The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-03-12


lation, gS,l56 are native born; /. e. born
within the Uuited States or ITS posses
sions. OF that number, Is, 500 are Jap.
anese, and 7l95 Chinese. making n
/ total of 27,094 Asiaties entitled to
American citizenship, out of total of
9S,l56, equaling about one.fourth of
the native born American population.
In 1900, out of total of 3,22l native
born, 4,026 were Chinese and 4,s77 Jap
anese, totaling 5000 Asiatic native
born citizens OF something over one
eighth of the total number of native
born American citizens.
In another decade, says Governor
Frear, in his report of June 30, 1911,
the majority of japanese and Chinese
win probably be native born.
( Beside the foregoing, there are large
numbers of Japanese children born in
Hawaii that have returned to Japan,
but practically all of them equipped
with birth certificates, verifying their
rights to American citizenship, and
who, evidently, cannot be prevented
/ from returning and exercising the
rights of American citizenship, if they
so choose.
Citizenship Question.
Whatever agreeable things may be
said in favor of these young Asiatic
American citizens, either by the plan
tation element in Hawaii, particularly
the religious plantation element, which
| is wholly responsible for this Asiatic
population and, of necessity, must rec
ommend and endorse them to save their
own faces, and Notwithstanding the
i agreeable things that may be said about
these young Asiatics here on the main
land, most American citizens in Hawaii
fear that the federal executive and
congress and the American people them
selves will never allow existing con-
ditions in Hawaii to progress to the
point where the country at large is
confronted with the fact that Asiatics
have advanced not only to industrial
but political control of Hawaii as well,
and the result will be that, before any
such conditions develop, Hawaii will be
deprived of her charter and status as a
territory, and reduced to commission
government, and $4,000 genuine Amer
lean citizens deprived of the vote and
reduced to n status of political vagrancy
on the plea that only in that way can
Asiatic political control be broken in
Hawaii, without committing any act
of discrimination that Japan can COM
plain of. In that day the majority of
the citizens of the territory believe
that, notwithstanding the high opinion
, of the Asiatic as an American citizen
entertained by the plantation element
of Hawaii, they will be found, in the
main, ranged up in favor of commits
sion government, animated by n desire
to be relieved of the consequence of
Asiatic political control of Hawaii, and
that any appeal to them to test their
high appreciation of the Asiatic native
born citizen, the fruits of their own
handiwork, by continuing local self
government under Asiatic control, will
meet with an icy reception. I do not
undertake to state my opinion of the
coming Asiatic American citizen, be-
yond admitting that they promise to be
an able and progressive set of men,
the difference of opinion not turning
on that point but on the point whether
he viii use this ability on the side of
the national claim of America or the
racial claim of Asia in a struggle for
supremacy between the Anglo-Saxon
and the Asiatic. Whatever may be
edll tllHtI way Ol IHiS pUlul, ull dBltS
that the racial balance between the
Asiatic and other races in Hawaii
should be kept as much our way as
possible, certainly should not be al
lowed to be swept away altogether as
now clearly threatens, as this position
is as far as l need go for the purpose
of this protest.
Territorial Status Endangered.
The fact is, with the army and navy
influence naturally in favor of commits
sion government as against territorial
government, in that it will give then
more direct control in Hawaii will
many citizens on the mainland other
wise friendly to Hawaii, viewing will
, distrust and hostility her status as {
territory, thus making statehood posi-
BILE, and weighted down with an over
whelming Asiatic population, fast be
coming a citizen population, and taking
into consideration the fact that Hawai-
has been selected as the place to con
centrate the defenses for the entir,
/, Pacific coast, where the environment
of an Asiatic population is already 81
suggestive, evidently to the military
branch of the government, that we fnt
: | ila II
Hawaii, the average American either
in Hawaii knows that when Hawaii ant
her civic institutions threaten to com,
into contact and collision with the ris
ing Asiatic vote, the result will surel,
be that she will arise from that COLI
sion stripped of her territorial fran
chise and deprived of all her politica
rights and condemned to look exclusive
ly to bureaucratic rule for recognition
and enforcement of her remaining civi'
rights; and this though, prior to an
nexation, Hawaii maintained for Y
: consecutive years, independent response
BILE government, where life, liberty ani
property were remarkably secure and
after civic achievements and intelligent
administration of public affairs of nc
mean order.
Hawaii Annexed Herself
Hawaii was annexed by the action Of
her own government; the treaty of an
nexation signed by her commissioner