Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-06-10

biOaSIt l1fS cC0ulllcA ABOUT Il ne Tor
eEsner comes 10 cur country Is 10 the
Land of Promise He hears OF our
Wonderful prosperity and CT our free-
dem. He believes Il To be the land al
equal opportunity and is glad to be
numbered among our citizens. He is,
however. unframed. as rule. in the
art of self-goyernment and must learn
from as. He is most likely to follow
our lead. and il is not surprising that
lie is led to follow our example in our
evil ways when he finds Il immediately
profitable, until he has learned by sad
experience that his vote is for his pro
tecticn from wrong and rot e commod.
| ity for sale
No, it viii not do to lay the blame
for all our ills at the door OF our nat
uralized citizens They are as rule
what We make them. 1t has been our
right to impose tests or intelii
gence and knowledge and morality
upon them. It has been for us
TO require preliminary training
before giving them the privilege
OF becoming co+heirs with us. How
have we protected our birth-right in
this direction? Let any man take the
World Almanac for 1913 and look
over the qualifications for voting in
the several states and he will find
some startling evidences, not only of
the sale of our birth-fight for a mess
of pottage, but of the absolute giving
OF il away
We have been hearing a good deal
of oratory lately, from ArmageddOn
and other localities about restoring
our government TO the people to whom
it belongs, but much as we here de-
sire restoration of our government
to its proper character let US not be
deceived. 1t is not so much change in
the form of government that we need
as it is a change in the character OF
the people,
In a country like ours the govern
ment is always by the people. There
has never been year in any state,
county or town, or in the whole coun-
try, for that matter, when our people
have not had truly representative
government, except possibly when the
Payne-Aldrich tariff was passed.
You may say, for instance. that Illi-
nois was misrepresented by the legis-
lat0re that elected Lorimer, hat has it
occurred to you that the very state
senator who handled the Jack pots
went home and was reelected after
being expelled from that very legisla-
ture?
Powers Of Evil Active
Again l say that unless we have
done our utmost duty as citizens we
have become parties to all the crimes
committed against our country by
those administering our affairs. We
have no right to hold aloof and then
complain of faulty government.
L The powers of evil are always act
i've. The man who wants a privilege
granted him by the community that is
unfair gets busy" and works his job
for all it is worth The average citi-
zen can scarcely be stirred to action
by any ordinary contest. Is 1t Won
derfui that certain evils fasten Them
selves on the community and fatten
on the moral flabbiness of American
citizenship?
Gentlemen, it seems impossible to
exhaust this subject. The longer one
thinks about 1t the stronger grows the
feeling that it is by changing the at
titude of our citizens toward their re-
spohsibility for their government, and
not by tinkering with constitutions,
that regeneration is to come.
What good will the initiative work
for the country If the citizens of that
country be venal, or unfnterested and
heglectful?
What possible good can come from
referring question to such constit-
uency as reelected the expelled COR
ruptionist to the Illinois legislature?
Would it be very wise move TO
submit judicial decision for recall to
some of the constituencies just now
attracting public attention?
without entering into discussion
Of the righteousness of the initiative,
the referendum and the recall. | sub
nit to your consideration the PROPOSE
ton that to make them useful, the vot-
ing population must not only be able
to understand what they are doing, but
they must be interested in what is do
luS, tfiu, dDOfC+ oil, NC HCHCot.
"The life of the land is preserved
by righteousness is a good motto but
unless that motto be translated into
good deeds it is as sounding brass
and a tinkling cymbal.'
The times are out of joint, dema-
gogism is abroad in the land We
are offered all sorts of nostrums to
cure our ills, and If the citizens of
this country fail to meet the situation
honestly and fearlessly we are indeed
in danger.
Country Waking Up
But we heard in no uncertain tones
the declaration sof the people against
the most dangerous of all proposed
remedies, that of turning over to the
executive department the responsible
ity for our welfare We are not with
out hope We have decided we do not
want Tribune of the People" te look
after us.
We are waking up. And when
Americans are awake you cannot de-
eeive any large portion of them any
nf tho tinla