The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1910-03-03
LIBERT
ON PROHIBITION

his Lordship, lin case they are not
enforced"
In reply to this / would say how is
it that the North Western Mounted
Police Of Canada have enforced pro-
hibition among the Indians of that
country. And where VIII you find
more peace and order than among
the Indians of Canada? Until pro-
hibition was forced among those In
dams their ate OF mortality from
liquor intoxication was tremendous.
Cannot we learn a lesson from that?
The source of my information is from
the statistics of the Canadian Govern
ment as reported by the officers of
the North West Mounted Police.
An offhanded opinion on prohibition
to satisfy a newspaper interview, such
as the learned Bishop gave at Hilo a
few days ago is quite different from
well prepared and d well consider
ed one. 81 have however" he says,
mot given the liquor question much
study, but l intend on my return to
Honolulu to look over some articles
which I have on the question"
The Bishop has good reasons for
his present views on prohibition. He
comes from a country where men
and women sit in the cafes, and drink
their glass of beer, but you do not
see anything like drunkenness which
prevails here"
But the education and home train
ing of the people abroad and that of
the native Hawaiians are quite diff
ferent. Smart learning, such as
most of the Hawaiians possess, is
very different from good home
training.
"Just as man may eat voracious-
ly," says Bishop SpaIding, land have
poor bodily strength, so a man may
have great learning and not possess
a true education" The civilization
of the Hawaiians compared to what
it will be is yet in it's infancy. Their
accomplishments in English, music
vocal and instrumental, in polite So
ciety and in art, are edifying to many
compared to the conditions that exist
ed here some ninety years ago. But
the education of the home among the
Hawaiians and half-whites is not
what it ought to be in the watchful
cares of young peoples habits. The
women of Honolulu spend more time
visiting than watching their children
until certain age Bend a tree while
it is a twig and do not wait till it is
full grown. In a city where there is
a divorce for every ten families, am
told the home cannot have much good
influence.
When the moral habits of children
among the Hawaiians will be better
guarded until they are young men and
women, and not till then will it be
practical to allow cafes open in Ho-
nolulu where men and women can go
and be sociable together without get
ting drunk, as in the cid countries of
Europe. The better home training
the young people will acquire the
less drunkenness there will be. But
higher civilization is not accom-
plished in year nor in a century.
While a Chniaman may use opium
for many years a white man will die
using that drug in less than six
months. Again, while a Belgian, or
German or a Dutchman may use liq-
uor in their social cafes for a life
time without getting drunk the peo-
pie of the South Seas including the
Hawaiians, and the Indians of Cana
da will die in very few years from
the abuse of gin, beer or wine. Long
experiences and observations have
taught us that. The mortality of
this fine race of hospital people in
the Hawaiian Islands from the abuse
Of intoxicating liquor is deplorable,
Can't We stop that? Are we going
to try the experience or the Canadian
Northwest for at least five years?
And by this the writer does not
mean absolute Prohibition. To de-
bar the Episcopal and Methodist and
Catholis churches anywhere from
the importation of wine for the altar
or for non Catholic communion would
be an outrage and no civilized coun-
try anywhere has ever dared to dc
such, and never will do so. If th5
Curtis bill means the prohibition Of
importation besides the prohibition o.
selling, then, prohibition is an evil o.
extreme. With the saloons wide
open a poor unfortunate man with
wife and children destitute at