Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-24
LAWS FOR HAWAIIANS
CALLED PROTEST. OF GOVERNOR
DOLE TO TIE PRESIDENT.
Objection to, Extension Of General
~
Land Laws-The Proposed Leper
OF
settlement.

President against the extension OF our gen.
eral land laws to the territory Of Hawaii
has attracted attention to the report of the
Senate subcommittee which visited the is
lands last summer, and especially to the
testimony taken by the committee. which
was not issued with the report made public
some ten days since, but has just been pub
lished.
Among other things, the report of the
committee specifically recommends the ex-
tension OF the United States land laws to
the islands. The friends of Hawaii claim
that the operation of these laws in the ter:
ritory would work grave injury. and in sup
port of their contention they point to the
fact that there is a strong movement at
the present time in the United States look
ing to the repeal of several of our present
land laws. which has. in fact. as prin-
cipal argument that part of the Presidents
message relating to the new irrigation law
and the public domain.
The President in his message strongly
condemns the desert land law, the commu-
tation clause of the homestead law and the
timber law, and acting upon his recon-
mendatlon bills have been introduced In
Congress providing for their repeal. 1t is
now Claimed that to make these laws opera
tive in Hawaii would be grave mistake,
since the laws there in force, which are
those which existed during the period when
Hawaii was republic, are fairly good and
especially appilca bic to existing conditions
there.
The Hawaiian Lepers.
The committee also recommends that the
!eper settlement now existing on the Islands
be made a national leprosia, to which all
the lepers in the United States should be
sent.
What has Hawaii ever done that she
should be inflicted with this?" asked
prominent Hawaiian planter who is stop
ping in Washington. I'VE have enough
trouble in handling our own lepers without
assuming the burden of all those which
can be picked up in the states. Leprosy
is dreadful disease" he continued, land
yet most people have far greater horror
Of being near a leper than there Is any
real reason for. 1 would not hesitate in the
slightest to shake hands with a leper. in
fact, l have done so. Leprosy can be con-
tracted only through contact by the mucous
membrane, or through some sore or cut.
For this reason the lepers in our leper
settlement are allowed to marry and bear
children. and there are only two instances,
believe. where the children Of lepers con-
fined IN the Hawaiian lazaretto have had
the disease transmitted to them. They are
taken away from the parents when they are
very young and kept in isolated establish
ments until it is seen that they are free of
the disease
Nevertheless, we have in the islands all
we want to take care of in this line. Our
authorities are also constantly on the alert
to find those among the general population
who have become afflicted. Every effort is
made, naturally, when man or woman
fines that hes has sleprosy, to keep the
knowledge from the authorities, and among
the pure blood natives especially all sorts
Of schemes are resorted to to escape de-
lection 3 ~
Water Franchises.
Another RECOMMENDATION Of the subcom-
mittee which is being vigorously protested
against is private legislation by Congress
relating to water franchises in the islands.
The major portion of Hawaii is dependent
upon irrigation, and good land which has
water available for irrigation is of great
value.
Water rights, are as valuable as they are
in any of our western arid states. The
usual method of the government has been,
when any proposition has come before 1t.
to allow the construction of irrigation
bitches or storage reservoirs on the public
domain to hold a public auction and sell
the right to the highest bidder, subject to
such restriction and conditions as the gov
eminent sees fit to prescribe.
The Senate committees report, however,
recommends the passage Of H. r. 1887,
which grants over the heads Of the terri
torial government an extremely valuable
irrigation franchise without any recon-
pense to the territory. Hearings were held
on this Hawaiian ditch bill last session
before Senator Forakers committee, and
Mr.. Foraker himself introduced resolu-
tion providing that the application in this
case should be submitted for the approval
of the Secretary Of the Interior of the
United States.
An examination Of the testimony taken
before the committee during its hearings
in Honolulu last summer shows also that
permission was given by the committee to
parties interested to present any testi-
mony desired after the close of he COM
mittee hearings. 1t seems that subse-
quently a petition from all the planters
residing along the line of the proposed
ditch, protesting against the enactment Of
H. r. 1897 and favoring the Foraker
amendment, was presented to the COM
mittee and was printed as part of tho re-
port Of the committee. but was later, at the
Instance of one of the members OF the COM
mittee stricken out from the report. AS
this protest Is considered strictly pertinen.
to the question. the people here who are
interested in Hawaiian affairs are wonder
ing what has become of this unanimous
petition.
The Chinese Question.