The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-14
COOKE LIBRARY CORNER
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out of the college funds, as this would
mean retrogression elsewhere, some
thing not to be considered. For fur
nishing the library alone a sum of
$4,000 would be needed, while there
were but five thousand of the fifty
thousand needed volumes on hand.
Punahou students had prospered and
part of their prosperity they owed
to their college.
IN PRAISE OF BOOKS.
Nine of the students then recited
various poetica1 selections in reference
to the value of literature TO mankind
Each of the young men and young
ladies distinguished him or herself in
this part of the program in the excel
lent manner in which they spoke and
the distinctness of their pronunciation,
their voices carrying clearly to the
very outskirts of the large assem-
blage. Those who took part in this
series were the Misses Edith Howard
Smith, Alice May Spalding. Vera May
Damon, Helen Gertrude North and
Alice Levers Hopper, and Messrs.
Charles S. Davis, Rexford H. Hitch
cock, Reynold B. McGrew and John
w. Ballentyne.
A college anthem was then sung by
the Alumni Double Quartet, in which
Messrs. w. F. Dillingham;, Harold Dill
lingham, w H Rabbit. DR.. Judd,
Albert Along and Clifton H Tracy
took part. The anthem had been writ
ten for the occasion, the words being
as follows:
This college has such lovely grounds,
With walks and trees and grassy
mound,
Its buildings large and fine on every
Makes this the school of all the land.
Our presidents numbered all of ten,
Have thought themselves the grandest
men;
We know then why the college thrives.
We're here to lay the corner stone.
For this our brand new library home;
This handsome gift to hold our many
books,
Is from our generous friends the
Cookies.
THE VALUE OF IDEALS.
The celebration of the days event
marking another contribution to the
ideal that education was for all, was
the theme of the address of w. A
Kinney, who in a most interesting way
elaborated on the ideal of freedom Of
opportunity for all classes and the
benefit of such an ideal to a nation.
He compared the condition of the
North and South at the time of the
Civil War, when the rich South, the
land of class, went down before the
educated masses of the relatively
poorer North.
In Hawaii said Mr.. Kinney, 1--WE
have had striking illustration of the
value of ideals in keeping men to the
right track when judgment, reason and
the exigencies of the hour seemed 10
point the other way. Hawaii in de-
veloping the sugar industry committed
herself to what is known as the labor
contract SYSTEM whereby a man
could be imprisoned for failure 10
carry out his contract to perform la
bor- One of our own judges, while
Hawaii was still an independent gov
eminent, declared from the bench that
the contract system was in violation
of the constitutional provision against
involuntary servitude. and all of US
undoubtedly felt that the system need
ed apologies and explanations. At the
same time it was contended with a
force that was very generally accept
ed throughout the country as conc!u-
sive, that the cane industry absolutely
needed the contract labor system, and
without it would go to the wall. It
certainly did seem as if our main in
dustry could be conducted far more
proftably with labor under the con-
troll of such a system than with labor
at liberty to do as it pleased. Yet
that system had received its death
blow and was on it's way to extinc-
ton long before annexation came ami
put formal and legal quietus to its
further continuance. And what sent |
it into a decline and marked it for |
extinction but the fact that it could |
not be reconciled with the ideals and |
ideas upon which the government was
founded? 1t was Incompatible with |
our system of universal education: ii !
was Incompatible with manhood suf-