The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-08-07
PARADISE PARAGRAPHS
BY WILL SABIN.

Who would have thought that two
bit pocket-knife would end the strike?
Some innocent usually suffers to bring
light out of darkness, and, in the case
of the local Japanese anarchism, Edi-
tor Sheba of the Hawaii Shinpo is the
martyr, scooping all his enemies VINO
prated so much of willing martyrdom.
While the crocodile tears of Maxine
and his crew are bathing the wounds
of Sheba, it may be some consolation
to that Hawaiian Hearst to know that
he has played the Heuey act, stricken
down in the act of fighting graft. II
every Hawaiian Japanese was Sheba
these islands would in truth be the
Paradise of Pacific.
\ \
In Honolulu whisperland there are
those who draw close to your nigh ear
and, grimacing toward some unsus-
pecting acquaintance, confide to you
most profoundly that he is United
States secret service man. Rest as
sured that your informant is endeavor-
ing to appear wise or is afflicted with
paranoea. Secret service men, usually,
are not forced to stay in Honolulu long
enough to become afflicted with the
confidential habit.
y y 4
Negoro is no guru!
, y 4
l love my husband, but, oh, you
motorman!
There's a mouldy custom with the
police which prevents a newspaper man
interviewing a prisoner, ordinarily, a
custom which probably originated g
few years back when Hawaii didn't
know whether she was an independent
monarchy, a Japanese colony, or an
almost-American transitionary, and the
Jail was chiefly occupied by newspaper
men who dared to speak their minds
and wl&, therefore, were not allowed
to be seeQ by other newspaper men.
However the barbarous custom origin
ated, nowadays it is worth almost a
reporters souls salvation to dare to
ask to see a man after said man has
been arrested and cast into a dungeon.
There seems to be an inbred fear that
trained reporter might find out some
fact for which the police department
or the official criminologist or the At
, torney Generals Office might not get
credit. Now, with all due respect to
reporter, a representative of news
paper story ever spoil a prosecution?
For heasens sake, let us be human!
Mort stabs Sheba and is jailed A
reporter, a representative, of a news
paper and therefore a representative
of the public against whom Mort is al
legged to have committed crime, ASKS
permission to interview the prisoner.
Eyes pop out; hands go up in holy
horror, and the reporter is thought
either crazy or looking for trouble,
And yet when it is asked why he may
not see the prisoner, what is the re-
ply? BECAUSE 1T WOULD NAT BE
ACCORDING TO THE CUSTOM"
For a man of Sheriff Jarrett's purity
of mind, magniticence OF physique
honesty of purpose, daring courage and
good, broad, sane, healthy common
sense to be compelled through custom
to give such an answer, is heartrendine
in the extreme A prejudiced attor-
ney, prejudiced in favor of the prisoner
because he is retained to defend him
may see the accused, but an unpre-
JUDGED newspaper man, who goes
neither to blame nor to compliment
but seeks unadulterated impressions
and information, may not speak OF
even look upon the man behind the
bars at least until Tom Dick and Harry
have seen him and there is then notn-
ing to be gained by an interview. Thus
is the public cheated of an unprecedented
account of how the prisoner appears
acts, conducts himself, and what hi
says.
Whom do the police serve but the