The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-01-01
The Most CuriousIy
Governed City, Honolulu

ant Sheriff, who at the present time In
henry Vida. This appointment was not
que TO friction between the Sheriff and
Deputy, but to a desire on the part of
the Sheriff of having a man to assist
MIN over whom he can exercise legal
authority. The present Deputy Sheriff
In Honolulu is j. s. Kalakie.a, a nom
ular Hawaiian native who accepts GER
tain specified duties, and thus does not
bother with the Sheriff and his assis-
tant.
III the tourist would visit the Police
Court while in Honolulu he would find
1t one of the most interesting features
OF the city. Really brutal criminals
are not much in evidence there, for the
people are generally of that peaceable
nature for which the Hawaiian natives
are famous. Occasionally, of course,
there are serious crimes committed, but
the average trial in the Police Court is
of some supplemented person, whose
ignorance, rather than criminal desire,
has caused him to violate the law.
An example of this kind was a Japa-
nese. who was arrested for stealing an
other mans pants. The Japanese who
had lost the garment met a fellow
countryman in the street wearing what
he believed to be his property. He de-
manded possession Of the goods on the
spot. and when they were not delivered
Immediately a fight ensued. and later
the whole thing was explained in the
Police Court.
Arrests for stealing clothes from
family clothes lines are quite common.
1 knew of one native woman who had
her neighbor arrested for hitting one
of her chickens with a stick. The Po-
lice Judge in such cases generally man
ages to straighten matters out and
then advises the contestants in a faith
erly way to avoid future difficulty by
leaving each other entirely alone.
My curiosity was aroused one morn
ing, on entering the office Of the Dep
uty Sheriff, to see him examining two
sewing machines, of the kind made to
be fastened to an ordinary table. Two
native women were standing near, anx-
iously watching him. When I asked
him what he was doing he explained to
me that the women lived in the same
house and had somehow got their ma.
chimes mixed They had decided to let
him determine to whom they respec-
lively belonged.
BY what mental process the women
expected the Deputy Sheriff to identify
each machine would be hard to deter
mine, but as they have a great respect
for the ability of officials it is probable
they would have found no fault with
any decision rendered.
Owing to the cosmopolitan character
Of the inhabitants of Honolulu there Is
a general mixture Of tongues, and for
this reason the Police Department
must have a great variety Of detectives
and interpreters. The languages spoken
are English. Japanese, Korean. Chi
nese, Hawaiian, Portuguese and Span
ish.
Throughout the islands the predomi.
mating race is Japanese. The estimated
population of the Territory Is 10000,
including all classes and races. OF these
$1,000 are Japanese. who perform the
greater amount of work on the planta-
tions. The Japanese born on the is
lands are American citizens, and it is
feared that in time they will be able to
control the politics of the Territory.
At the present time the natives con-
troll the vote of the country, but this is
not detrimental to the interests of the
white people, as the leading Hawaiians
cherish no racial prejudice and are ever
ready to join hands with the Cauca-
SLAMS in promoting the general i'm
provement of local conditions The
Territorial representative in Congress
is a native and he seems to give sat-
isfacton to all classes.-Lionel A.
Johnson.