The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-02-18
Done Up BY The Native Republicans In The Caucus Last
Night, The Whites And The Executive Committee Hand
Them Hot Bunch In The House ThisMOrning.
- Senate Adjourns Till Tomorrow.

The first days session of the legis-
lature developed one of the biggest po-
litical surprises that has ever been
sprung here. The thirteea Republican
members of the House who went into
caucus last. night and decided to ride
rough shod oveSathe party committees
and settled on Jonah Kumalae for
speaker, were the ones surprised and
a wide split in the Republican party
was made known by the election of
Fred w. Beckley Home Ruler, Speaker
of the House. The choice by a House
that stands 20 Republicans to ten Home
Rulers, was a remarkable one, but it
was the result of a party protest of
the party element against the caucus
proceedings last night.
The interest in the days proceedings
nearly all centered in the House, and
after the Senate finished its work and
found that the governors message was
not ready, the senators adjourned and
went to the Representatives hall to
watch the course of events. Kumalae's
supporters were confident that they
had won the fight and they had pro-
gram which they expected to put
through with ease. But the combina-
ton had been made by which the Re-
publican strength, outside of Kuma-
lae's following, went to Beckley, and
with the ten Home Rule votes and Sc
ven Republican, he was voted into the
chair. The Home Rulers themselves
were surprised at their success in elect
ing a speaker. 1t was with the idea of
complimentary vote that most of them
cast ballots for him, but the Republican
leaders had been getting together and
they had a surprise up their sleeves
for the men who had bolted the party
organize lion last night.
Last nights caucus. was the tirae for
the Republican committees. and the
party leaders in the Senate to get a
surprise. The native members of the
caucus Utterly ignored the party re-
commentators. They did not even
tell the executive committee what they
had done. After the action of the pre-
ViOus night, it had been decided that
the executive committee might be
heard from and the executive commit
tee reported some recommendations
among them that of W. H. Coney for
clerk of the House and Sheldon of
Kauai for interpreter. Both were
treated with sCorn. The caucus de-
Clared for Meheula and COelho. Mat
ters were carried with such a high hand
that Harris and others were almost re-
fused a hearing, and the Kumulae fol-
lowing appeared to think that had easy
SOHITOl Oh. Iue WHOle mousse anu NOulu
run things to suit themselves. Re-
publican Senators who were at the
party headquarters were not even given
the courtesy of being told what was
done.
This morning there were reports that
Kumulae had threatened to become a
Home Ruler unless given what he
wanted in the way of committees and
appointments, and the situation was
decidedly cloudy. There We're thirteen
followers of Kumulae last night, and
there were only thirteen votes for Ku
malae in the House this morning.
1t is the general understanding that
the action of the Republicans other
than the Kumalae following, in boiling
the caucus, breaking the slate, and
touching off a surprise, was the result
of a plan evolved last night after the
caucus by the straight-out Republicans
and some of the members of the eXecu-
tive committee, to teach the Uitlanders
who were following Kumalaes lead
and drawing the race line, that it
wouldn't do for them to get gay, that
party discipline was one thing and par
ty insurrection was another.
AS soon as the surprise was handed
to the Uitlanders, the stalwarts forced