The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-08-09
Mkt SAITO KING.
SAYS JAPANESE
Chief Clerk Mathes0n Finds
Political History Hazy
on Hawaii.

The young japanese who are grow
ing up in Hawaii and who, by their
eagerness to take out certificates of Ha-
swaiian birth, are expressing their ap-
probation of the fact that they are
entitled to call themselves citizens of
the United States of America, are be-
fore long going to constitute an import
ant factor in politics and cast a vote
which must be considered, according TO
the opinion expressed by R. o. Mathe-
son, chief clerk Of the Territory.
Mr.. Matheson returned Saturday on
the Mauna Kea from ten days trip
to and about the island of Hawaii
where he was engaged in examining
applicants for certificates of Hawaiian
birth. He registered 27S applicants,
and states that there are at least 500
more applicants on the Big Island and
about 1000 who are eligible to regis
tration All the males will, when they
become of age, be entitled to cast their
ballots in the elections, and as there
are proportionate numbers on the other
islands of the group, the Japanese vote
some day is going to be a heavy one.
OF those who have been examined or
who have applied for examination for
Hawaiian birth registry, at least nine
out of ten are boys.
Mr.. Matheson found that the ma
jority of the applicants, especially those
who are of school age and who have
been attending the public schools of the
Territory, have pretty good idea of
our system of government and are fair
~ well posted on both national and ter
ritorial conditions and forms of govern
ment. But some amusing exceptions
were found, particularly among the
older Japanese who were examined
Most of the applicants were under ten
years of age, but a considerable num-
Der ranged from IS up to 20. The old
est one examined was %.
Some of the Japanese of Hawaii have
been here many years, often having
come to Honolulu and gane hence to
some plantation, where they have re.
manned constantly ever since. As
consequence some of them have no no.
tion at all of what sort of a country
this is OF of what our system of govern
ment IS
Who is the President of the United
Statesa'' Mr.. Matheson asked one man
George Washington, was the
startling reply.
One old chap who said that he came
to the islands twenty-four years ago
was asked who was the king of Hawaii
when he landed.
Mkt Saito,' he replied
Some of the japanese have failed to
keep up with the progress of their own
country and do not realize that in the
years since they left the Chrysanthe-
mum kingdom new ideas have crept in,
the sons of Nippon have fallen away
from the hero worship which once set
the Mikado upon a pedestal behind the
silken curtain that yelled the Holy Of
Holes and endowed him with super
human attributes.
who is the Emperor of Japan?'
one old fellow was asked.
fGod, was the astonishing re-
Spouse.
Who is that?' asked the interro- |
gator, pointing to a portrait of the
Mikado that hung on the wall in the |
little shinto temple where he was con-
ducting the examination of the appli- |
cants.
s'That is God,'' said the japanese.
70 e
natural enthusiasm along about election
time have apparently been misinter
preted by some of the Orientals.
How do we vote in this country''
Mr.. Matheson asked one eager young
applicant for a paper that would prove
his right to citizenship
sSVote with a knife and gun and
fight naively replied the son of Mp.
pom.
These are only few of the many
strange answers received by the chief
clerk in his interrogatories- But in the
main, the replies We're such as to indi-
cate that the younger generation of
Japanese understand fairly well the
laws and customs of their Hawaiian
home. In the course of his examina
tons the chief clerk of the Territory
did what he could to inculate patrio-
tism in the Japanese who are to be
American citizens-patriotism for the
country which they say they want to
claim as their own.
Mr.. Matheson states that he found
one Japanese on Hawaii who says he
came to the islands forty-two years
ago, when Honolulu was full of grass
huts and there was nothing but guaga
bushes out on the plains Waikiki way.