The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-03-21
CARTER ON Hawaii


Mattcrs-Booms the Pacific Gable
The Washington Star publishes the
following interview with Senator George
Carter i'm its issue of March o.
Perhaps what surprises me most are
the questions that are put to me by the
people of the United States, Mr. Carter
said to a reporter of the Evening star
today Are you accustomed to Anne
rican ideas YETI" and do the native
people take kindly to free government"
are asked me frequently. As matter
of fact, the people of the islands have
always been most patriotic I'm their
demonstrations on American holidays.
Hawaiians have had representative
government and elections since lS4r
and they understand the ordinary trend
of politics pretty well.
LAS to the general conditions I'm Ha-
wall? Well, that is indeed a Compre-
hensive subject. In the first place we
are i'm depressed condition financially.
The price of sugar, which is our main
industry, has reached the lowest point
ever known. We haven't gotten over the
disastrous fire which was made neces-
sary to stamp out the bubunic plague.
The people Of the United States never
realized the extent Of that disaster. We
have no cable to notify the world of our
misfOrtunes. as Galveston, JOhnstOWn,
Jacksonville and other cities had when
they needed help.
1--WE are looking forward to another
election the coming November, and it
will undoubtedly be repetition of an
overwhelming native vote (the natives
are i'm a big majority and another le-
gislatuTe where the proceedings VIII be
conducted with manifest intent to
ignore the organic act which requires
that they shall be in English, and Will
be long and tediously drawn out by de-
lays neCessitated by translating every
thing from Hawaiian into English.
AT the last session Of the legislature
the Hawaiian majority argued that if
the minutes were recorded in English
that was sufficient to keep within the
organic act; any way 1t was not talr 20
take one clause out of the act and en-
force that, for it was a well-recOgnized
law in English as well as American
Jurisprudence that a document must be
interpreted as a whole; that of the three
points involving the Hawaiians In the
organic act two were in their favor and
this one against them. Still further
they argued that it was a well-recog-
nized American principle that the ma
iority should rule; hence they decided
that the proceedings should be con-
Quoted in their own language.
Notwithstanding that the HaWaiianS
had an overwhelming majority in both
houses they failed to comply with the
organic act and appOrtiOn the senators
as provided in section 30. In organizing
the territory it was necessary that at
the first election fifteen senators, the
whole number of the upper house,
should be elected. To make the body a
continuous one seven were to retire IN
two years, to be succeeded by others,
and eight were to be fOur-year senators,
succeeding elections putting in seven or
eight as the case might be-
In this way part of the body would
be returned every year and part would
hold over. The legislature failed, how
ever to arrange the details OF such ap-
portiOnment and no selection of the
seven tWO-year senators was made.
This fall, under the law, seven new
senators will be elected, but unless
Congress comes to the rescue, l can see
no possible way for deciding which OF
fifteen senators shall retire 10 make
way for newcomers.
THE republican minority proposed to
the Hawaiians that the matter be set
tied by the selection to go of those SEN
atOrs who received the lowest number
of votes in each district This was not
satisfactory. Then the minority pro-
posed that the seven senators who re-
ceived the highest number of votes at
the last election retire. But nCth-
m.6ni6 have much preferred to make the
allotment so that the six republican
senators should be in for two years only
,rbis beine sinonIv a failure to comply
VIII he law If is difficult in any way
to bring 1t before the courts.
! two tban to anneaI to the power which
~ ,,e,bt ne ferritorv into existence and
framed The act for certainly if the
question is not settled there will be only
seven senator's the newly elected ones
concerning whose seats there can be no
doubt. This will he not a majority, not
even quorum. Under such conditions
the MINER branch of the legislature viii
be ineffective; no legislation can be
dome"
hs,yod about Governor Dole and the
,,.asa1t Instrumentation I'm Hawaii, SEN
80, Eorto,, soid.
80 C,,,..u,,,,, T,oIa is corninp
am El1a NottL ~ ~, prosilo,,t ~
| mere TO CONFER WIN 'iS 80 Prasi,7ant
| course What ! nav 9"lt ~ affaIrs IN
RposeVeil on lile =" r,,,i,iic fron
! our territory must VIC lii'tNN - 80