The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-12-02
REPLY TO CONK[ING
BY SECY. COOPER

III J[UI. UUUTLn
Acting Secretary w. j. Cooper, in his
current weekly letter to the Hawaii
Promotion Committee, discusses the
criticisms of Treasurer Conkling and
others relative to the propaganda Of
Hawaiian information as follows:
In newspaper interview published
several days ago, Hon. ID. Lloyd Conk-
ling, Territorial Treasurer is report
ed to have commented at some length
on the general ignorance throughout
the East en- matters Hawaiian, and to
have stated that during his recent en-
tire trip he did not see a folder or
other bit of Hawaii Promotion Com
mittee literature in any hotel or rail-
way station. This may seem to be
an Indictment against our work, but it
isn't.
| could have told Mr.. Conkling before
he started East, that he would not be
able to find our printed matter in the
locations he mentions, excepting that
he should have been able to discover
some in the Pacific Coast cities. We
are not making a general distribution
elsewhere, not that it might not prove
valuable to do so, but because we have
not the financial means to do it.
Every few days some one calls at our
Office with an idea on the dissemina-
ton of facts concerning Hawaii. AL
most all, however, are plans for a
wider distribution of our printed mat
ter, and while some of them are new
to us, and l am only too glad to have
this evidence that our citizens are
giving some thought to the work of
advertising Hawaii Mel, the point |
want to make is that the field to be
covered is not the obscure feature, but
getting of material to distribute, and
the expense incident to this distribu-
ton.
AS an instance in question, an en-
thusiastic fraternity man came to me
the other day with a proposition like
this. The order which he had in nina
claims over half a million members.
1t should not be difficult to secure
through the secretaries of the various
branch lodges an approximately COM
plete list of all these names, with adj
dresses. Now in this particular Or
der there is an unusually large num-
Der of persons of means who are in
the habit of travelling, and a circular
letter to every member of the order,
accompanied by some of our folders,
would no doubt reach a very large
number of persons who would be in
terested Now all this looks very
good, but this is what l had to show
my enthusiastic friend He had new
er counted on the expense, and was
somewhat startled by such figures as
these:
Postage q cents on 100000
pieces Observation-Disclosures. $40, 600
100000 folders at 2 cents each
(our latest folders cost over
this amount. ..........,...... 10000
Envelopes, at $500 per NJ. 1900
S2l, 800
This total does not include anything
for circular letters, which were sug-
gested, nor for clerical work in adj
dressing and stamping-a very con-
siderable job.
I 1t would be very easy to have our
folders displayed in practically every
railway station, and every hotel in
the United States, provided we hac
, the means to pay for the material and
, the distribution. Wen organized com.
: panies control the racks in these places
: all over the country, and are thorough
ly reliable and conscientious in theii
work. We, however, only patronizC
one, and that one hadles our folders
I very we'll the larger cities of the
Pacific Coast. We get some very gooC
free service, however, from some of the
big tourist agencies and transporta
ton agencies, which find it to their ad
vantage to make use of our matter ii
encouraging travel. Thus / am quite
sure that had Mr.. Conkling visited tn,
offices Of Thos. Cook & Son, in any
of the Eastern cities, he could have
secured very compete data on Ha
wall. The same would have been true
of the numerous offices of the Ray