The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-05-10
HANANANS
TESTIFY
Committee Hears
Carter and
Wilcox.
Roport Of Senate Commit;ee)
STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE r.
CARTER. MEMBER OF THE
SENATE OF HAWAII

had something To say moment ago
when the Governor was testifying. We
y i'll now give you q chance 10 make
your statement more fully. / presume
that. ilasmuch as this bin in regard to
retiring seven of these Senators affects
You personally. you would prefer to
speak about IL. We will be glad 20
hear anything You have to say on the
subject.
Senator Carter-My name is George
Z. Carter. / am one of the six Repub-
lican Senators elected to the first Leg
islature in Hawaii.
The Chairman-I will ask you how
long you have lived in Hawaii.
Senator Carter-I was born there.
and my father and mother were born
there.
The Chairman-Very well.
Senator Carter-This is question
which has given rise to considerable
political interest, for. as the number OF
Senators is an odd number. il must
| necessarily change the political pro-
portion as IL exists now in the Senate.
| Il Is complicated question, by reason
| trlcts. and IL would be impossible to
| put the fifteen names into n hat and
| draw out seven.
Senator Rearns-Let me ask you how
many districts there are?
Senator Carter-There are four CEN
| trail districts.
| The question is also complicated from
| the fact that the political proportion
varies In each district. The Republi-
| can executive committee OF Hawaii Of
| fered. during the session OF the Legis-
| lature. To make any reasonable COM
| promise, or to settle this question in
| nority. could. OF course. do little except
compromise. but the matter was post
| poned and postponed until, as has been
| stated. the very last minute. There
| Is doubt as TO whether that session
was a legal session. The organic act
limited the length OF the session to
sixty days. excluding Sundays and hol
days. and the question came up as to
Whether or not one OF the holidays was
a legal holiday.
However. leaving those questions out
OF consideration. the fact that the Leg
islature itself did not select all OF them
seems to me to preclude the POSSIBLE
ity OF taking those two or three who
were selected. The necessity for this
action lies In the fact that 1 fail to see
how il can be left To- the next session
OF the Legislature, for IL is impossible
to tell which OF the fifteen Senators are
TO sit in the next Legislature. The or
ganic act also provides that in the
election this fall seven new senators
shall be elected. Unless some action Is
taken there will be the seven Senators
elected this fall. besides the fifteen who
were elected two years ago.
Senator Mitchell - You will have
twenty-five Senators. then. all seeking
seats at the same time?
Senator Carter-All seeking seats at
the same time. The seven will be le-
gally elected. and the fifteen viii be le-
galiy elected; but Il Will be impossible
TO tell which should retire. The Re
publican executive committee felt that
n theory or n basis should be adopted
which would be other than political.
and selected the Senators who received
the highest votes to be those who
should go out. feeling that II their
strongest men We're In the field again
they would have the best chance. That
was not acceptable. and they finally
thought that this method would be one
which Congress could adopt without
partlsanship of any kind-that OF SIM
ply selecting those who were the low
est. That Is an expression Of the voice
OF the people: and had IL been provided
In the organic law that those Senators
who received the lowest number OF
votes should be the two-year men, IL
would have been settled jus; on the
basis OF this bill.
We Republicans who get out under
this bill are perfectly willing 10 get out
on n basis OF this kind. The only
other way that can see. IL Congress
wishes TO avoid all partisanship what
ever. Is TO say that instead OF simply
following out the organic act providing
that seven Senators shall be elected
this FAN we shall proceed to elect
eight other Senators-or, IN other
vo-ds have Al entirely new election
this fall
do not think the method Of drawing
lots or selecting BY an arbitrary ar
would be satisfactory TO the
or satisfactory to the
other side. Il seems to me that II you
do not pass this bin. which is based
on m expression OF the voice Of the
Is. 10 provides that those
NJ Us who received the lowest number
n votes in each district shall go OUT
the matter should be referred back 20
the people by an entirely new election.
must be done. for there Is
no knowing which OF these fifteen are
20 be seated in the next legislature
There is no power TO settle the ques-
ton except the authority OF Congress.
which Is supreme.
Senator Mallory. How many Repub-
lican senator's would go out under this
bill?
Senator Carter. Three.
The Chairman. Three out OF siN7
Senator Carter. Three out OF seven
two out-and-out Home
and two men who are no long
pr connected with the Home Rule
party.
Senator Burton. How many Demo-
Gratis would go out?
Senator Carter. One OF the last two
I mentioned is as near Democrat as
we have out there.
Senator Burton. DO you know
whether ne is n Bryan Democrat or =
gold Democratic OauEhter)
Senator Carter. 7 think he Is n Rry-
IN Democrat.