The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-09-14


what they desire. Not leading
. paper in New York, Boston, Chi
cago is, so far as we know, on the
exchange list. We are subject t.
correction, of course. Important
as these Islands are to the United
States, their leading papers prefer
to get their information through
their own correspondents, OF
through the News agencies. These
furnish any exciting news, but
little of a sober character, which
will not be looked at by the gen
eral reader.
Aside from the newspaper ex-
change there is hardly reading
room, connected with the public
libraries, in the States, that is fur
nished with copies of our local pa
pers. We saw last year a stray
copy of the Independent in the
reading room of the San Diego
public library. 1t was the only
representative of Island literature.
Owing to the general discussion of
the Hawaiian question, we asked
in several places, why our local pa
pers were not taken. The replies
we need not quote at present. The
private subscriptions to our local
papers are usually made by old re-
sidents, who are interested in the
gossip. One American writer of
note, who is quite familiar with
our social and political condition
observed recently, that ''the Island
papers were worthless, so far as
they were regarded as sources of
accurate social, racial, information,
or of the workings of the political
problems here"
Therefore, it must be said, that
our local Press has no voice, which |
reaches the fourteen million of
American voters, or the seventy
millions of people. The late Henry
n. Castle proposed shortly before
his death, the selection by the
Government of any one of the
journals here, and the constant,
steady, gratuitous circulation
among American newspapers and
library reading rooms, of ten thou
sand copies of it, until the annex
alton question was disposed of.
The scheme was not adopted.
Ever since the Commissioners
reached Washington in 1913, and
negotiated the first treaty of an
there has been a demand
in America for a reliable history of
Hawaii, in cheap or paper bind
ing. Prof. AleXander's most reli-
able history was in limited or no
circulation, but no effort was made |
to put it before the public. If it
had been remodelled to some eX-
tent, and printed in paper form
and sold at the price of 25 cents
per copy, it would have reached,
in the opinion of one large book
selling concern, a sale of 100000 |
copies, perhaps more. 1t would
have at once taken its place on the
"book STALLS" and railway stations.
Bound in cloth, it would have gone
into the many thousand libraries.
The matter of republishing this
valuable history was suggested and
considered in 1913 and subsequently, |
but was dropped. Mr.. Thurston,
when his attention was called to it
with his usual quick perception,
saw the value of such a history, and |
strongly urged its publication.
But he carried himself, too heavy
a load, to undertake the prosecution
of it. Recently, a member of
large publishing house was asked,
"why did you not get out a cheap
edition of a history of Hawaii"
and he replied, lit is a lost oppor-
tunity, we never thought of it."
Any one can see that now, and
in the near future, a brief history |
of the Islands would be of great
value in the States. Any one fami-
liar with the methods of the work
ing of the public mind, knows that
there is clear distinction between