The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1896-05-29
sPALDING FIGHTING MONOPOLY.

SPALDlNG FIGHTING MONOPOLY.
As foreshadowed in an article which
appeared on Monday, the bill for cable
has been favorably reported on and in
troduced into the Senate On May 9th
the Senate Committee on Foreign Rela-
lions authorized Senator Frye to report
a bill to facilitate the construction and
maintenance of submarine Geographic
cable between the United States, the
Hawaiian Islands and Japan. The bill
is practically the one reviewed in these
columns, with only the change that the
subsidy has been raised from S130, 900
to 100000 and the guarantee has been
reduced from 100000 to 100000. A
strong effort is being made by the New
Jersey company to get concurrent act
ion in the House before the close of the
session.
Something of the inner working of
cable affairs has come to light which it
is as well that the Hawaiian public
should know In an article published
on Wednesday morning it was shown
that the essential difference between
Scrymser's and Spaldings plans was
the question of inter-island cable COM
munication.
From the time the cable proposition
was first made to Congress the New
Jersey company has had to fight a
wealthy, INSCRIPTIONS and active COM
bination, which has maintained large
lobbying force and has spent lots OF
money trying to defeat the laying OF
the cable. This combination sneered at
the subsidy offered by Hawaii, denied
that the Government of Hawaii had any
right to make a concession, and said
that an inter-island cable was foolish
and impossible proposition. The SER
vices of Admiral Irwin were secured,
and so strong a following did the COM
bination get both in Senate and House
that it seemed as if it was going to
have walk over and Hawaii was to be
left in the cold
To counterfeit this, Mr.. Hastings, of
the Hawaiian Legation at Washington,
went to work to show, first, that our
right to grant an exclusive franchise,
no matter to whom so long as it was to
responsible party, was incontrovert-
ible.
The second point was that while the
United States could have any right they
wanted granted to them as a govern
ment, the rights they now possess by
virtue of the Pearl River concession
could not be used for the advantage of
a private corporation. The point is a
good one. 1t would be just as fair for
the United States to assume that they
had the right to license an importing
house to do business at Pearl River,
and thus evade our right to collect GUS
tom duties. But the United States Gov
eminent don't intend to put in such a
claim, and the proposition was only
made by a combination which never
meant to carry out what it proposed
to do.
Thirdly, it was argued that the action
of the Legislature and Government of
the Hawaiian Republic in granting so
large subsidy per annum was infiu-
enced by the course pursued last winter
by Congress, and the desire shown was
to meet the United States, as far as the
means of so small country would al
low, in establishing a cable connection
between the two countries.
Through this line of reasoning, the
perfectly honest desire of the Govern
ment. the value of our concession and
our right to make the concession were
all clearly established, and Hawaii S
rights in the matter came to be under
stood both in the Senate and in the
House The proposition to throw both
the cOntesting parties out of court and
to give the contract for laying cable
to the party that would fulfill the requi-
sitions of the Hawaiian concession and
transfer the right to land cable,
which that concession grants, for TWEEN
ty years, was the last move in the game,
and was made by the New Jersey or
Spalding company. In this shape it has
gone to the Senate, and it is to be hoped
that it will be concurred in by the
House.
One thing is certain. whether we get
the cable this session or not, the Sen
ate's action has successfully demon
strated that Hawaii has some rights
which the statesmen of the United
States are willing to respect, and that
the friendly action and intentions of the
Hawaiian Government with respect to
electrical communication with the
United States cannot be blocked by
greedy corporation.
For every quarter in mans pocket