The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-01-09
HAWAII FIGHT
FOR PROHIBITION


are against INTERVIEWED hospitality in
all its possible and delightful forms,
when almost any tourist and an in
creasing number of soldiers and sailors
would testify that they drink because
they run up against the goods and the
custom rather than because they seek
to do it.
The white population is small, intel
ligent, reputable, prosperous and bene-
VIOLENT but greatly weakened in it's
political influence by a certain South
sea, unconscious observation-disclosures
which. along with a splendid inherit
ance of good blood, good sense, good
training and good fortune, has come
down from missionary times; and
paralyzed, in it's political efficiency, by
intermarriages Long contemplation
of the immoralities of the natives has
induced a prevalent strabismus in the
whites, as to immoralities of their own,
and civic courage has gone glimmering
IN a mesh work of afIinities and CON
sanguinities The basest job-chaser is
likely to be son-in-law or brother-in-
law to the best and the cleanest, the
wine and spirit merchant is likely to
be cousin to the deacon, and the brew
cry stock spreads like the Russian
thistle through the assets of the pious.
All this. of course, is fatal to clean
administration, but only for the time
being for a sounder substratum of good
character than there is here is no.
where. The federal and territorial Of
ficials have been and are with rare
exceptions, men OF unblemished inte-
gritty, but the county and city organt-
cations are molasses barrels to the
blue-bottle flies of tainted politics.
Il The native mind, white society is
missionary society, and the inconsist-
.ency of missionary preaching with
missionary" practice is the pons ash
norum of native progress. In the old
missionary days the chiefs were abso-
lutte and the people something worse
than serfs. The teachings of the mis-
sionaries took strong hold of the king
and the chiefs, with such effect tina;
the islands came by fiat under COM
plete prohibition, more than half a cen
fury ago and even the great chiefs
poured out their fluid deviltry upon the
sand. Then crime and disorder all bat
disappeared and the wonderful little
,christendom enjoyed it's golden age.
kfterward came the constitution, with
representative government, freehold
lands and the seven-devilness of a re-
instated liquor trade, and finally, Anne
rican rule, with moneyism, partyism
and the infamous doctrines that
saloons and slums and crimes are nor
NAL symptoms of human liberty.
The missionaries" were relatively,
as unfit for suffrage as the natives.
They had learned to think of them
selves as wheat kernels in bins of cnaff
and before they had quite awakened
to the phenomenon that what seemed
shucks to them was grain too, the poll
tical liquor dealer had pre-empted the
mill site.
| 1t is land of principle and of good
department, but the only conviction
could see that was redhot and ready
for the anvil was that the natives are
amiable, unstable and desperately in
need of temperance work. But the
natives not only bear the brunt of the
| liquor evil they have the votes by
which to Danish it. The population OF
the islands is about 900 of which
there are native Hawaiians $4,000
whites $4,000, Chinese $4,000 japanese
81 900 and few thousand negroes and
Porto Ricans. OF the orientals only
those born here are entitled to vote.
l visited several conventions of ma
tive ministers and found them very
intelligent as to conditions and very
receptive as to ways and means. My
Interpreter was the Rev. Stephe1
Desha, a half-white grandson of the
old governor of Kentucky, a man o.
power in whose glorious eloquence my
small speeches became sheaves o.
thunderbolts, whereat my pleasure
was made humble and my humility
pleasant, But the problem was t.
reach the native masses. According
ly, at the time this letter is writer
l am en- route around Robin Hoods
historic barn to the ballot box Wis
the schoolhOuse.
Armed with permission from the ter
ritorial superintendent of public in
struction l have spent eight days cir
COMMUNICATING this island of Oahu, il
road wagon, and speaking in ever!
public school on the island about hov
to mix drinks and good gray matter
to produce success in life.
l skip the landscape My descrir
tive apparatus is hors de scenery. w,
have looked and wondered and ez
claimed, until no natural beauty be
gets any reaction in us. We set GU
on Wednesday morning, along tn
southwest coast, by Mauna Loa an
Pearl harbor, up to the plain tina
forms the center of the island an
spent the first night in the midst Q
tho nina annIa cOuntrv ot VJobia u,s