Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-09
CARTER ANSWERS
SLUR And POINTS
ACAMPAIGN Plan
First Gun Fired in Fight Against
MiSStatement Concerning
Hawaii Sugar Industry
WHOLE TERRITORY TO
HELP SET FORTH FACTS
People Will Join in Individual
Correction Where Printed
Mistakes Can Be Located


Immediate work on Hawaii's never
say-die campaign against free sugar
has been begun by former Governor
George II. Carter since he returned
from Washington.
Answering an editorial in the Bal
timore Sun. Mr.. Carter had found an
opportunity to develop a feature OF
the campaign that will be carried for
ward for the next three years or
more, If action by the present cong
ress makes Il necessary. At the same
time, hei advances a suggestion to
Hawaii that has been enthusiastically
received and in which the entire ter
ritory is to be enlisted.
This lis an individual campaign
against newspaper misstatements
concerning Hawaii. the sugar indus
try and Hawaii's fight against disas-
. tTuus sugar tariff revision.
Here is the editorial in the Balti-
more Sun that has developed this fea-
ture of Hawaii's work. II is headed
There Is Only One Honest Road
"The testimony of former Governor
Carter, of Hawaii, and Sidney Ballou,
the agent OF the Hawaiian sugar pro-
ducers, before the lobby investigation
committee of the senate is very sug-
gestive. They admitted that about
100000 had been spent by the sugar
people in their campaign against free
sugar, and Mr.. Carter said that If they
had paid out 100000 they would have
considered 1t well spent II they could
thereby have saved the $50 900, 900 in
vested
These gentlemen, OF course, refer
red to what they considered legiti-
mate expenditures when they spoke
of the actual expenditure of 100000
and their willingness to spend $500,
600. But what is the mental and mo
lal attitude revealed by this sort OF
talk? Is Il healthy. is 1t normal, Is
IL honest? II the Hawaiian sugar
planters have aygUod case, why should
, 1t have been necessary to spend $780,
coo to present It, and how could $780,
600 be spent honestly In presenting
It? Is it not, prima facie, bad case
that must be bolstered up with large
sums of money? Either such a case
lacks convincing merit or the mem
bers OF congress must be bought In
some way to do the right thing. On
either horn of the dilemma such a
lobby is impaled by its own admis-
sion
''The Hawaiian planters and their
agents have the right to fight openly
for their interests by means of logic
and trade and sugar statistics, and to
this sort OF lobbying nobody will OBJ
ject. They have the right of free
speech on which Governor Carter in.
sists, but not to the use of free money
to influence members of Congress,
even indirectly. There is no way of
legitimatizing any method of ap-
preaching congress which is begot.
ten of illegitimate influences, which
depends for its success on any appeal
except an appeal to the intellect and
the sense of public duty OF the repre-
sentatives of the people"
When this came to Mr.. Carter's at
tention he promptly wrote the editor
the following letter:
Honolulu, Hawaii, July Z, 1913.
ITO the Editor of the Baltimore Sun:
"Your editorial, There Is Only One
Honest Road" of June IL last has
been called to my attention, and per-
NIT me to ask where in the road trav-
eled by those of us who represented
Hawaiis only industry. have we failed
to take the path of honesty or high
integrity? Does the Sun think good
citizenship consists in silence under
misrepresentation?
when the Democratic leaders re-
peatedly quote as facts statements
that are false, what should be the
mental and moral attitude towards
this sort OF talk?
"You ask why it should be neces-
sary for the Hawaiian sugar Interests
to spend, say one hundred thousand
dollars? The answer Is simple-be-
cause they found it impossible under
the present administration to get a
hearing, and owing to modern news
paper methods it costs money to Sc
cure publicity.
Let me assure the Sun that the
5000 stockholders of the fifty-four Ha'
waiian sugar corporations are not al
all pleased to find that such an ex-
penditure was necessary. They have
always heretofore found officials in
washington willing to listen and to
learn. They have had in the past
to fight for their rights against the
sugar refiners of the Atlantic sea-
board They never expected to find q
president aligned with the sugar re
finers against the domestic producers
of sugar. Their representatives were
indeed surprised to find cabinet Off
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