The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-01-25
A PROGRAM OF RUIN.

that ii would put the power of taxa
ton and disbursement into the itchin
hands of that part of our Polynesia
race which is least qualified to do pub
lie business and most likely to use tn
privilege of city and county rule 70
corrupt and alien ends.
Outside readers should know that tn
| problem of local self-government her
presents phases wholly foreign to tn
same problem on the mainland. There
IL is the mere question Of giving Amer
leans by birth, descent and naturaliza
/ tion-the first two classes being in ;
| majority over ala chance to rule un
der rights which they are qualified Il
exercise. Here lit means the delivery o
the public and to a large extent tht
! private interests of 5000 white voter:
and of perhaps 1000 native and half-na.
tive voters of intelligence and capacity
! constituting the owners of the proper
ty and of the business of the Hawaii
an Islands, into the hands of the de-
graded and irresponsible section of our
PoIynesian race whom Congress SO pre-
matureIy enfranchised. The mainland
instance means a rough average of
good government, marked with sporad-
ic cases, as in the great cities, of NAL
administration; the local instance, on
the other hand, means an endless chain
of bad government, based on the idea
that a public office is public graft
Observe the conditions: Congress has
put the majority vote OF Hawaii in the
hands Of men who, as general thing,
cannot talk English; whose character
has never had a moral trend; who are
VIGOROUSLY unthrifty; who are mon
archists in sympathy and would like to
be in politics; who hate white men
and especially Americans; who know
nothing about the science of govern
ment; who are removed by but little
more than a generation from savagery,
and who are led, not only by their own
demagogues, but by the worst class Of
white carpet-baggers. These people
form what is known as the Home Rule
party. They elected to Congress a ma
tive half-white who, less than three
years ago. proffered in writing his serv-
ices to Aguinaldo, and who has been
dismal failure in office; and legisla-
ture which made the most extraordin-
airy record known to the history of
American lawmakers. What that rec
ord was, partially appears in that
standard publication, ThEum'S Ha-
waiian Annual, from which we quote:
did well IN saving the country from a
number of disgraceful measures. Per-
sistent effort was made to saddle the
city with a fifty-year franchise in favor
Of the Tramway Company; attempt was
made to legalize gambling, and to revive
kahunaism; compulsory vaccination was
and a reduction of dog tax
made a pet measure. An act to create
and municipalities, i'll drawn,
and badly considered in the lower house !
was passed by them for the senate TO
amend, but that body passed it defiantly,
with all it's crudities, because the minori-
ty did not like it as 1t stood. Much dis
appointment was felt by them at the bill
meeting with pocket Veto" for Home
Rulers and a certain foreign element
hoped thereby to 'curtafl the governors
power by placing appointments and ex-
Denditures in the hands of native voters
organized to put down the power of the
whites"
Practically the whole session was TAX
IN up with childish wrangling. Desirable
measures for the promotion of govern
nent and public welfare were neglected
Or studiously blocked in committee, as
IN the case of the loan measure and ap-
force an extension of the session which
had been refused them On the ground
hat 1.-The methods of the present session
had been SO wastful of both time and
money with little to show for large
expenditure of public funds
At the close of the regular term they
we're Immediately called in special ses-
lion to consider the appropriations, and
he same inability to confine themselves
o the duty they were called for was
manifest. The time limit expired before
he act was through it's third reading
md the session had to be extended sew
raj days for this purpose, finally ad-
country of $4,000 for its term of sixty
lays and $47, 900 for its thirty days extra
session; far exceeding the most expen-
i've previous legislature known in these
stands, which was in 1856, when $49,9S4.0S
vas required to defray the expenses of
is long session of 129 days.
The Home Rule legislators are the
leaders of the people from whose ranks
city and county officials would be ia
ken. Officials of such an origin would
10 more be qualified to carry on public !
business than were the freedmen of
he South in reconstruction times. Their !
policy would be to multiply patronage, |
increase taxes and taboo white men, |
save the carpet-baggers who are in
with them for the spoils. Investment
here would stop, business would be |
hurt and in the end the white people |
would be compelled, as was the case
with white people in the Southern
States, to take matters in their own |
hands To such predatory and violent |
such losses and destruction
Ind misrule-the proposal at this time |
to have city and county government |
obviously tends.
Public duty demands that the sub
division of official responsibility here
shall await the growth of a responsible |
yoting majority. In no other way can |
he future of Hawaii rebound to the
,redit of the expansion policy of the ,
United States, nor even of civilization
tself
We quite agree with the Star that
here is no good reason why a special
election should be held to fill the va
ancy in the House of Representatives
made by the death of Mr.. Gillian.
lust now the Territory needs all its