The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-10-04
A MARTIAL
LAW NIGHT
Declared at Fort and Hotel By
LiGlt. Merriam.
HAD LIEUT.. WHEELOCK WITH HIM
LawlesS Conduct of United States
Army Officers-Gen. King
Stopped 1t.
HAD LIEUT.. WHEELOCK WITH HIM

"A IJJIS dICSf IL o CLOCK last nlGnt
martial law was declared in Honolulu.
Announcement of the new dispensation
was made by Second Lieut. Merriam,
u. S. A, son of Maj. Gen. Merriam,
commanding the department of the Pa
cific, in which is included the Hawaii
an Islands. With Merriam was First
iment, L. S. V.
Publication was made at the inter-
section of Fort and Hotel streets, i'm
mediately after the two officers had
left one of the saloons in that vicinity.
Martial law was actually enforced by
Merriam and Wheelock for two and a
half hours. This was done without
any authority whatever, with utter dis
regard of the civil laws and with an
ignoring. or worse, of the police.
Merriam and Wheelock conducted
ishing. Wheelock was provo marshal
in charge of mounted infantrymen.
Merriam may and may not have been
on duty. At any rate the two officers
assumed entire control, ordered citi-
zens off the streets, then off the side
walks and enforced their mandates
through the mounted men. Army
men, for management of whom it
is supposed that at least Wheelock was
detailed, kept away from the neighbOr
hood.
Both Merriam and Wheelock were
dictatorial to the point of insulting
citizens who happened to be about.
Wheelock engaged in a brawl with
some sailors from a merchant ship.
He followed them clear down to the
docks and had a pair of his patrol
men chase two Inter-Island steamer
captains to box piles on the wharf. a
customs officer was also made to
scramble for safety.
Quite a crowd collected when Wheel
ock had his row with the sailors.
Merriam ordered the street cleared and
then the sidewalk. Fire flashed from
charged beneath the awnings. The
native policeman on watch in the
neighborhood went up Fort street TO
near the Love building. The charge up
on the sidewalk was made at the corn
er opposite Benson, Smith & Co. Then
Wheelock followed up the sailors to the
waterfront.
Merriam now had the enforcement OF
his martial law up town in his own
hands and he proceeded to act in the
most high-handed manner. He stopped
anyone and everyone with curt inquiry
and with order to move on. The writer
heard him say there was martial law,
that he had his orders and would carry
them out if he was killed for it. 4 ser
geant, who must have been a regular
came along and was about the only
man who refused 10 bow TO Merriam.
This sergeant asked if there was mar
tial law and asked it in such a way
that Merriam was forced to say no.
But the sergeant, for his persistence or
curiosity, was ordered under arrest. a
corporal on Merriam's order, took the
sergeant in the direction of the police
station, but there was no falling Mer-
riam kept on saying that he must be
obeyed and that there must be no fool
iShneSS.
About ! o'clock Gen. King was
awakened from his sIumbers at the Ha-
waiian hotel and told of what was go-
ing on. He seemed genuinely sorry.
and was angry to white heat. In re-
latiOn to Merriam. Gen. King said the
young man had no orders whatever
and that he (King) would not have
had the affair happen for $4,000. Mer-
riam had used Gen. Kings name a
number of times, saying that the COM
mander-in-chief had ordered him to
take charge at 1870 and keep the
streets clear.
WheelCck was running his martial
law department at the waterfront for
over an hour.
Gen. King sent his adjutant general,
Cant yTbaalNcl- a