The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-12-11
HONOLULU LIED ABOUT
IN TACOMA LEDGER
Commercial Bodies Will Consider Damaging
Story Attributed to Officers of American.
Hawaiian Steamer Nebraskan.

braskan was in port there was a great
deal to be heard about the spread of
the plague or that there is a great
deal of the disease in the country" in
fact none at all for some time then,
or that the "bubonic plague has always
existed in the islands," there having
been but a few sporadic cases since
the thorough cleaning up at a cost of
millions of dollars in 1900 and particu-
larly that there was absolutely no
truth in the statement attributed to
the officers that lat the time the Ne
braskan was in Honolulu the disease
seemed to have spread to a few fami-
lies of Europeans no European cases
having existed for many months.
BUSINESS MEN SPEAK.
Frederick J. Lowrey, president of the
Chamber of Commerce, had the article
from the Tacoma Ledger read to him
over the wire and, responding to the
reporters inquiries of what he thought
should be done in regard to it, made
these remarks:
4 think the article might be brought
up before the joint meeting of the
Chamber of Commerce and the Mer-
chants Association tomorrow.
The most that can be done about it,
I suppose, is to give an emphatic de-
nial to the statements in the article
They are so utterly false, especially
with regard to European families, that
they should not pass uncontradicted.
Il thing that, considering the large
and intimate relations of the American
Hawaiian Steamship Company with
Honolulu, the heads of the company
cl,a
steamship officers to telling the truth
in giving reports to newspapers at
mainland ports"
George w. Smith, on being informed
of the contents of the Ledger article,
Sc ii:
AS skipper dealing largely with
the American Hawaiian Steamship
Company, 1 would say that it is the
duty of the company's local representa-
tive to send strong contradiction of
the statements to the head office in
San Francisco
'As president of the Honolulu Mer-
chants Association, 1 would say that
a very emphatic protest should be
made to the company against the start
ing of such false and damaging reports
about this port by officers of it's steam
ers at mainland ports"
a gentleman who is closely identified
with heavy interests here and from his
daily contact with matters along this
line is in position to know whereof he
speaks, said: I'm view of the fact that
Honolulu is short of proper passenger
accommodations it is particularly in
appropriate for officers of the Ameri-
can-Hawaiian line to knock Honolulu
in such an unscrupulous manner. There
is every reason to believe that the lack
of interest which the Hartman line of
steamers and the Spreckels line of
beats have manifested in the question
of giving Honolulu better steamship
accommodations is based on about this
theory-If Honolulu does not care
enough about US to give up her best
freight business. sugar. in which there
is profit. why should We bother about
giving her better passenger accommO-
dations, in which there is little if any
profit In other words, Hawaii has
put her freight business into the hands
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