The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1906-08-17

lbiibhAhE lNHit'ihh'i' NNNat ~
PEARS in the Hawaii shinpo:
THE statement of Kamitani, publisl
ed in herein below, discloses some yer
remarkable proceedings, assuming 1t I
be the truth. 1t means that the Ui
,linary machinery Of the law is wors
than useless for n Japanese, for If MI
Kamitani had suffered in silence as
victim of burglary he would hav
been much better off. The result o
his appeal to the police is term il
prison for himself, the expense of get
ting bail, two years prevention of
trip to his home, and the loss of al
the personal effects he had with hin
when arrested. The outrage extends
over the terms of more than one heat
both of the police and attorney gen
eral s departments, so it would seem
to be quite an established customary
way of handling such matters.
Kamitani g place was burglarized in
December, 1903. 1t was May, 1905,
when, after he had been told that the
burglar had been caught, after he had
been arrested and detained as a wit
ness because he was talking of answer
ing a summon to visit dying mother
in Japan, Kamitani was told that the
ease was pau,-presumably it was nolle
pressed Then, repairing to the police
station to get his "things' he is sent
back and forth from police station to
circuit court and to attorney general 's
department, and finally all departments
fail to find the things at all. They are
supposed to be still trying, two and
half years after the case started.
1t is another case of Japanese be-
ing forced to appeal to his consul in
an attempt to get ordinary justice.
There was nothing else for Mr.. Kami-
tani to do, and nothing for the consul
to do but write letter of inquiry, the
answer to which was that a search was
being made.
Japanese who have heard of Mr.. Ka-
mitani 8 experience will be slow to in
woke the aid of law as it is enforced
in Honolulu. The sufferer, it seems, is
not the criminal but the man who
lodges complaint against him. Yet
Japanese are urged to "respect the
law" and as naturally law abiding
people they try to do so. But it is
dangerous to fool with police sys-
TEN that is the sort of buzzsaw Kami.
tani found it to be. Mr.. Kamitani
would probably rather be burglarized
again than ask for the protection of
the Honolulu authorities.
KAMITANI IS LETTER.
To Mr.. C. Shiozawa,
Editor of the Hawaii Shinpo: On
the night of December 20, 1903, a bur
glary was committed on my premises
and was robbed of tailoring goods to
the extent of three hundred dollars
worth. The robbing was duly report
ed by me next morning to the police.
Nothing, however, was heard of it until
April 12, 1904, when, during my abb
sence at the island of Maui, detective
McDuffy came to my shop and report
ed that the perpetrator had been ar
rested, of which fact | was Informed
by my men ON the 18th of the same
month upon my return to the city.
Thereupon on the 18th, presented my
self at the police station, only to be
told to go to the circuit court. Di-
rectly L repaired to the court where /
was told to call again next day, which,
of course, l respected. The next day
and the day following i received the
same order, and thus there was moth
ing doing until the visit was repeated
in like manner for at least half a
dozen times or more, when, one day,
the officials condecended to hear my
how / was robbed.
Then and there | was told to go home
and wait till was summoned. Again
nothing was heard several months.
Becoming impatient of the silence,
/ resorted to the court several times to
find out how the matter stood, hut on
ly information / was able to gather
Interpreter Yamada was that
the Attorney General Greatly felt sor-
ry for me for this unusual delay and