The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-08-22

curtailine the rights of an American
citizen. be he white, black or red, 1T is a
waste of effort. an idle dream
C. p. IAUKEA.
p. s.-Your next effort at denial. if l
NAV Dc permitted to suggest, MI Edi-
tor. might we'll begin with the caption,
"An Impending Disaster" This will
complete the cognomen by which your
DOGGY triple set of officials will De
known Wen enumerate them: FIRST
set, Looming Peril. Second, Pain OF
pitfalls Third, Impending Disaster
I wonder if you are an alarmist. MI
Editor =. +. l.
Col. Iaukea makes the mistake or
st1nnosing that the Territorial govern
ment would practically disappear when
county and city governments arrive.
This has not been the experience OF
other Territories and would not be the
exnerience of this one. In fact, with
out the sanction of Congress, the pro-
posed cities and counties could not di-
rninish the duties, responsibilities nor
salaries of the present administration
at all; and except in one or two de-
nartrnents Congress would not be likely
to make any particular change There
would still be a Governor, Secretary,
Treasurer and Auditor, and Terrific
rial Superintendent of Public Instruc-
ton. the Territorial Board of Health
would still look after the lepers and
matters of local quarantine, the public
lands would still be administered by
the Territory and even the Superin-
tendent of Public Works would not be
any more likely, than the average State
Engineer is, to see cobwebs accumulate
ON his desk. If Col. Iaukea imagfnes
that 50. 266, 1893 so would be taken off the
Territorial payroll and handed over to
cities and counties he could hardly pass
through a period of municipal govern
ment without a rude awakening.
The childlike faith which the Colonel
shows in the stability of our new in
situations is, unfortunately, shared by
the majority of his race. But 1T hap
pens that our status was materially
changed by the Flag and Constitution
decisions of the United States Supreme
Court. 1t is now held that Territories
have no vested rights which Congress
is bound to respect; that if they please,
the national lawmakers can levy
tariff on the products of Hawaii or
Arizona or Oklahoma; can turn those
Territories into national dependencies
or even sell them by concurrence of the
senate and President as the treaty
making power 1t was this which Del
egate Flynn had in mind when he said
that Congress might conclude to give
all its insular possessions a special
form of colonial government, which, in
the event that government proved
to be failure in such places, would
be its only recourse. Let not the Ha,-
waiians think that Mr.. Flynn was day
dreaming. 1t is they themselves who
.slumber on and indulge in futile
visions.
Our correspondent objects to the Ad-
yertiser's calling the municipal scheme
a Home Rule device for spoils. But
that is precisely what it is, though
some Republicans favor it on, other
grounds. A few of the latter are as
mistaken about it as they We're in the
last Territorial convention about the
value and virtue of a wide-open pri-
mary. Perhaps Col. 1aukea, in the
midst of his oo-good-to-b e7-true"
hopes of getting rid of island Ameri-
canism altogether, will recall the cir
cumstanCe.