The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-06-27
FORT DEALS
WITH PERTINENT QUESTIONS


council through various boards or
commission, and my State. ! perceive,
has adopted statute permitting any
city by vote Of the people 10 abolish
any council and adopt the commission
form Of government.
The tendency in modern times has
been to too much government Too
many public officials, too much divis-
ION Of authority, too little concentra-
tion Of responsibility.
"1n republic, as in a democracy,
the ruling must be by the people them
selves, and whatever kind of govern
ment they want they can have it if
they will assert themselves.
Executive Power.
"There is criticism nowadays at
what is called the tendency to execu-
tive interference. During my term as
governor 1 heard much of this in my
state, and see that Governor Wilson,
my successor, is meeting with the
same criticism. But if good legisla-
tion is to come, this cannot be avoid
ed. The President of the country and
the governor Of State are the only
in the respective territories. The
executive makes promises in the cam
paign. 1t must do so. 1t tries to
carry them out. The legislature is
usually willing to comply, but the in
huences behind it frequently try to
prevent, and succeed many times.
Nothing but strong hand on the
part of the executive can do any good,
and what Governor W ilson calls the
pitiless publicity by exposing these
subterranean influences will result in
securing good legislation. If the execu-
tive can be truthfully said to be in
terrier ng, it is largely the fault of the
people, because they are demanding
that of him, and placing upon him
more respons bility than has ever been
the case in the previous history of the
republic.
'We are seeing this in Washington
in the. present controversy on the tar
iff, and Canadian reciprocity. Pres
ident Taft finds himself in a position
where his own party in a large part
are opposing what he proposes, and
what L have no doubt is the will of
the people.
81 have always been an advocate of
the tariff-a protectionist of the ag-
gressive type, but we must recognize
the facts. The revis on of the tariff
should never take place as whole. 1t
has led to iniquitious schedules and
bargaining by one interest with an
other it is most unsatisfactory way
of revision. Two methods only are
open, and those are: first by reci-
procity agreements with other coun-
tries, and secondly revision by schedule
through reports of commissions after
careful stady of the particular subject.
eff it were possible under our con
stitution to have tariff commission
with power to fix rates, I should be
strongly in favor of it, and thus re.
move the whole subject from the field
of political contest. am not sure
whether the power to fix a tariff by
the constitution is broad enough, OF
whether any other method could be
found to do this.
! "Those who are interested in the tar.
! iff, and believe almost every Amer.
lean business man is, would recognize
the fact that it is high on most articles
and that notifications must be made
if the tariff is to be preserved and the
pendulum is not to swing backwards
and the people rise in their might and
make the mistake of giving us practi.
cal free trade through an alleged tariff
/ for revenue only