The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-13
THE RAINY
CAPITAL.
News of HiIo and the
Big Isle.
TR|BUNE'S new LIGHT
IA Paper That Once Wanted County
and City Government Sees
the Danger.

HILO. Feb 10-The Hilo Tribune, of
ate strong prepayment of municipal and
easonable doubt that men can gathe'
,rapes of thorns or figs of 1histles. 1t
folds that with the present electorate
nd Legislature the experiment of sub
.ividing the Territorial Government is
,pen to grave doubts. Its article is as
ollows:
We are looking forward with consid-
,rable interest to the first session of the /,
Territorial Legislature now close At
land, and to the results in the way CT
repeating, and amending
which will be wrought by our victorious
friends. the Independent members-elect
Of this Legislature.
The cornerstone of all the party plat
forms in the last campaign was without
doubt local government" In fact, any
party that had ventured to construct
platform without this piece of building
material would have found that it had
erected gallows instead, destined
like that of Hannah, for its own private
and personal use. Nor was this without
good reason, for there can be no doubt
in the mind of any one who has studied
that basis of American national and po-
litical life. town and county government
and its primary organization, the town
meeting" that Hawaii can never ap-
proximate to a State, or even to the con-
dition of real Territory under the CEN
tralized system which has proved so i'm
practicable here in the past, and gives
even less promise for the future.
On the other hand, the question natur-
ally arises whether our population and
Iother attendant conditions are such that
we have in us as a body polite the raw
material of real statehood or even true
Territory; and so, whether we can intro
duce the machinery of local government
which has always been the very essence
of political life among the Germanic
races.
The grounds for the arising of this
doubt were made the more apparent al
the last election, in the conclusive evil
dence at the polls of the existence of a
majority whose knowledge of politica
lprinciples in general and of the particu-
liar issues at stake, was so much on the
minus side of zero that to call it ignor-
lance would be rank fiattery; nor was the
doubt rendered the less by the attitude
iof these same ballot-casting infants to
ward the only ones who We're qualine'
to guide them.
The caliber of the men elected is FOL
the most part on par with that of thu
ELECTORS. Many of them are now IN no
nolulu working on projects fearful ant
wonderful in their scope. AS to tn
principles of local government. in its rea
working they have as clear an idea a
a well-preserved wooden Indian who fill
the humber though more useful role
tobacconists sign in front of ciga
store. They do indeed, as nearly as W
can learn seem to be sincere in thei
purpose and are willing to learn from
the few Caucasians whom the native Ha
iwaiians condescended to elect to a lik
position. But as one of these wrote
friend in Hilo, they are like the verles
.school children; the whole framework Q
the principles involved is as strange t
them as the doctrines of Theosophy
Even the simplest propositions must b
Explained again and again, while thei
knowledge of the English tongue is S
limited that explanation often but III
creases their confusion. A state of al
fairs, by the way, which causes US t
wonder how closely that law of the Oh
ganic Act will be followed which re
in English.
With these facts in view we can bu
doubt the practicability and wisdom
proceeding with new and radical legisis
ton on this most important question {
local government, which improperly To-
mulated is as great a curse as it Is
blessing when following it's legitimat
course The present system is ba
enough, but it is better to live under
for two years more than to inaugural
a new one that is worse and which
will take years to eradicate. We haN
great hope that the next election wi
. show much better results in the capaci'
of the legislators elected to take up tn
most necessary task of localiZing II
government. For by that time we b.
lieve that the proportion of citizens WI
really know what they are voting II
will be greatly increased, and also wi
be the number of native Hawaiians WI
will be willing to vote for the best me
without regard to color, or the desil
to work off old grudges.
LOADING FACILITIES POOR.
The Herald says: 1t is unfortunate Fl
the owners of vessels entering the pc
of Hilo that the facilities for loading s
gar are bad Dependent upon the WI
der's Steamship Company for the Sc
vice, the captains must accept with ste
cism whatever treatment they may r
ceive at the hands of the monopoly. III
Amy Turner, for instance, has been
the harbor for six weeks and much
the delay is caused by the inability
the steamship company to put the s
gar aboard. The company claims tn
llaborers are not to be had and this
quite true, but the statement should
qualified men cannot be had at a doll
and half day when they can get tv
dollars for the identical work perform
for other employers. Captain Warlar
of the Amy Turner believes he has
grievance and it lies within the pow
of the agents of vessels running to Hi
. to get rid of it. The Wilder's compar
does not happen to own all the steame
af1oat and if one was purchased by q
vessel owners and put in commission he
lit could not only carry cargoes to Il
sugar vessels during the season but
could do a very nice trade in carryil
goods to the other side of the islam
The experience of Captain Warland dll
ing the past few days is the enteriI
wedge that may open up a scheme
this sort that could be carried throus
to success.
THE HEAVY BLOW.
9 The Herald says: The storm from t,
south during the past two days was t
heaviest in long time In Puma maj
trees We're uprooted and roofs blow