The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-10-07
AMERICANIzING THE ISLANDS.

Under the title Hawaiian Islands
Come High but are Worth the Price, -
we find the following article in print
over the signature of w. P. Maclennau
of the U. S. Treasury Department.
From what I saw, the Hawaiian ISL
ands will cost the United States a vast
sum of money before they are completely
Americanized. American institutions,
while making rapid inroads are not yet
as thoroughly established as they might
be, but of course it requires time for
such developments, and altogether the
progress made in this direction is sat-
isfactory. While Hawaii Will cost this
government a great amount of money,
there is everything to lead to the belief
that we will receive in return equal ben-
eft in one form or another as an inevit-
able result.
The sugar raising industry in the ISL
ands is pursued with remarkable profit.
1t is estimated that some of the planta-
tons there yield an annual gain of so
per cent, while very few pay their own
ers less than 20 per cent. This is an
enormous rate of profit-so great, in fact,
that almost every bit or available land
is utilized in sugar raising. The result
is that very little territory is left for
the production of other necessities
It is a remarkable but none the less
actual fact that almost everything that
is used upon the Hawaiian dining table
Is produced in the United States
There is vast amount of bosh talked
about the Americanization of these ISL
ands, the term being used by the car
pet-baggers here as patriotism was by
the men whose employment of it as a
last vGfIICrt4'' Hray- ha Of
Englishman. Nevertheless there were
certain things done by Congress i'll
framing the organic law of the Terri
tory which, while not intended to check
or repress Americanism, are having
precisely that effect.
We refer principally to matters per-
tanning to the suffrage. This is the only
part of the United States where the use
of foreign tongue, to the total exclu-
sion of English, is among the qualiftca-
lions of the voter. That tongue is Ha-
waiian. Any one WHO knows it and no
other, may, being sane, unconvicted Of
crime and of suitable age and sex, cast
a vote in this American Territory
Naturally man who can neither read,
write nor understand the English ian
poses a foreigner. The suffrage law as
lie stands, encourages him 10 remain for
eign. He has no political incentive -
become American; and he cannot reach
that goal until he gets in touch with
the language in which American prin-
ciples are taught. If the object of Con-
gress was to Americanize the Hawai-
.an then every effort should havaibeen
made to induce him TO learn tbs ma
uonal speech. AS it is he was studious-
~ exempted from a requirement, the
observance of which would have made
him American sooner than anything
else.
If Congress will take up this subject
in a broad and wise spirit there Will be
Il" opposition here from any class Of
white voters save those adventures
who are trading on the American
name for their personal advantage and
who hope to ride into power on the
backs of Hawafians who are unable,
from their ignorance of English 10
know how they are being misused.