The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1899-04-05
TELEPHONE IN HAWAII.


NOWHERE ELSE m m wo&tDfsHA
GREATER FACTOR IN LIFE. =
Az EstsbTIsheS Pan Of fhs Social. Political,
asd Dssissss Affairs II he County---Its
MsItIiarisss Usss---IIsw News h Spresd
BY Il
Nowhere in the world, perhaps, Is
the telephone a greater factor In life
than in Hawaii. In the islands there
are about 1000 telephones to a popu-
lation OF 10000, or one telephone TO
every nfty-tvo inhabitants. On the
island Of Oahu, on which Honolulu is
situated, there are 1890 telephones to
. populat alton Of about 5000, or about
enc to each forty-one Of the popula-
ton.
The telephone was introduced here.
says a Honolulu correspondent, In the
latter part of 1880 and soon became an
established part Of the business, social
and political life Of the country. 1t
may sound strange to use the word
political in this connection, but 1t Is
true In a sober and literal sense, for
In every revolution that has been
planned or attempted, the seizurs and
control Of the central telephone office
has always been one Of the nrst strat-
egic moves thought Of.
The telephone IL much more OF
public institution here than It IL In
most places. Isolated as the islands
are, the arrival Of steamship from
a foreign land is Of personal interest to
almost every individual. The govern
ment maintains a lookout station on
Diamond Head, from wnich'approach-
ing vessels In any direction can he
sighted while still from twenty to for
ty miles distant, depending on the state
Of the atmosphere As soon as
steamer 10 sighted Central is mott
fed. Central then notifies the pilot
Office, the port physician, the board OF
health, the custom house, the postof-
fee, the newspaper offices and few
other persons who nave particular
interest in having early Information of
this character. Then the electric light
company 10 notified, and 1t gives two
long whistles II the steamer ID from
America, and three II it Is from any
other part of the world. For two
minutes after these whistles are blown
no telephone connections are made,
but the force at central" keeps re-
peating the name Of the steamer ard
its location, as Australia of Koko
Head" or China of Waianae." So
that all any individual needs to do is
to go to the nearest telephone, put
the receiver to his ear and listen, and
he will know what steamer 1T is, where
it is, and If he has lived here any
length of time he can form an accurate
judgment as to how long 1t will be
before the steamer will be at the
wharf.
If the steamer brings any striking
piece Of news Of general interest
central gives it to everybody who
calls I'D for q connection. In this way
the destruction Of the Maine was
known all over the island within ten
minutes after the Zealandia, which
brought the news, was at the wharf.
If an important parsonage dies, the
news is distributed in the same way,
and Central can always be depended
on to give the hour and place Of fun
eral as soon as the hour has been
fxed. In New York and Chicago, if
you want to make an inquiry, you ask
q policeman. In Honolulu you ask
| central"
| The meat markets have q list of
| their regular customers at central
and at about 6 o'clock each evening
central" calls them all up in order
and takes their orders for the next
mornings breakfast.
! Liliuokalani, in her book, "Hawaifs
Story by Hawaii's Queen" gives a
very naive and wholly unconscious IL
lustration Of how thoroughly the tele-
phone enters into life here. She says
that in 1888 a proposal was made to
her for the dethronement Of King
Kalakaua and her own accession to
the throne. She dismissed the mes
senger with an emphatic rejection of
his proposal. The messenger, howev-
er, told her she would hear more Of it.
'In conformity with his words" she
continues, 'about q week from that
day my telephone US rung by Mr.
w. X. Castle, who wished to know If
I would be at he he that morning; If
30, he would Ike to call and see me on
an important matter, and would ar
rive in about half an hour
On the island of Hawaii, the largest
of the group, and, next to Oahu, the
most populous, there are about 500
telephones. The telephone company
ls just completing the circuit of the
island so that every part Of 1t will be
In direct communication with every
other part. When the news Of an
nexation reached here the first island
steamer to leave was bound for an
unimportant port on Hawaii. But
there was a telephone there, and with
in a few minutes Hilo, on the other
side of the island, had heard the news.
and from there it was distributed to
every part of the island, and flags
were going up at points which did not
get mail advices on the subject for
days afterward.
The pursers Of the steamers Mauna
Loa and Kinau are, by reason of the
telephone, two Of the most import ant
personages In the islands. s
The Mauna Loa makes d round trip
once in ten days between Honolulu
and the ports on the leeward side of
Hawaii At the first port the steamer
touches the purser is besieged with
Inquiries for the news from the outside
world. and from his lips II goes over
the telephone to all parts Of the is