Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-11-20
OUR MUNICIPAL PRIDE.

writing for the Saturday Evening Post,
says:
ITO protect his city from DETACHMENT
is one of the most difficult problems
with which the public spirited citizen
or municipal officer Is confronted.
while other questions outrank this
in importance, 1t is quite as easy TO
undervalue as to exaggeraie the sgni-
fcance Of this task. Cities. like wo-
men, cannot afford to be indifferent to
the impressions which they make on
passing acquaintances.
For a city to become popular I'M
plies that it also becomes populous, and
this also carries the natural inference
OF prosperity. Nothing that is intend.
ed to increase the popularity of city,
to enhance the general good impress
sion it makes upon the visiting strans-
err and the outside world in general
can be called insignificant.
The whole problem resolves Itself
into warfare between short sighted
commercial greed and far sighted re-
gard for the general good including
the most generous and substantial
share Of individual gain. Resistance
to these Entertainments OF seihshness
and commercialism is to be made by
strict application of the police powers
of a municipality and by educating the
people to a better appreciation Of the
need and value of firmly resisting all
that threatens to detract from beauty
Of view"
II this be true OF Chicago, great
commercial center, with how much
more force should these assertions
come home to the citizens of Homo
lulu. who as a class hope to attract
both transient and permanent popuia-
ton through the avenues of tourist
traffic. The DETACHMENT OF municipal
beauty with which Honolulu at the
present day has to deal is more like that
with which the country town struggles
| rather than metropolitan city like
Chicago or the average American city
Of 10000 to 10000 InhafItants.If the
civic pride of Honolulu is to be gagged
by the number of fences that surround
its private grounds the mud sidewalks
/ and the "rapidity' with which it deals
with the extension Of the park system
and public Fairgrounds. 1t cannot be
denied that the standard of civic pride
is at q decidedly low ebb
. First class streets. well kept grounds
ana numerous parks have the same
cash value to a modern city, that a
plate glass front and good display of
goods has to the store keeper, or care
in dress has to the business man. These
features cannot be sighted If city en-
poets TO become popular as well as pop
ulous \ well kept city not only pleascs
the eye of passing tourist. More than
this. Il causes the men of wealth 10
stop to consider investments, or es-
tabishmpnt Of winter homes, thereby
adding tothe permanent population
that gives character to the community
and Ids to its prosperity.
And what has Honolulu done towards
: Identifying its streets and making tho
'Ilcr attractive from the modern
standpoint? The condition of the
stress alone tells the story, the pres
ence of lumberyards in the heart Of the
city Is another example, crowded Asia
tic tcnements, and shacks in lieu OF
houses O. low levels. Honolulu Is nj.
tractive to tourists to certain extent,
because a good proportion come here
expecting to ind the people housed In
grass nuts. Its climate and natural
tropical beauty pleases the visitor and
1t is this on which the people seem to
bank.
Honolulu is not Jay town but 1t is
| by no means what 1t ought to be, and 1t
never will reach high standard until
| the administration of the city Is taken
| out of the hands of departments that
have to split even" with outside dis
tricts when dealing with Honolulu
| This city should act for Itself, appro-
pirate for itself and be responsible "a
itself under the freedom and authority
given by municipal charter.
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