The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-10-16
THE wilcox POLICY OF INFAMY.

The men who wrote the Independent
nominating pledge and asked ]. Q.
Carter. T.. C. Macfarlane and James
Quinn to sign it, now say they had
nothing to do with it, Denying that
they took the pledge themselves ana
even pretending not to know who hand
ed IT officially to the three haoie poi-
ticians. the signature of one Of whom.
was obtained and fled. these dissem-
bling leaders would have the public be-
ilieve that they are flock of innocents
who have been imposed upon by bad
men.
And vet the sentiments of the pledge
are precisely what the Wilcox people
have been processing for months back
Our readers will remember that, during
the time when Mr.. Tesla had reason to
think the Independent party W9uid re-
ward him for the advocacy of its prinr
cipIes, his candid and vigorous paper
declared that the turning down of Gov.
Dole's appointees was one of the car
dinal tenets of the Independent faith.
In commenting upon this threat the
Advertiser argued that the Legislature
could do no more than to keep the Dole
appointees out of office over night,
whereupon Mr.. Testa's paper said with
emphasis that IL the native Legislature
was to be baked of its purpose by the
reappointment of unconfirmed NOM
inees, it would cut down salaries to
nominal sum-a process, the paper said,
which would compel the obnoxious off,
Gals to resign. This program was ape.
proved by every Independent party
man with whom the Advertisers re-
porters then talked; and as soon as the
nomination Of haoles was proposed In
the late Independent convention
pledge embracing a policy of eviction
towards the Dole appointees, including
all whose titles are given in Sec. so of
the Organic law, was at once handed
the aspirants to sign. Two of them re-
fused in terms which seem, to. have
taught the Wilcox men that publicity
for their plans had|been unWise, hence
the general run to cover of all con-
cerned.S Att
But though the letter of the compact
may be now concealed, the spirit re-
mains. Perhaps no paper can be shown
to prove that the Wilcox native nomi-
nses have taken the disreputable pledge
they tried to exact of Messrs. Carter
and Macfarlane and did exact of Mr..
Quinn but Is 1T at all supposable that
they are not bound by it or that they
do not intend, If a Wilcox Legislature is
chosen, to embarrass Mr.. Dole's adj
ministration all they can? The object
of the pledge when 1t made its appear
ance in convention was to test the 10y
atty of the three haole favorites to In
danapAant -
Wilcox men, in a sudden panic, did not
insist on the pledge at the last extrem-
ity and in face of an indignant pub
lie refusal. does not prove their own
secession from 1t; the probable reason
is that they were so anxious to get
away from the color line issue that they
were willing TO take few unpledged
haole nominees on their ticket, know
ing full well that, il they carried .he
day, they would have men enough of
their own kidney to depend upon.
No matter what the leaders are
taught by a new growth of cunning to
affirm, deny or evade, the fact remains
that their program is one of chaos, re-
venge and plumber. They represent in
our politics precisely what Wilcox
wanted to do in his badly-planned and
abortive revolutions" Now Wilcox
thinks in his vicious ignorance that his
time 10 demolish things and to gloat
over the ruin of good government here
has come or is near at hand. He knows
no more of the abysses in front of him
than he did in 1899 and 1895; nor does
he know the strength of those who are
determined that Hawaii shall take no
hoe <wrr r,..l.
that he means to do all the harm he
can In the meantime is a fact which no
evasions and disclaimers can conceal.