The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-06-24
Mr.. PROSSER
HOME AGAIN
Shocked in California
and Informed in
Washington.

Deputy Attorney General Prosser,
fresh from earthquake and other ex-
periences in San Francisco, arrived by
the transport Crook yesterday, and was
greeted with the information on land
ing that the Wallach case, which he is
to try, was set for this morning at 10
O'Clock.
"The first earthquake occurred in
the night says Prosser. alt was dis
tinct and no misSaking. It almost
shook me out of bed. The second one
was about 10 O'Clock in the morning.
There was no mistaking that either.
You could feel the house rising and
falling, and cracking in thousand
places. But it doesn't feaze those San
Franciscans Within ten minutes I was
assured it wasn't an earthquake, but
an explosion of the Santa Clara powder
works.
Gone of the stories I heard in con-
neetion with this earthquake was that
a real estate broker was just closing
the sale of a house at Palo Alto to an
easterner when the earthquake oc-
CURED. Of course there was no hope
of getting the mans money if the
impression remained on his mind that
it was an earthquake. The broker was
equal to the occasion. That must have
been an explosion of the powder works,
he said, ard went at once to the tele-
phone. He pretended to call up some
one and as if repeating what he heard
over the phone said, Explosion of the
Santa Clara powder works, eha Don t
know how many hurt, but feared 1t
is a great many. That's too bad; any
thing I can doa Sending physicians
and nurses there, eh7 Rumor that
thirty-six were killed2 Ism It it awful
and a lot more like that, and, on the
strength of the impression he created,
he completed the DEAL I can't vouch
for the story but it sounds just like
they talk in San Francisco.
ssIn Washington I had a talk with
Assistant Attorney General Hoyt about
the cases now before the Supreme Court
in which the Territory is interested.
There are several. of them, among them
the case involving the taxation of the
franchise of the Rapid Transit Rail
way. Assistant Attorney General Hoyt
said that he thought the Territory had
pursued a very niggardly policy IN
the past in regard to appeals, with
disadvantage to its own interests. His
theory in erect is, that if a case is
important enough to appeal, it is i'm
portant enough to spend the necessary
money to have it properly presented.
His idea is either that we ought to
hire capable attorneys in Washington
to properly present the matter, or else
send some one from Hawaii to do it.
His idea was that the latter was pre-
ferable In case from the Terri
tory before the Supreme Court he said,
we don It need to bother about pre-
senting the law. The Justices of the
Supreme Court know all the law there
is. But what is needed is some one
to present the facts as they have arisen
out of local conditions; someone who
can tell them story of the case, why
it arose at ALL Hoyt said that II we
had had some one to present the La
a
tory would have won it. The Lana
inaluna case was decided the day be-
fore I got to Washington.
''I expected to be admitted to prae-
tiee sfore the Supreme Court, but the
cou adjourned the day before | got
thel j, for two weeks, and had left
before that. made arrangements with
Mr.. Hoyt to look out for all the cases
in which we are interested until we
can make arrangements for their pre-
sentation.
ssI had splendid trip. The spring
followed us from the time. we landed
in San Francisco until we left. There
was only one day on which I did not
wear my overcoat.. When l first got
to the Coast I made coaching trip
through northern California. [ was
there in the season when God paints
his own colors in the vegetation and
appearance of that region. We went
eest by way of New Orleans and then
up to the jamestown Exposition, and
Washington, and to New York. we
came back by way of Niagara .Falis
and the Denver and Rio Grande Rali-
way. I saw the Royal Gorge as 1t IS
probably seen not more than once IN