Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-02-20
TWO WILCOX BILLS.

Delegate Wilcox has written his
friends in Honolulu that as soon as he
Is well enough to return to his duties
in Congress he will see to Il that vari-
Gus and sundry measures introduced
by him are amended so as to better
meet the requirement of the local stu
alton. 1t is to be hoped the Delegate
will speedily recover that he may make
good Notwithstanding the curious exhi-
bition offered to Congressional asso-
ciates of the father of measure being
the first to suggest radical changes in
II.
Our Delegate appears to have adj
vanced to that stage of Congressional
experience where he together with not
a few of his compatriots in the House
of Representatives has become learned
in the divine art of playing to the gal
leries. Bills are introduced for the
effect at home" with little or no pros
pect of reaching the supreme distinc-
ton of becoming laws.
Both the school and the county bill
more recently presented by MIR. Wilcox
come under this heading and curiously
enough are in direct opposition to the
supposed Interpretation Of the home
rule program viz. that the people of
Hawaii are capable of taking care of
themselves, making their own laws,
and should be allowed to do so. The
county measure in and OF itself is not
a bad one. II is expressive Of local
demand, but the chances are not one In
q thousand that any committee of Con-
gress will take the time needed for
important national affairs to discuss
and thresh out the details Of county
bill for this or any other Territory.
This is something people of the Terri
tories are supposed to do for them
selves. It is an important detail of
home rule, experience in which has
been so little known to this Territory.
As a means OF bringing before Con.
gress the fact that Hawaii has no mu-
nicipal governments whatever, the
Wilcox bill serves a good purpose. II
canvass of United States Congress
men Hdu Dttll Ndhtll 1T NilN b'bihh'hs
of the session It is easy to believe that
a good majority would have been found
ignorant of the fact that the much dis
cussed Hawaiian Islands, Americana
ed and annexed. have not and never
had municipal government Of any
kind. Only those, who have become in
one way or another personally inter-
ested in the Islands know the very
shallow veneer OF American govern
ment Hawaii enjoys.
A direct as well as practical means
OF securing what the Delegate seems to
| be driving at, and obtain what the
people of the Territory want, would be
the introduction of a much less volu-
minous measure amending Section 90
| of the Organic Act so that II shall read
The legislature shall create counties,
| etc. instead OF may" as at present
provided. Such an amendment VIII
accomplish more for the advancement
| OF the Territory on traditional Amer
| lean lines" than all the ponderous
measures the Delegate can frame or
submit to Congress for others. 1t
would set the people to work earnestly
to solve whatever problems may have
to be met in decentralizing the govern
ment of the Territory.
The school bill offered by the Dele
gate has been very properly dealt with
by the Board of Education. There Is
no doubt that the present school sys-
TEN is in a high degree incompetent
and overburdened with degree OF
official egotism which amounts TO ig-
norance. but the Wilcox bill does not
solve the problem. The readjustment
of the school system will be an import
ant part of the municipal program
which no one is better able to solve
than local legislators who, in commit
tee hearings can wisely Judge the
merits of various contentious made by
the taxpayers and parents as well as
/ the ponderous theorizers.
The Delegate must know that these
bills he has presented will not get be-
yond the committee in which they are
pigeonholed since Congress is not Civ
en- to taking up its time with defining
the duties OF the pound keeper and
| school agents OF country towns.