes to pro
vide the people of Honolulu wit
electric light for private use, an
four out of five members Of com
mittee of the House have reporte,
that they "haye looked into tn
matter, and regard it a wise expen
diture." The Minister "estimate
that by the addition of one 50-ligh
dynamo and two 50O-light incandes
cent dynamos, the profit to the Gov
ernment will be 81 $50. AT a tota
4 cost of Sal ,654-instead of an out
lay of $4,000 per annum for run
ming expenses-there will be an an