The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1906-09-21
MINISTER'S REPLY
TOTHE ADVERTISER
Honolulu. Sept. 10. 1906

Honolulu, Sept. 10. 1906.
Editor Advertiser; Our appreciation
Of the Advertiser IA reform agent
In the community makes us regret the
necessity OF complaining. But. anent
your editorial In this mornings paper
headed Boxing Contests" we beg leave
to deny your implication that we 'ab-
solutely refuse to help abate the cry
ing evils OF the town" and that while
doing so we misuse our opportunity by
making fierce onslaught on the
lesser evil' of prize-fighting. We are
tolerating in the way of evil only what
we believe we have. to. We are handi-
capped in many directions through lack
OF laws or through lack of officials
who are willing to enforce them. Give
US the law as we have 1t on prize-fight-
ing, and an official who will be true
to his oath in enforcing the law, as Mr..
Breckons has promised to do when we
have lodged with him our written pro-
test against the continuance of prize
fighting, and you will find out whether
If there is any move we can make by
which these greater evils can be as as
suredly stopped as the one of which we
have complained, will you not please
point the way? We will sincerely
thank you for enlightening us and thus
helping us toward the attainment of a
coveted goal.
THE LESSER EVIL" IDEA.
But, pray, why do you cry out against
our disposition to stop even "lesser
evil' which can be stopped. untn we
have slenced all the greater evils, re-
CARELESS of whether the probability of
being able to silence them lies in the
immediate or remote future? If this be
your admonition it Is quite different
from that you gave the Anti-Saloon
League when you urged that they &C
cept Local Option and High License as
their war cry rather than Prohibition,
because it was better to secure a pos
sible good than attempt an impossible
best. Isn't it prima facie evidence OF
the weakness of any mans cause when
he has to begin his defense of 1t by
pointing out that there are lot of
worse things in the world which should
first have been put on the defensive?
But your charge that these worse evils
pass us unchallenged except in an
academic way would hardly have been
made If you had been attending our
meetings.
THE REPRESENTATIVE CITIZEN
IDEA.
1t Is true, as you say, that some OF
our representative citizens attend the
prize-fights. 1t is also true that some
of these representative citizens have no
hesitation in acknowledging that they.
along with others prominent In terri
torial life, are given to gambling.
Therefore, to wink at thing because
representative citizens give 1t the
weight of their example would mean
the undoing of all the excellent work
the Advertiser has done during the past
year in its anti-gambling crusade.
LESS BRUTAL THAN FOOTBALL.
You defend prize-fghting on the
ground that it is much less brutal than
football You no doubt are aware that
a strong sentiment has developed re-
Gently in the football colleges them
selves against football because of its
brutality, and because of the gambling
it provoked. Why encourage In the
community any brutality whatever? 1t
is because there is no law on football
that it isn't stopped. But even in the
laws absence some Of the schools have
declared against 1t and others are in a
fair way to do so.
THE BETTING FEATURE.
You cite the attitude of Mr.. Withing-