The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-09
GEARS BOMB.

After three months delay, George y.
Gear completed his anti-Wilcox oomo
and on February he exploded II IN the
House of Representatives.
He asks that Wilcox be unseateo,
6rst. because there was no Territorial
law proyiding for election or a Dele
gate. second. because Wilcox is guilty
of bigamy; third, because two years OF
so ago he wrote encouraging letters
and offered his sword to Aguinaldo.
We think Mr.. Gears action iii-adVls-
ed If successful, no good will accrue
to the Territory by virtue thereof.
If there is machinery for electing a
delegate and. Wilcox is unseated for
some other reason, there will immedi-
ately be another election held which
must cost several thousand dollars.
With the present electorate Wilcox or
some of his stripe will be chosen.
If it is held that there is no law pro-
yiding for an election, then the present
LEGISLATURE will pass the necessary law
and a new election will be ordered.
Whichever way it goes, the taxpayers
of the Territory will be saddled with
the expense of an election, with the
certainty, that they will land just
where they started-minus the money
spent on the polling. This kitten
chasing it's tail program may be fun for
Mr. Gear, but 1t is profitless for Ha-
wall. Z
AS to the bigarny charge, Wilcox
may or may not have married Theresa
before the ,nacaroni princess obtains
ed her divorce, The facts are not be-
fore us; butt is admitted that the
Italian divorce is now absolute, SO that
Wilcox Is now living with one wife,
who is devoted to him, and he appears
to be acting the part of a model, IL
somewhat be1ated husband. His case
is not paralleI4with that of Utah Rob
erts. Mr. Roberts was married to,
living with, and raising families by
three separate women; he admitted it
and defended it on the floor of the
House There is as much difference
between the two cases as between the
reformed desperate turned preacher
and the active pirate caught red
handed.
AS to the Philippine incident, it is
new and interesting, but irrelevant. In
the first place, if it is treason for an
American to give Aguinaldo advice,
then Columbia the Gem of the Ocean
is riddled with treason. Thousands of
Americans, from Grandpa Hoar Of
Massachusetts down. have been pep
pering the poor man with rapid-fire
advice for two years past, and the vol
legs, although on the wane, still keep
up, both in and out of Congress.
In the second place, the letters were
written in 1899, and Wilcox did not be-
come an American citizen until June IA,
1900, when that status was injected into
him by an act of Congress.
In the third place, Wilcox can prove
by repeated Hawaiian presidents that
when he offered his sword to Aguinal-
dos waning cause he was thereby
guaranteeing American success: so
there was no treason in that Wilcox
strong point is his mouth. When he
operates through that medium he is
usually successful but his sword esca-
pades are invariably boomerangs in
favor of the cauen -ainst which it is
drawn. His offer proves patriotism
not treason.
Mr.. Gear will do his fellow Territorial
sufferers a good turn If he will drop the
anti-Wilcox mask behind which he is
operating and get out into the open and
work for the judgeship, the itching for
which position is the real cause for his
present sojourn In Washington