The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-05-06

/ that ever staggered in the streets and
used foul tactics TO get a decision. IL
will lie fair night on our side; It will
/ be foul aud crooked from start 10 finish
on the other. In all the hearings before
! congressional committees not one word
: of manly, open defense OF the liquor
trade was spoken by man or woman.
: On the floor of the senate, when the
! Joint resolution came up for passage,
no man lifted his voice for the saloon.
On the floor Of the house no plea Of
Justice or mercy for the trade was
heard. In the eablegrams that went
from here Go Washington from the
chamber of commerce and the bar asso-
citation no syllable spoke well Of the
liquor traffic.
woolley Not on Trial.
And now we have the same strange
thing. A great business is on trial for
its life. 1t has unlimited money. 1t
has eloquent and learned men in its
employ. And what defense does It put
upi simply that l have spoken dis
respectfully Of the native voters. L
never did it, my whole life In Sbis Ter
ritory refutes the charge. But what
if l did speak indiscreetlyi What if
| lAhuN A0Akg hau nAGuAa Au w douAnkA0l
or heref / am not in the prisoner s
dock. The question is simply this:
"Shall the legislature to be elected in
November, 1910, be requested to pass
at its first regular session a law prohi-
biting the manufacture or sale within
the Territory of Intoxicating, spiritu-
Gus, vinous and malt liquors except for
medicinal and scientific purposesi"
There is, the issue framed by congress.
1t means what it says, absolutely prohi-
bition of the beverage liquor trade, for
white, brown, black, yellow, rich, poor,
good, bad and indifferent.
Can Not Be Fooled. :.
i The Liquor Dealers Association ap.
pears to think it can him-fam the Ha-
waiian voter by changing the question
to this; "Shall John G. woolley be
censured for trying too hard to abolish
the liquor trade in the Islands"
may be guilty of something. But l
never intimated anywhere that l knew
of one voter in the Territory who was
SO big a fool as to be fooled that way.
What else does the liquor traffic say
in its own defense9 Just this that we
propose to cut off the poor man S drink
and leave the rich mans liquor free.
That is lie, told knowingly. The
whole subject is left to the Hawaiian
people to say what they WISH and see
that their will is carried out. But if
they issue the order for prohibition, it
! must be prohibition, absolutely without
respect of persons.
We shall thrash the liquor soldiers, in
this fight, but we shall have to shoot
them in the back as they run. They
, will not line up and make an argument
commencing the business on its merits
They will have no whisky songs to sing
J in the campaign. There will be nc
brewers poetry for little children ia
, recite. There will be no parade of that
business, its products and its advocates
in the streets.
Do you men want the business abol
ished in these Islandsl That is the
, question congress puts to you.
The liquor trade does not meet il
and will not meet it. But in a voice
that is something between a hiss anC
a whisper, asks Can you be fooled2 Car
, you be scared9 Can you be bought
! Now make your answer. 1t is up tt
you.
: I propose to give an account of tht
work of the antisaloon league in tn,
| promotion of federal action in aid o.
} better conditions as to life, liberty anC
prosperity in this far, fair outpost o.
the Union.
At the close of the last session Of
| tho Legislature it was plain, even tt
l superficial students of the situation
l that although prohibitory sentiment
was increasing rapidly, the outlook 70
, decisive action was not encouraging
+ Many, even of radical enemies of tn,
> saloon, were timid, lest by drastic
| action we might bring about a wors'
condition, if that were possible. TIL,
liquor dealers shared this fear from
their standpoint also. But both side
were hopeful of the June meetings o
the license commissioners.
, In the antisaloon league the senti
1 ment was divided, but the weight o
J opinion was in favor of being content
L for the present, with even very mod
I crate progress in the right direction
1 Nothing revolutionary was demanded o
expected. But we did hope for SOM
clear action of the commissioners indi
. eating, and in effect announcing, tina
they recognized the spirit of the times
; which required that the beverage liquo
traffic be firmly and materially cur
= tailed, if not entirely and immediatel.
: suppressed.
: The meetings of the commissioner
discovered no such recognition. No
: that there was any bias in favor of tn,
), liquor trade. There was not even
= suspicion of such a thing. Valid peti
+ tions of protest against individual ap
g plications for licenLe and valid com
: plants against the conduct of certail
: establishments were Hospitality receive,
!, and fairly dealt with, A bad salool
; was closed at Kaunakakai, putting Nc
lokai with Niihau and Kahoolawe int
the column of prohibited areas. But tn
! internal policy of the commissioner
was to maintain the status quo an,
keep the burden of proof and of effor
upon those who would reduce the mum
her of the drink shops
2 This is not said in criticism of tn
: commissioners. The law contemplated
: that they should be conservative men
: although it clearly authorized them t.