Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-12-23

Inc olbull' N'i VI lht itiIltoiS
OF Hawaii Is in process of amend.
ment by the Congress of the United
States.
If there is any citizen of Hawaii,
now in the Islands, who knows what
these amendments are or how far
reaching they may be in shaping our
future, he has failed TO make himself
heard.
All the information to date Is OBJ
tanned from private letter from q
Cabinet officer that the bill has been
introduced and the hearings begun,
This is definite.
The Acting Governor has given
out extracts from Governor Frear's
letter outlining amendments that he
intended to incorporate in bill to
amend the act
In this indefinite detail given out
by the Acting Governor Is contained
railroad-bond-guarantee provision
which has received the disapproval OF
all but one of the Advisory Land Com
mission. The people generally in the
Territory know nothing of 1t.
All this business. of the most Sc
rious and vital import to the present
and future of this Territory, is going
on before the United States Congress
and even the copy of the bill. or pre-
liminary draft, has not been seen in
Honolulu.
What does this mean?
Is this not a case of the Territory
of Hawaii being governed, rather
than governing itself?
Isn't there involved in the prog
ress of events one of the most seriout
situations the. Territory OF Hawaii
has ever facedN
WHO WANTS THE ORGANIC
ACT AMENDED?
WHO CALLED FOR THE RAIL.
ROADS OF THIS TERRITORY to be
put on the basis of the railway en-.
terprises of the PHILIPPINES?
WHERE does the command for the
changes come from, and WHO is to
pay the fiddler II this gay and merry
dance winds up in such radical up.
heaval of the Organic Act that even
the Governor will have to admit that
the whole thing has gone farther
than he expected and he wished he
hadn't gone into the affair?
The question involved Is u momen.
tous one of public policy.
The amendments outlined by Act.
ing Governor Mott-Smith are numer,
Gus enough to suggest a general re.
vision of the Organic Act.
WHO HAS EVER HEARD that
there WAS TO BE a general revision
of our Organic Act AT THIS CON-
GRESSIONAL SESSION? What bus.
mess bodies, what legislative bodies,
what Real or assumed representatives
, of the people have been consulted re-
garding the POLICY OR DETAIL OF
4 GENERAL REVISION?
II the Advisory Land Commission
is cited as one consulted. WHY Is
1T that, included in this volunteer
revision is one of the provisions to
which each member of the Commits,
sion, with one exception, was op.
posed?
WHO PUT THAT AMENDMENT
IN THE BILL? And why?
The whole thing, as 1t has thus far
proceeded, is based on wrong meth.
DDS and mistaken ideas OF govern
ment. ...
So far as this paper Is concerned
the railroad-bonding scheme looks
fairly good on the face of it. except
that the Territory should be the
suarantor OF the bonds II the prin-
ciple is to be recognized and adopted
Hawaii is not possession.
Just at the present. time. the wis.
dom or folly of this particular item
lie secondary to the fact that our laws
are being made for us and we, the
people, the common herd, the sub.
jects of the regal and yiceregal es.
Enlistment that might be-but we
hope is not yet-don't know any
thing about 1t. And. according to the
manner in which the game has beer
played up to date are not supposed
to know, or at least are to be the las,
ones Informed and consulted.
Whether Governor Frear is the in
ventor of this new system of govern
ment we don't know.
His utterances contrary have beer
such that the Bulletin will moi
charge him with the responsibility
until all the facts point to him as tn,