The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-10-21

superintendent Davis sudden rebel
lion against the Carter plan of running
all the departments was the surprise of
the week. Who would have suspected
that the mild hammered superintendent
of public instruction who stepped into
Atkinson's shoes about six months ago,
would suddenly develop official nerve
enough to go over and tell Carter he
wanted to run his own department af-
fairs and offer his resignation when
Carter failed to meet his views? Some
say that the resignation was a bluff
and that Davis was a surprised and
deeply disappointed man when he saw
the sudden result was to sever his con-
nection with the department. If it was
a bluff, of course it was tried on the
wrong man. Dovis might have known
that Carter would very quickly respond
with an acceptance. But the matter
in dispute had been discussed before,
and Davis knew Carriers attitude. 1t
really looks as if he was too independ-
ent to pretend to be head of a de-
partment when the governor insisted on
running it.
& & 4
1 am given to understand that there
| is more or less ranking soreness of
heart among other members of the
Carter Cabinet, over the one-man rule
| which prevails in the Capitol. No
| so-called head of a department ever
! takes any step of importance without
an order from the governor. 1t may
be a good system, but it isn't what
either Congress or the legislature con-
templated.
g.
Mention of the Capitol reminds me of
Treasurer Campbell and the New York
Life investigation, whih was so care
fully kept a secret. am able to as
sert that but for an accident the fact
that grave charges had been filed with
a public official agains the New York
Life would not be piblic yet. The
newspaperman who gd the news got it
quite by accident. The treasurer had
the charges hidden away, or filed away,
and like many othds the whole in
cident might have pissed on in secret
AS soon as the pres found out about
it, the treasurer e$sily saw that the
papers in the case were public docu-
ments and that th whole proceeding
should be public.
The Hawaiian CipitOl is a huge nest
of guarded secrets When the aver
age public official iere has any depart
ment business his first dread seems to
be that the publicwill learn what he is
doing | do not mow why it is. 1t is
impossible to eNpain the phenomenon.
Perhaps it is the training of Il mon
archy. All l knW is that from the
cupola to the baement, excepting the
federal offices, tie attitude of official
dom is almost Uniformly one of sturdy
opposition to letting the press have
anything about What is going on. The
question always is Why should the
public be told? ather than why should
the public not lie told? When one de-
partment communicates with another,
on public business, the communication
is often accompanied by a caution
do not let thenews get out"
The contrast between this attitude
and the ordinary American attitude is
, striking. TIL, contract between the
two sets of offiials here, the Territorial
and the federd, is equally striking in
this respect. l do not mean all the
Territorial offtials, for there have al
ways been some who recognize public
right to information about the manage
ment of publE affairs.
4 8 4
1 happened to be talking b Judge
Dole the otha day on the subject OF
naturalization of aliens when men.
] toned a curious case which hld come
under my own observation in British
Columbia.
A Royal Commission was Investigate
o ing certain matters in connection witt
the salmon fishing up there wien a bis
Scandinavian with an atrociots accent
came forward to testify. There was
a ripple of amusement as he testified
to the harm that aliens were doing t.
the fishing.
He was asked when he had oeen ma
turalzed himself and replied blandly
that he had never been naturilized
"Ay bane boorn British subject" HI
said
"Where were you borne" he was
asked.
"Ay bane boorn in Finland was hi'
answer and again there was laugh
but the big man made good in his
o claim all the same for he had beer