The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1906-02-20

at,orr y general Of tho rcp,lbilc befor
annexation. and r. one OF the foreinoa
men IN Hawaiian public anairs Oeorr
W. Smith is president OF the BOARD o
Supervisors OF oahu county IN whici
Honolulu H. situated As there Il n,
municipality II Honolulu Mr.. smith Il
thus practically the chief executive o
the metropolis Of the Territory. He Il
also president u the Merhants' Asso.
citation OF Honolulu. a position he IA.
he'd FOR three years. and takes a prom.
inent part IN public affairs. He is a
member Of the firm u Benson. smit,
Co. wholesale druggists, In Homo
lulu
Mark +. Robinson. one OF the most
prominent men OF Hawaiian blood IN
the Territory. is leading capitals;
and vice president OF the First Nation
al Bank Of Honolulu. j. r. Gait il
treasurer of the Hawaiian Trust Com
rary the largest trust company In the
I Territory, and a member OF the Cham
/ Der OF Commerce. Z. A. McInerny Is
d a dry goods merchant and a member
| OF the Merchants Association. n. II
Case is county attorney for the island
of Maui, and A. b. Loebenstein. of the
island of Hawaii. is a civil engineer
and successful real estate dealer
The commission expects to be called
before the House Committee on Terri
tories the latter part of the week and
afterward before the Senate Committee
on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico. In
speaking OF the object the commission
seeks to accomplish, Chairman w. o.
Smith said:
REQUEST UNPRECEDENTED
I'VE are here to make an unprece-
dented request, but we hope to have II
granted. because the situation in Ha-
wall is unique and because the nation
at large is more deeply concerned in
1t than the people of Hawaii them
selves. The total income of the Terri
tory is S2,400.000. one-half of which is
taken out of the country entirely in
the form of customs duties and in
ternal revenue. The balance is not
sufficient to run the government We
have been obliged to borrow more than
sS,cOOOOO to pay for public improve
ments urgently needed. We need
roads. bridges. wharves. schools, public
buildings, harbor work, and light !
houses.
Other States and Territories have !
had immense grants of public lands
given them for the support of schools. !
The Territory of Hawaii has no pub
Tic lands to give the schools, so we
think we are entitled to aid in some
other form for educational purposes.
We have no Federal buildings at
all, though we need them. and hope the
fact will be recognized.
A great deal of harbor work is urg-
emily needed. Honolulu according to
Col. Hepburn, will become the greatest
port of call i'm the world as soon as the
Panama Canal is completed Even
without the canal, Honolulu would at
tain that rank, because of it's position
IN the ocean, which destiny seems to
have selected as the theater for the
great events Of the immediate future.
At present the harbor is scarcely deep
enough for the largest vessels. An ex-
'enditure of 100000 has been author
l2ed for dredging the harbor. and $780,
,OO more Is needed. Besides this w,
need more and better wharves. AL
.ogether, slo0O,0O0 could be expended
o great advantage on the harbor of
WANT PORT AT HILO.
'Hilo, the principal port of Hawaii,
he largest island of the group, needs
breakwater and better wharf facu-
ties. Three hundred thousand dollars
'ould be expended there to good pur- ;
pose. There is already one line in
operation from Hilo to San Francisco, ,
ma number OF tramp steamers find ,
heir way there. In should be borne Z
n mind that the harbor improvements I
We ask for are not for the benefit of /
he international commerce of the
Whole country. Interisland traffic is
in small steamers, for which {
present facilities are insufficient. In I
ernatlonal commerce also requires
more lighthouses. Those we have are
lot only entirely insufficient in num- I &
Ter, but inferior in quality. :
"A generous appropriation could be I
expended on a quarantine station at I
honolulu, to the great benefit OF the y
'aclhc Coast in particular and of the Y
alton in general. For instance IL 4
Inspected cases of plague or something a
I that sort should develop in the G
teerage of one of the liners from Yo- {
the whole lot of steerage pas @
engers could be disembarked at Homo y
ilu quarantine station for observation.
nile the steamer could continue on
er voyage, the results OF the observa- 4
Ions being cabled to her destination. a
nus from two to seven days deten- I
ION at San Francisco could be avoid X
d. and in the case OF large steamer
MS is no small item. r
But most important Of all to the n
alton at large, Hawaii is the kew TO r.
ne Pacific In military as wen as "
ommercial sense. Without Hawaii as 4
base the invasion of the Pacific O
cast by hostile fleet would be i'm II
ossible. No warship built could ever
perate against the Pacific Coast from ir
lie nearest port, because II could not Il
airy coal enough. When Hawaii was c,
republic Its strength lay in it's help n
ssness. But 1t is now "A part OF the II
hited states, and that is a very diff Il
rent matter. AT the present time the Il
lands are utterly defenseess.
PROTECTION NEEDED "
There are considerable quantities OF
wal supplies on the island of oahu