The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-12-20
OUR ''JACK"
TRAVELLING
Secretary Creates Fa-
vorabIe impression
In Washington.

Mr.. A. L. c. Atkinson, secretary OF
the Territory of Hawaii. saw President
Roosevelt yesterday at the White
House offices and later was the Presi-
dents guest at luncheon. He is one
of the successful young men of the Is
lands, has been prominently connected
with the publication of the Honolulu
star and for several months of his Of
fetal career as secretary has been act
| ing Governor. The President discussed
with him several matters of Importance
| to the Islands.
The Territorial secretary has been in
New York and now comes to Wash
| ington chiefly in connection with pro-
posed issue of Territorial bonds for
about 81 900, 900. He is enthusiastic
about the prospects Of shipping on the
| Pacific and is much interested in an
appropriation for the improvement of
Honolulu harbor, which will be asked of
Congress at the approaching session.
That is from the Washington Post.
| Clearly "Our Jack" is making some
thing of an impression in Washington
although nobody here at home had sus-
pected him of an affinity with the
| Fourth estate-of course beyond the
affinity that all good fellows and poll
ticians. have with newspaper people.
But there were other favorable re-
ports received from Secretary Atkin-
son in the mail that came on the Ala
media. Governor Carter got a fat let
ter of a confidential character largely,
but there We're some things in 1t that
the Governor felt at liberty to talk
| about for publication. 1t seems that
| Mr.. Atkinson ran across Governor
| winthrop of Porto Rico in Washington
and they went to the War Department
together to see whether there could not
be a stop put to the discrimination made
against island coffee in the matter OF
| advertising for bids for supplying all
that part of the army of the United
States that is quartered in the Pacific
States region. That Is, Mr.. Atkinson
labored in behalf of Hawaiian coffee
in that special region and it is pre-
sumed that Governor winthrop worked
for Porto Rico coffee in the other end
of the country.
1t seems that when the Commissary
Department advertised for bids for the
supply of the army posts with coffee
| it was especially made n condition
precedent to bidding that while Java
and Mocha and other standard brands
might be blended with the cheaper
Bra lillian coffee, the strong, rich, aro-
matte coffee of the Kona coast must
| be put In pure in competition with these
cheap graded products And, more than
] that ii was specified that no coffee
that had dirt and stones in it would be
considered, which was understood to
be n slap at the Island product-and
that Is the cleanest on the market. The
secretary labored long and earnestly
with the War Department probably
telling the heads of it some things they
did not know before, and seems to have
| In fact, he created a favorable i'm
preston everywhere. This was so
marked that he writes that he has been
urged by Assistant Secretary of the In
terror Acker. as we'll as by Mr. Burton,
chairman of the Committee on Rivers
and Harbors. to remain in Washington
during the pendency of the bills for the
dredging of the harbor of Honolulu and
other measures in which the Territory
is Interested in order that he may
be at hand to give information-and
perhaps advice, although Mr. Atkinson
says nothing of that.
| Mr.. Atkinson writes to the Governor
further, that he has been kept busy
drafting bills, among them the bill
giving the Governor the power of re-
moval. the bill providing for the five
| nf ha 10 IS
remaining and the bin reimbursing the
created a favorable impression.
Territory in the sum of s175,OOO, money
already expended in the dredging of
| Honolulu harbor. These measures II
was the intention to have Delegate Ku-
hio introduce in Congress.
The secretary tried to have the sur
vey steamer Patterson sent to Hilo at
once to make the survey for the break
water there, but found that the vessel
was in the service of the Department
OF Commerce and Labor and so the
thing could not be done.
While he was dealing with the War
Department in the coffee matter Mr.
Atkinson secured the regulations con-
corning the beef supply for Island
troops. He cabled these to President
Waller of the Metropolitan Meat Com
pany here and received a cabled reply
showing that the local concern can
meet every condition imposed. Upon
this he was given a warm letter of in
PRODUCTION to the purchasers of the
Commissariat Department at San Fran
cisco and will present this on his re-
turn journey.