The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-04-06
NE AMtNptp srffRAak.

lous u the Mainland friends OF Ha.
vail. takes a rather gloomy view oI
he suffrage amendments 20 the Cul.
/ ON bill In the letter which we pub.
| ished yesterday MIR. Gilman SAID
The elimination OF the small prop
| srty qualification for voters for Sena-
| ors for the Hawaiian Legislature
seems to me most unfortunate. II
seems that the committee that prepar-
ID the bill for the new government
lrew 1t very wisely and well for the
best interest Of the whole people; but
1t Seems 10 me, as an American even.
| cannot shut my eyes 10 the evils that
hreaten from universal suffrage. We
have IL in name, but here II Is absurd .
Intelligence, property. interest In the
material welfare Of a community, call
fos a discriminating ballot. There is
4 class here-and you have them
that call for free suffrage as the only
democratic way.
4 discriminating ballot would prob
ably have saved the Southern States
from years OF turmoil and improved
the condition Of The negro, the I'M
avoidable denial OF whose right to
cast a free ballot is the cause of his
unfortunate situation today and for
many years past. So. too. discrimi-
mating ballot would insure. or go far
to insure, honest government in great
cities--a condition which must be
brought to pass, else the very essence
Of the American principle of self-gov-
eminent will be poisoned. Naturally,
the prejudice of the thoughtless voter
ana his agent, the time-serving legis-
iator, revolts against the idea OF clas-
silied voting. These gentry pirate OF
"one man, one vote" and regard IL as
a guarantee of liberty and progress
that the ignoramus, the vagabond and
the demagogue should. in proportion
10 their numbers, have AS much to say
about the conduct of government as
the wise man, the industrious citizen
and the publicist. Influences such as
these were to blame for the suffrage
amendments of the Cullom bill, but we
feel at liberty TO doubt that they wiill
be able to maintain those amendments
in the face OF the object lesson which
4 recurrence of a native Legislature in
Hawaii and the existence of a native
municipal government in this city
would imply.
So far as We can learn the objects
OF the Hawaiian politicians, they are
TO put the old native Office holding con
tingent back into power wherever
power Is to be gained ut the ballot
box. Even the white exRoyalists will
stand no show. for the native politl-
clan means to look after his own kind
first, last and all the time. A partlcu-
lar object Of these people ia the cone
troll of the municipality of Honolulu.
They have already fixed upon a former
Royalist stipendary as their choice for
Mayor and are said 10 have made a |
slate for the other Offices that reads |
ike muster of the Household troops. |
Of course such contamination would |
mean bad government on a very prod |
lgal scale. There would be rings and |
things and fine array" and recrudes- |
cence OF all the old scandals regime
for the gambler and opium Snug
gler and the public plunderer. All! |
hat. which Mr.. Gilman foresees,
might not. however, be an unmixed |
evil. Some startling example of the
folly of giving over the control OF Isl
and or city affairs to the least quail
lied citizenship may be the one thing
needed to induce intelligent suffrage
legislation in Congress. Already the
Press, a newspaper of
President McKinley's official family,
,alks of the probability of supplement-
Al acts to make good the defects in our
coming organic law. II anything will
bring those supplemental acts to pass
md make them acceptable to the menl
who have most at stake in the good
government of Hawaii 1t will be two
years OF such rule as the native ex-
Soyalist politicians threaten to inflict.
II was a saying of General Grants
hat the way to secure the repeal OF
4 bad law is to enforce it. BY parity
Of reasoning let us say that the way
20 get a discriminating ballot in Ha-
wall is to letpt he clearly shown for
once show much harm may be done
by Il free ballot.
So Mr. Gilman, let us bide our time.
Generally in the history of Hawaii po-
itical evil has been overruled for
good. We do not believe that the fu-
ure will show any different result or
hat, in the final analysis, good citi-
.ens will have reason to regret the
vents which seem now 10 be impend-
ne.
Pure politics will be the platform OF
he local Republican party, and It will