Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1904-10-08
JAMES CANNOT VOTE
BECAUSE
He EXPOSES HIMSELF

| FVohihs crdit uTiItcu lntt
the Registration office, next to tn,
Postofice yesterday afternoon. Ar
rayed In khaki and a broad.brimmed
6tetson, smoking powerful cherooi
and smelling of paint, fish-al, garli,
ana bilge water, he had the appear
ance OF composite whaler, cowboy
and horse.doctor. He strobe to the
rail, showed back his hat, cleared his
throat, and caught the eye of Chair
man of the Registration Board w. T.
Rawlins. This is what followed.
whats your name?"
Captain John +. JAMES,"
Where do you live?"
Aboard the fishing schooner Saliva
ton Lassie which moors In Rotten
Row"
Where were you born?"
aberdeen, Scotland"
"Naturalized?"
yes; here are my papers," james
exhibited a certificate of citizenship
made out In San Francisco numbered
l22. dated August IA, 1867, In the Dis.
trict Court Of the Fourth Judicial Cir.
cult OF California. presented for reg.
lstration on August 81. 1867. He also
produced papers which showed he had
been master and owner OF vessels, GOV.
ering period of some thirty years.
How old are your
"Sixty.four.'
How long have you resided In these
islands,"
About three years"
please sign your name here. Now.
do you solemnly swear to the truth
Hold on a minute!" cried James.
whats the matter?"
You never asked me IL I've been In
fail"
well. ass you now: Have your
Many tines What for? For va.
rious things-for smuggling. for ali.
clustering, for killing a man, for nut.
ting o head on fellow, for protecting
my home. for standing up for my
rights. for running q revolution, and
for telling the truth about bad lot
In q newspaper I ran; but I've never
been to Jail In this country. and I've
never done anything was ashamed
Of"
For killing a man! Were you con.
victed?"
mo, was acquitted: justiaable ho-
micide."
How long were you in jail for
smuggling"
"Oh, for not more than thirty days
at time; but not In America. Then
l have been a prisoner Of war, but
suppose that doesn't count"
For three years in San Quentin. for
telling the truth. There were dozen
other editors in prison with me, but
they crawled. most Of them, and got
out; some accepted pardons. re-.
fused pardon"
well. Captain James, I'm afraid we
can't register you. Section Is Of tho
Organic Act provides that any man
who has served year in prison and
who has not been restored to civil
rights Is not eligible to vote"
well, just wanted to know where
! stood. I'm an old-timer and see
some folks walking the streets of Ho-
nolulu who have served sentences In
prisons; and they are reg
istered, too, and vote down here; no.
body seems to know the difference;
not that ! would mention their names,
however; It's none Of my business"
Everybody is not as honest as you,
Captain"
Does that law you Just read TO me
cover cases OF men serving sentences
outside this Territory"
I'm pretty sure 1t does, but you can
go and see United States District At.
torney Breckons, II you like"
Captain James. after asking for re.
fusal OF registration In writing and he.
Ing refused. Immediately made for the
Judiciary building to see Breckons.
Breckons was busy as usual, but man.
aged to squeeze time enough to listen
to James brief statement of his case.
The U. 8. District Attorneys verdict
was to the effect that, under Section IS
Of the Organic Act, the captain was
not entitled to vote.
you can apply to the President for
restoration to civil rights" said Breck.
ons. burylng himself in a pile of law
books.
II suppose So" was James reply,
shut did nothing but tell the truth"
There Is whole lot of truth which
Is not permitted to go through the
mails" said Breckons; that's what
you did. eh!-sent 1t through the
mails?"
In Los Angeles, in 1897, Captain
James was editing a newspaper enti.
tied The Non.Partisan. As he ex.
presses II In The Under Dog. which he
published as soon as he came out OF
Jail, "A set OF religious zealots insti.
tuted themselves as a Parkhurst com.
mittee," adopting doubtful measures
for the securing Of evidence OF crime.
James printed In The Non-Partisan
what purporied to be an expose OF the
methods OF the preachers. involving
the clergymen In the very crimes
which they were supposed to be trying
to SUPPRESS. The odds were against
the captain editor, whose courage is
bigger than his diplomacy. and he was
prosecuted for sending obscene mat.
ter through the mails. AS Breckons
remarked yesterday, there is whole
lot of truth which Is obscene. James
was convicted and spent three years
IN San Quentin, where he became chief
cook. He was offered pardon, but
rr'nta'-ad that he had done no wrong
and re'T-ed restoration to civil rights
Th'- - wool w"e not made until he had