The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-06-17

Ie1I over from the through steamers
who are wholly unable to secure pas
sage from Honolulu.
At the time of annexation, ten wears
ago. there We're fourteen steamers
available for travel between Honolulu
and San Francisco. Today there are
but nine steamers available for that
travel; and of these three are freight
steamers, the cabin capacity of all
| three not equaling that of one second
class passenger boat
I am informed by the American-Ha-
waiian Steamship Company, which op-
crates two of those steamers. that
those two will be withdrawn at once
and replaced by exclusive freight
steamers.
The result will be that by the end of
this summer, unless this bill is pass
ed we shall have but eight steamers
carrying passengers between Honolulu
and San Francisco, and of these two
are freighters with only limited pas
SenSer equipment.
In other words, Mr. Speaker, Hawaii
will have six less steamers available
for travel at the end of this summer
than she had ten years ago. although
during that time the volume of travel
has increased almost so per cent.
1t is true that the Pacific Mail Com
pany has replaced its old steamers
with new and larger ones, but the vol
ume of travel to the Orient has in
creased SO greatly that there are fire.
quently fewer accommodations avail
able for Hawaii on the big new steam
ers than there were on the smaller
ones ten years ago.
Tourists desiring to visit Hawaii
have so frequently been unable to Sc
cure passage that that class of travel
has greatly fallen off. SO great has
been the decrease of tourist travel that
two of the best and largest hotels in
Honolulu We're compelled to close their
doors last December. One of these no.
tells, the Royal Hawaiian. had been in
continuous and successful operation
for half a century.
Let it be clearly understood in this
House that Hawaii asks no change OF
the law with respect to freight car
riage. We are only asking for the
physical possibility of travel to and
from the mainland.
Hawaii believes in proper protection
to shipping, and we believe in ship
subsidy, but until Congress sees fit to
make such laws as will give US suffi-
cient American passenger boats we are
simply compelled to ask this tempo
rary privilege.
Only a few weeks ago this House
voted almost unanimously to suspend
the coastwise laws as regards the Phil
ippines. that action being taken not
only in the interest of the Fflipinos,
but also of our own export commerce
l am unwilling to believe that this
nation in annexing Hawaii intended
that it should be made less possible
for us to travel back and forth to the
mainland States than was the case
when we We're a foreign nation.
Freedom of intercourse between the
several States and Territories is one
of the fundamental principles OF our
Federal system of government.
An embargo upon travel has never
in our history been levied, save as
stringent war measure, and l do not
believe that the passage of this meas
ure will be taken by any sensible peo-
pie as any assault on the American
shipping laws, but merely a measure
to relieve the practical embargo that
has been created against travel to ana
from Hawaii in overcoming periods.
It is unsound for the opponents OF
this measure to say it is a break in the
American protectorate principle The
strongest advocate of protection has
never held that it should be carried sol
far as to wholly take away the right
to obtain a commodity; yet that IS
precisely what constantly occurs in
Hawaii; for recurring periods of from
one TO three weeks. American citizens
are denied the commodity of travel to,
and freedom of intercourse with, the
mainland of this nation.
The statements made here that this
will turn most of the passenger travel
over to japanese steamers is absurd
and unfounded. There are only three
Japanese passenger steamers calling at
Honolulu, and their rates are $40 and
SIS higher than that charged by either
the Oceanic or the Matson steamers.
The japanese steamers will carry
only the surplus of passengers and
those unable to wait for a later boat.
This measure will not injure any
American steamship company. Every
one knows that the. profits of a steam
ship line are made from freight and
not from passengers; moreover, be-
cause of the increase of travel made
possible by this bill, the number of
passengers using the American steam
ers will not be decreased in the slight
est degree.
Hawaii asks only that as American
citizens they be given reasonable free
dom of travel to and from the nations
mainland. (Applause)
l received this paper yesterday. l
will read clipping from it to show
you what we are up against. 1t is
dated May Is:
ALEX. Robertson VIII Stay Home
Can Not Attend the Convention
in Chicago.
National Committeeman a. G. NJ.
Robertson will not go to the national