Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-06-17

men descendants of those who fought
tor independence, are willing to re-
linquish their position as free men.
am told on excellent authority that
Mr.. Woolley says that even " the
measure fails here, he is sure that
with work presumably by him) pro-
hibition Will be enacted for Hawaii by
the next congress Such statements
consider a menace to our liberties. II
means this: az the people here turn
down the measure-tn July, we prohibit
tionists will ge. to work to have your
registered will reversed by congress-"
II liz said that am In favor Of the
Gothenburg system. ! have not studied
that subject as hope 10 do, but there
are prominent men In this Territory
who believe that a system OF this
kind would work here. Such a plan
could be made to abolish the saloon
altogether and responsible officers APP
pointed by the Governor could make
the law effective.
Conditions have certainly improved
In the past year and a half all over
the Islands and the excellent law we
have can be made to remedy evils
sun tAlSltilks Thtidiu 10 tpho'hhAtN
reducing its drink bill, the decrease
last year being $25000,000. This IL
brought about by regulation and edu.
cation.
Mr.. Wooiiey stated In the East, and
he has stated here, that practically all
the churches In Hawaii are for pro-
hibition." What are the factsi Mr..
WooiIey evidently counts the churches
under the Hawaiian Board as all there
are In the Islands. The number OF
members accorded to them In Thrum's
Annual, 1910, is 7,189. The same au.
thority gives the Roman Catholic
churches as having 5000 members.
The Roman Catholic Bishop has an.
nounced himself as opposed to pro.
! hibition and we presume that the
priests working under him agree with
him.
What we want In this contest Is not
sentiment but facts. not theory but
history, and regard for human ma
ture as Il exists. We can not ignore
conditions existing In human nature
II we do we fail in the end. The fault
Of Puritan legislation has always been
that II has not sufficiently considered
human nature. Such experiments
made again and again have always
failed. Legislation should not be bas
ed on visions but on conditions.
believe that education, economic con
ditions, human progress and public
opinion will continue to do what II
has done, make drunkenness more and
more shame and disgrace. No one
who knows history but is aware OF
the tremendous progress in this direc
ton in the past hundred years.
We should in all possible ways regu
late the sale of intoxicating drink. We
should make II difficult for the IRE
sponsible men TO get II. We should re
fuse license to sell to an alien. tthis
can be done am told by legal author
ity) and to men who are not of goot
character. We should punish by for
fixture u license those who sell to thu
drunkard and punish the seller a
guilty OF a crime. We should abolisl
the saloon and enforce the law as We
have It. and seek to improve II on &C
thenburg lines. This course will b.
far better for the interests of the peo
pie of these Islands than any attemp
to override personal liberty and to en-
! force laws which especially among |
cosmopolitan population are impractl
cable and harmful. am therefore
by honest conviction for the law a
1t stands and a vigorous enforcement
of its provisions. believing that tn
cause of temperance, liberty and jus
tice will be best served by this course
,, regret that | am compelled to TAX
a position which is contrary TO tina
held by some of my best friends.
Is needless TO say that ! shall be Il
: favor OF the full enforcement of an
! measure which becomes law.
HENRY b. RESTARlCK.