The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-02
HAWAIIAN POLITICS MIXED.
BUT NO RECURRENCE or TIE
"SEMIAN' LEGISLATURE.

" Marivea-The Present Delegate 20 Con.
Iress Likely 20 he Returned Again.
Hrs w. sit In / crooked row
|Thinhang Of people, who have the dough;
praaminR Of people we mean 70 do
An complete In q session or two.
Nov We are going to-neN er mind
Brothsr. your hand sticks out. behind.
Az a session Of an early Hawaiian Terri
hcriaI LaRislature-a session full Of rumors
Of RraHt-a newspaper man took advan-
haeo Of q hull In the proceedings to scrawl
the above and pass II across the press
tahls 70 q friend equally idle. In q few
minutes be received the following reply:
Col Maxuna comes charging down:
HIS bright gold eagles food the town,
Ana We stand in for a share of pei.
EAnh dusky brother here for himself.
And the Dell take the hindmost-neve mind
Brother. your hand sticks out behind
The honorable members were reading,
interpreting and wrangling over q lengthy
bin. 90 the original despoiler Of Kipling
had another chance, which he utilized to
reply with this:
All the funds that can ever DO found.
sinners heavy and yellow and rouni--
Rich man, poor man. beggar man, thief
They can all chip In II they'd Just a. licf.
Iss's pretend w~e've-never mind
Brother, your hand sticks out oenfnoi
The politics of Hawaii are full Of enter
tainment, and Of square face, pig and poi.
Square face, be It known. Is the Hawaiian
tsrm for a large, square bottle OF gtn. In
n district on Hawaii island tho other day
A precinct club got together to nominate
n deputy sheriff. The man Of their choice
showed his appreciation in a very practical
way. Eleven Of those who favored him
with the high honor OF their selection were
arrested for disturbing the peace, and the
generous nominee landed in jail for the
larceny Of the pig with which the nom
suators RECALLED themselves.
Politics in Hawaii are also full OF strange
misunderstanding. I'm closing shouted
q well known Hawaiian orator during q
campaign meeting OF the last Bryan effort,
Il ask your support for the party that Is
led by that peerless American, William
Cullen Bryant"
In the midst Of another speakers address
some one shouted for an explanation Of
the meaning Of sixteen to one The
speaker admitted that he couldn't explain
&C and then, by way Of covering up his
embarrassment. he added, Il don't believe
there's any speaker in America that a
explain Just what il means
Ladies and gentlemen began a whits
speaker who was new to the game and was
\ candidate for assessor. Loud cries from
The rear Of -maikai' (good) -~welakahao'
khot stun, and good haole' (whiSe).l
ladies and gentlemen-the speaker halted
La more or less pleased embarrassment,
lglad over the applause but lacking a good
platform presence. Heaven knew he did
not need the presence, for far back in the
Rear was a happy gang boss, who in some
mysterious way was able to cause a large
hection Of the audience to indulge in out
bursts Of utterly irrepressible enthusiasm.
Il am the regular party nominee for
hssessors' continued the speaker, and
This was in English and the speaker paused
while IL was interpreted by the Hawaiian
who stood by him for the purpose Of inter-
lprettng. There were moro wild bursts OF
applause. AS a candidate for assessor I
pledge myself to a fair and honest and
Impartial administration Of the Office. My
personal interests are here and here I hope
To live and die. l shall treat the poor an
kich alike. There will be no favoritism
while l am In Office
Every one has heard such speeches but
Nhunders Of applause were aroused. The
Interpreter was better than his principal.
I'm q Wild flow OF Hawaiian he informed
the listeners Of the candidates pledge to
|see that Hawaiians were not taxed. The
candidate does not know to this day what
fhe promised.
The first Territorial election Hawaii had
tresulted in q sweeping Home Rule, or ma
tive, victory. One native introduced an
lact to repeal certain Federal laws. Then
There was the optimistic Hawaiian who
introduced an act to provide that the price
tot fish shall be 10 cents a pound, the man
who gravely and vehemently attacked the
kTerrttortal board OF health for compelling
{or allowing post-mortems, and, in the course
(pf his eloquent address, insisted that there
Twas no known case in which a deceased had
3boen benefited thereby. As q sort OF
iciinax q white legislator sarcastically ex-
lpressed his view Of the session by giving
fnotice OF an act to prevent q recurrence
Pf high tides at Lahaina.
Ill This Legislature was a distinct failure.
1ts speeches in the Hawaiian language
/, fwere interminable. With a terrible severity
tof criticism under which all the members
WINGED q Honolulu newspaper compared
the members to Kipling's Banderlogs and
then followed a cartoon in a contemporary,
picturing them as monkeys in a tree and
beneath Il a~'paraphrase Of the Kipling
rhymes with the ending: Now we are going
to-never mind, brother, your tail hangs
down behind" Finally when the end was
near an evening paper headed its account
words Passing OF the Simians,' and there
was trouble. The House rose In It's wrath
End threatened to expel the press, but no
hction was taken.
A contrast to this was Hawaii's last leg
lslative assemblage. It's record will GER
tainly CHALLENGE comparison with the Amer
lean average. 1t accomplished a vast amoun
OF needed l~awmaking, notably the passing
pf a county government act which has
stood LEGAL testing. 1t was a Legislature
practically without a scandal. While Ha-
wallis nearest neighbor, California, was
sending Senators TO Jail, while from many
States came reports Of graft and the 40
counts Of freak bills HawAii's little Legis-
lature Of mixed Hawaiians and whites
spent its DAYS in orderly procedure, fin
fshed its work and adjourned. True, IL had
fights with the Governor and IL had its
Investigations" that savored Of personal
Animus and perhaps of holdups, but IL
made a record that will not suffer In com
paTison with Americas average.
The reform was undoubtedly worked IN
large part by the criticisms and ridicule
heaped upon the first legislature and by
the organization Of a Republican party,
: br machine. which routed Home Rule on
every island. The Oratory in the first House
was made so much fun Of that the succeed
tnR statesmen curbed their natural powers
kof eloquence and tried to stick to business.
Every Hawaiian is an orator, every long
bhoreman on a Honolulu waterfront can
mount a soap box and make a speech with
b dow Of language that would be the despair
M N .~A wse . ---IG Il