The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1909-05-25
By Ernest G. walker.


WASHINGTON, May s.-George w.
Woodruff of this city and Pennsyl-
vania will probably be confirmed as
additional Judge of Hawaii. The Sem
ate Judiciary Committee is making an
inquiry as to his qualifications"
which member of the committee
said today was the usual proceeding
when judicial nomination was re.
fcrred there.
Certain members of the committee
have a hesitancy about approving the
nomination, but 1t remains a question
whether this could properly be STYLED
opposition. 1t may develop into that.
and yet in the course of a week or
two Mr.. Woodruff may be confirmed
with very general approval of the Sem
ate. He has himself shown a little
uneasiness about the matter, because
he has been consulting with some of
his friends and has visited the Senate
committee room. How much weight
the protest Of the Hawaiian bar and
OF the Territorial House of Represen.
tatives will have, is uncertain. The
committee has not yet examined those
papers, which were forwarded to the
committee by the Department of JUS
tice. 1t has been stated that certain
Western Senator's on the Judiciary
Committee feel little unfriendly to
Mr.. Woodruff because of his part as
Assistant Attorney General at the In
terror Department in furthering the
policy of withdrawing public lands
from entry and placing them in forest
reserves.
Question, ora .at.a.
Woodruffs experience such as would
fit him for judge, but, after all, 1t
is felt that he will be confirmed and
that the committee report will be in
favor of him.
The Honolulu Postmastership.
Postmaster General Hitchcock said
today that it would be quite time
before the nomination of postmaster
at Honolulu is'made. In fact, no NOM
nation can be expected, in all proba-
bility, for several months. The pur-
pose of the department is to allow
Postmaster Pratt to serve for while
and to see how the situation devel.
ops. This is to be a sort of proba-
ton period for Postmaster Pratt. n
he makes good showing in the office
midable candidate appears, he proba-
bly, will be renominated. AS nearly
all the representative people of Homo
lulu appear to have endorsed Mr.
Pratt, it is thought here to be I'M
likely that any new candidate of any
particular strength will appear. The
officials of the Postoffice Department
claim that Postmaster Pratt has been
careless in some instances in the man
agement of his office. The case of the
clerk who opened letters and never
brought them to Mr.. Pratts attention
might be overlooked IL there were not
other matters that are cited as bear
ing out the charges of carelessness.
At least once there was trouble over
the money-order accounts. This did
not reflect in the slightest upon Mr..
Pratt's integrity, but, to the minds of
postoffice officials, demonstrated that
he was not administering his office up
to the standards approved by the de-
partment.
The fact that Mr.. Pratt is so high
ly esteemed by the people of Honolulu
and that they are so generally asking
for his reappointment will apparently
go long way eventually toward CIV
ing him the office for another four
years.
Dredging at Pearl Harbor.
Admiral Hollyday chief of the Blu
reau of Yards and Docks declared to-
day that the progress of the dredging
at Pearl Harbor was entirely satisfac-
tory to him and to the department,
as far as anything thus far known
here is concerned. He made this state
ment in reply to inquiries about ru-
mors that difficulties have arisen |
which have been the occasion of much |
correspondence by mail and cable with |
Washington. 1t was reported that the |
government had objected to paying |
seventy cents per cubic yard for GER
tain dredging, on the plea that the |
price should be but eleven cents a |
yard. and also that there mad been
trouble over the bonds that the Ha-
waiian Dredging Company has given
for the proper performance of the
work.
There has been considerable cor !