The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-03-01
{. P. DOLE WRITES
FROM WASHINGTON

washington, ID. c., Feb. 18th, 1904.
Editor Advertiser: 1t is almost two
months since left Honolulu, 1t is likely
to be another two months before my
return, and this morning "the spirit
moves me- as the Quakers say. rely
ing upon the courtesy of your paper, to
chat bit with my Island friends. Not
that l have anything of particular i'm
portance to communicate, but-you
know what Mark Twain said-"There
is no other land like that'-and I
don't see how one can live there for
years without having an abiding aloha
for the land and a goodly portion of it's
people, and without longing-even in
this beautiful city of Westinghouse
clasp this one and that one by the hand
and say, "Howdy?"
AS l write these lines Senator Hanna
is passing away. In some respects /
think his career has had few parallels
in American politics. He was a plain
business man, a man of large affairs
but unknown in the political world,
until he had past the meridian of life.
Then his personal love for William Nc
Finley led him to devote his tremen-
dous organizing and executive powers
to the Mckinley campaign, and he be-
came famous as chairman of the Re-
publican National Committee. A rich
man and large employer of labor, he
won the confidence of both labor and
capital to a greater degree than any
other public man in the United States;
not as strong with the masses Of the
people as President Roosevelt, but
stronger with these two mighty fac
tors and also with the politicians. In
his old age, and without previous train
ing or experience, he developed the
qualities of an attractive and convince
ing public speaker and, which is high
err and rarer, the gift of stating propo-
Sitions with the clearness of self-evi-
dent truths. 1t seems to be the COM
mon opinion here that, if his health had
been spared and he had wished it, the
next Republican nomination and cleo
ton for the presidency was within his
reach, and, certainly, he was the only
man in the United States who would
have had a ghost of a chance against
Mr.. Roosevelt. AS a lawyer 1 can't
undervalue the services of great law
yers in public life; but good govern
ment is not a mere matter of legal
knowledge, political tact and brilliant
oratory-it is much more a business
proposition, "A practical, business-like
administration of a public trust for the
public benefit, and I think it would be
improved by larger number of honest,
broad-minded, level-headed business
men in public life.
The business which brought me here
has taken me to Baltimore frequently.
I was there last Wednesday, two days
after the fire. The burned district-140
acres in the heart of the city-was
guarded by United States soldiers, and
within those lines was a great tract of
desolatiOn, where property equal to the
entire taxable valuation of the Terri |
tory of Hawaii had been burned up in |
thirty hours. But Baltimore, with it's
southern trade and it's great industries
and it's 100000 inhabitants, is immense +,
ly rich, and has a future even brighter
than it's past. The fire is not knock !
out blow.
, AS the business which brought me
here is in no way connected with poll |
tics or with public affairs, l have not
met public men as much as I otherwise |
naturally would; but, in so far as l
have heard Hawaiian affairs talked /
about, there is a common expression |
of regret that we have permitted fac
tional differences among ourselves to-
be carried so far. This opinion, whetn-
er we deserve it or not, seems to pre-
vail both in the executive and in the
legislative branch of the government, ,
and | think it hurts the good name and |
the material interests of the Territory |
more than most of it's citizens realize.
/ have been interested in watching
the Panama debate in the Senate, and
in Senator Tillman of South '
Carolina In some respects he is
larger and stronger and more self-con-
trolled George A. Davis At any rate,
he is a character sui generis.
Most of the time the weather has
been delightful here The grip of Jack
Frost is a welcome change from mild,
eternal June.
l must close,
With aloha nui to all my friends,
E. p. DOLE.