The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-02-27
WHAT LIlTLh nAs DONE.

We hope the olaa Settlers Assocla.
ton. which sent Mr.. Little to wash.
ington, is deriving solace from his
work. This association consists oi
free and Independent squatters, who,
wishing to avail themselves of the cas-
Ter grabs which the United States land
law permits, sent Mr.. Little on to get
a ruling from Washington against the
further primary OF the Hawaiian land
law. BY dint OF considerable free and
easy lying done both at Washington
and in this city. the plot succeeded to
the extent that the operations OF the
Hawaiian law were suspended, await
ing the further action of Congress.
This policy stopped the growth of
Hawaii in a minor agricultural way by
heading off the small farmer. That de-
sirable citizen could no longer obtain
public land either from this Govern
ment or from that of the United States.
OF course the Olaa squatters, so far
as their titles went, were no better off
than before; in fact, they were much
worse off than they had expected to be
after Mr.. Little had exposed President
Mckinley to his hypnotic Importantly.
Little, however, saved his face in Olaa
by means of the pledge that he would
remove every trace of the Hawaiian
land laws from the Cullom Bill.
He tried to perform this contract
and what have we as a result? The
letter from Mr.. Armstrong, printed on
the first page of todays Advertiser
shows that Little and his nondescript
allies have induced the Senate Commit
tee on Territories to agree upon hy-
brid land law by which, when a trans
fer OF public realty is made here, I'M
der the laws of Hawaii, the deed, to be
valid, must be ratified at Washington
What effect must this proviso have
upon the poor squatter or the small
farmer? Can he go to Honolulu, re-
cord his homestead entry and return
home to prove up" on it? Not he. In
stead he must do all that and besides
pay a Washington lawyer, or send
some one from these Islands, or go to
the capital himself, so as to get final
and favorable action there The ex-
pense of this undertaking would be
large and the delay yexatious. To
make the round trip to Washington
from Honolulu would cost our friend
the squatter about $500, saying nothing
of board, fees and incidentals in Wash
ington itself. If he needed a claim
agent or a lawyer there it would be so
much more. Then If some disappointed
rival for the property wanted to file
deposition at Washington against the
transfer he could force endless and
costly hearings and re-hearings. Long
before the end were reached the small
farmer would tire out. Not so the
rich man who wanted deed. He could
afford to send a lawyer and keep one
in Washington If he cared to do SO.
The question of expense, If he coveted
a given piece of property, would be of
small concern to him; and he might
find it profitable to raise objections to
the transfer of any land at all to the
small home-builder.
So, on the whole, Mr.. Little has made
it easy for the rich man to get Hawaii
an public land and hard for the poor
man; has encouraged the land barons
and discouraged the squatter; and in
the name of "Americanism"-a word
which takes the place of patriotism as
the last refuge of the et-bagger-
has induced the Committee on Terri
tories to agree upon the most un-
American land measure conceivable.
Perhaps it is growing sense of his
colossal blunder and the harm he has
done to his clients, the Olaa Squatters'
Association, which has induced Mr..
Little to apply for an Alaska judge
ship. One could hardly blame him for
wanting to so long way off.