Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-20


payment to the territory. Even the federal
courts have been gratuitously Quartered in
territorial buildings. Our four million debt
assumed was understood to entitle the
United States to help itself in this free and
easy way. Uncle Sam should wake up and
do something for U.S.
Attitude of Americans Generally.
Now let me advert to one serious dis
advantage under which we of Hawaii un-
justly labor in the habitual thoughts of
most of the American people, and no doubt
in the minds of a considerable proportion of
congressional representatives and senators.
You are too much in the habit of thinking
of Hawaii an alien country, and not the
American one which 1t actually is. You
class us in a general way with such recent
acquisitions as Porto Rico and the Philip
pines, all whose speech and ways of thought
and action are wholly alien, instead of ac-
cepting the actual fact that Hawaii is
wholly and thoroughly American. We de-
mand that you thoroughly recognize this es-
sential fact, which you do not For eX-
ample, letters constantly come to us from
the mainland, with cents postage append
ed, as If to foreign country, the writers
remaining wholly unconscious that Hawaii
is q part of the United States. And they
think of as only little group of those
South sea cannjbal islands! Now we want
to get full recognition of this vital fact that
We are in deed and truth an American
community, and are to be cordially dealt
with such.
By a wonderful process of development
which has been for nigh a century in active
progress, this lonely mid-Pacfic group
fronting your coast has undergone most
powerful, pervading and effectual Ameri-
caniZation. The result is that for twenty
years past there has been no place outside
of the old limits of the United States where
I American ways and society and institutions
have been so completely repeated in
Honolulu and Hawaii, or where every
American finds himself SO completely at
home. Coming across from the orient, the
American feels at once that he is on Amerl-
can ground and in the home land, no longer
abroad. He has reached America, and in
Hawaii IS among his own people and in
situations.
How came this so to be? About a century
ago, while the old native population still
exceeded the present 10000 people of many
races, the conqueror kamehameha began to
entertain a rapidly growing commerce of
white traders and whalemen, who were
chiefly Americans. The traders drove a
thriving business in sandalwood. This for
eign intercourse speedily brought in Ameri-
can notions, including a growing contempt
for idol gods and heather taboos. On the
death of the old king, in 1919, the whole
heather religion fell to pieces. and in 1929
arrived the first band of American mission
aries, who at once fell to work with mar
velous success to ChristianiZe the people,
and practically to Americanize them. Sue
cessive bands of able and devoted men and
women followed, with the result that in
twenty-five years not only Were the whole
people practically Christianized in religious
belief, but the whole system of government
and society was revolutionized and prac-
tically AmericaniZed. The deSpotic and ir-
responsible chiefs had surrendered their
power to a liberal, constitutional govern
ment. The common people all received
their lands in fee simple. An able Judiciary
was established, with capable legislatures
and honest administrative officers.
A leading feature of these AmericaniZinS
elements was a grand system of common
IL. e.
has been growing into the present noble
educational system. Originally almost en-
tirely conducted in the Hawaiian tongue,
for twenty-five years past the medium OF
instruction has been English. Most of our
younger Hawaiians as well as Asiatics from
the common schools read American news
papers with facility, and, in fact, get hard
Iy any other to read. Our high schools
are constantly graduating classes into Cali
fornian and eastern universities. And.
withal, we have one of the ablest normal
schools in America, in which normal III
strCctCrs from the mainland are glad to
take special lessons.
Americanization Of Hawaii.
The Americanization of Hawaiian business
and social conditions is as thorough and
complete as possible, subordinating to Itself
the Portuguese and the three Asiatic ele-
ments so numerous here, just as your
crowded masses of Italians and Slavs In
your great cities are wholly subordinated
to American institutions, though ignorant
of the language. Perhaps the most de-
cisiVe test of this condition is the news
paper Our three daily newspapers are in
English, because English is the language
of commerce and of government as well as
of the schools, and the people who do not
read or speak English are left in the back
ground There are Portuguese, japanese
and Chinese weeklies in Honolulu, and per-
haps two Hawaiian weeklies The four
weekly newspapers published on the three
other main islands are all English. Eng
liSl is the language of Hawaii.
Now we ask to be recognized and treated
as Americans, and stop put to any con-
fusing of our conditions with those OF
Forto Rico and the Philippines, You can
never Americanize those islands. Porto
Rico is obstinately Spanish, and will remain
SO, despite all the Jealous efforts of Ameri-
can school teachers upon that mongrel ana
debased population. The Filipinos are Il
conglomeration of many depressed races
and languages upon. whom the American
school teachers will make but trif1ing irn-
preston. Hawaii is already eifectually
Americanized, and stands out conspicuously
in the Pacific as the great headlight toward
the orient of American civilization and
Christianity We have won this noble posi-
ton by eighty-five years of hard and faith
full toll wonderfully favored by circum-
stances or by a supporting Providence. And
now we would loudly voice our claim to
hearty and generous recognition and to lib
eral treatment, such as the President has
recommended to Congress.
Naval and Military Expenditures.
Now, here let me especially point out that
we are not asking Congress to expend here
large sums for military and naval needs,
such as are certain to call for many mil
lions. Those expenditures should not be
made from Hawaiian resources, but should
be drawn from Americas general funds for
such purposes of defense. Hawaii should
not be taxed in order to defend the Pacific
coast You will doubtless need to put from
fifteen to twenty millions into indispensa-
BILE improvements at Pearl Harbor TO make
it impregnable, well a place of repairs
and recruiting for the navy. That is not
for Hawaii to be burdened with. We want
our customs taxation to be employed upon
our own local necessities, to make our
towns what they need to be, to perfect
our roads-and bridges; but, more than any
thing else, to complete noble school
system, which is at the heart of Hawaiian
Americanzation. We want many hundreds
of thousands at once expended on school
houses and teachers dwellings,, both for
common and higher schools.
This educational need is rendered urgent
by the rapidly increasing number of school
children of both Asiatic and Porting uese ex-
traction, who must be Americanized by
49,