Evening star., 1900-12-04
AN OBJECT LESSON
How Wilcox's Election is Regarded in
Hawaii.
SHOWS BENTQF UNLIMITED SUFFRAGE
Problems to Be Solved by the
Legislature.
N
HoNOLULU'sl, GOVERNMENT
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

|
| HONOLULU, November II, 1900.
Our community was enabled few days
ago to rejoice in Mr.. McKinley's 2S4 cleo
| toral votes Among our white people there
| Is an overwhelming republican sentiment.
This Is proved by the fact that every one Of
our four, eight and twelve-page dailies is
republican. Only one English paper is
| democratic, and that is a little seven-by-
| nine affair. There are half dozen native
Hawaiian weekly papers, only one Of which
Is republican. The rest are ''inde pendent
or anti-foreign, one only being democratic.
Our elections two weeks ago resulted as
my letters have prophes.ed. Robert VIII
cox was chosen delegate to Congress by
3,263 votes to 3,G25 for Samuel Parker, re-
publican, and 2.O13 for Prince David.
democratic. OF the fifteen members Of the
senate the Independents have elected eighty
the republicans six and the democrats one
OF the thirty representatives the independ-
ents chose fifteen the republicans eight
and the democrats seven. AS the democrats
Will vote on most questions with the lnde-
pendentS rather than with the republicans
the latter are likely to be In small mi
nority.
The republicans represent the great ma
5orty, undoubtedly three-fourths, of the
white vote, very good number or natives
also voting with them. The Independent
votes were almost exclusively native, very
few whites voting that ticket, such being
chiefly persons married to native wives
The democratic vote was also chiefly ma
tive, although including many whites Most
of the natives who voted the democratic
ticket would otherwise have voted for Will
cox, but felt that they were acting and tes-
tifying in behalf of royalty by voting for
Prince David and for the party who,
through President Cleveland, espoused the
cause of the ex-queen. The queen herself
seems to have avoided taking any openly
Liliuokalani privately favored Wilcox in
stead of her nephew, Prince David, whom
she very rightly deemed TOO young
Resentment of the Natives.
AS have already set forth, the native
vote and the independent, home rule
party is intended emphatic express
sion of resentment at the seizure of the
government nearly eight years ago by the
whites. and at the throwing down of .he
native Hawaiian sovereignty, as embodied
in a Hawaiian monarch. This sentiment,
which pervades the native mind, was ener-
getically Played upon by Wilcox and his
associates 1t was also strongly appealed
to by the democratic leaders. Garter and
Macfar,ane, who were the leading white
democratic candidates, having been former
strong partisans Of the ex-queen, made this
sentiment theF chief1 basis of their TRADES
against the republicans.
1t should beI fully understood in Wash
ington that Wilcox represents the native
Hawaians and notn the American element
in Hawaii. a.So that he has been elected
by the Hatives-,J express their hostility and
resentment towardI the domination of the
foreign government under which they have
passed. His asce1dency among them is
due wholly to his having been the most
conspicuous supporter of royalty in a mil
itary way, and his having been the leader
In a series of insurrectionary movements
against white domihation. He had not the
slightest success in amy of these attempts.
hiph a n "a
unexpected surprises, bunglingly conduct
ed. At the dethronement- OF the queen.
when the whites initiated the military
movement, and the natives were on the
defensive, Wilcox In his terror sided with
the whites SO far he took a part. Two
years after, however, he sided with an in
surrection organized by others, and after
being ANONYMOUSLY defeated suffered some
imprisonment, which helped to make him
appear a hero. Although he received some
military education in Italy, where he had
been sent by the late King ka.akaua, his
successive actions here evinced a great
lack both of ability and courage. Never
theless, he has been able to pose among
the very childish Hawaiian natives as a
hero and a ''Garibadi.'
Toward Wilcox personally there Is no
feeling of ani.nosity among the whites. The
sentiment toward him is one of ridicule
IA; her than of detestation This is the
fl ceiling of the whole of the business and
industrial activity of Hawaii. He is not
credited with any mental capacity to rep
resent our public interests, which have as
sumed commanding proportions. He has
been chosen by n weak and puerile
stituency, excluding the intelligent minority
of the natives-by- a constituency incapable
of understanding or estimating the vigorous
and enterprisns civilization which is in
possession of these islands. He has al
ways been regarded a-rather incapable
and innocuous nonentty, an object OF de-
rision rather ,han Of anupathy, while his
domestic relations have placed him So
clally beneath notice.
WiIcOx's Success an Object Lesson.
Such as he is, however, Mr.. Wilcox Is
the delegated representative Of the terri
tory of Hawaii upon the floor of Congress.
While he is manifesty incapable of ade-
auately presenting our needs, or of COM
manding the respectful attention of Con-
gress, we may hope in other ways to Sc
cure some proper regard for our necess;-
ties. One good may be hoped for from
such delegate, If rot to Hawaii Itself,
vet perhaps 20 other dependencies of the
United States. He may serve as a useful
object lesson on the floor of Congress. That
body will have exhibited before it day by
day the natural result of committing, by
unlimited suffrage, the Weighty concerns of
this territory 10 the decisions of the child
ish and incompetent mass of the native
Hawaiians, instead of to a somewhat Sc
| lected body of voters chosen from among
them and the superior capable white race
Il is likely to furnish useful study to Con-
gress as to what Is wise and proper distrl-
button of suffrage among weak populations
and undeveloped races.
The Congress Of the United States has
before 1t a protractcd and arduous task
that of organizing such degree Of liberal
government may be practicable in Porto
Rico and the Philippines, where the great
majority of the population are in a de-
pressed condition. mentally and morally,
and among whom there has been no expe-
rience of Representative government The
principle of ts..nathood suffrage" which
evidently POSSESSED the minds of represent
atives when last spuing they legisated for
Hawaii in a manner contrary to the wise
| recommendatieRs lef the committee sent
here, may be dnite applicable to such COM
munities of adult males as generally pos
sess a good degreeI of personal manhood
Unfortunately a majority of adult Hawaii
an males are but children in thought and
voition, as WEI who are acquainted with
them too we'll know. The same is un-
doubtedly true dof tthe people of the Phil
| ippines. When representative institutions
are sought to Fbe Established there, unless
the suffrage Is. riaidly restricted to such
persons as have verified their manhood by
practical success in life those institutions
will be failure, -
Working in a f,ew.fiel and upon new con-
0itions, American Statesmen, with all their