Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-08-21
soozE IN koHALA.

IlO0Olulu IL.
Sir: Booze in Kohala This is
the caption of an article appearing
In the last issue of the Midget. 1t
appears that the booze problem in Ko-
hala has recently become live issue
Four new saloon applications are pend
ing before the liquor commissioners.
It is proposed to open saloon at Hawi
with the backing of the plantation, in
! order to XIII off the many blind pigs
which flourish IN the laborers camps
The writer in the Midget calls in ques.
ton the method and scores the police
The opinion prevails that the whole
sale liquor establishment known as
the Kohala Club Is the promoter and
feeder Of these blind pigs. But, will
the establishment of a saloon, even
though 1t be branch Of the club
as some think, stamp out illicit sell
| ing? This is the problem the writer
treats. In other words, seif-.nterest
! Is to be appealed to to see that the
law is enforced. It is to be q case OF
| lighting fire with fire.
"The fact is the remedy proposed
is faulty because 1t ignores entirely,
! the responsibility of the police author
| tiles for suppressing blind pigs and
farms out the duty of suppressing
them to private person. by an APP
| peal like this to his greed: The less
booze you let the unlicensed seller dis.
pense, the more there win be for you
to dose out. BE yigilant and chain the
drunks to your own cash till, and big
dividends will be yours. In other
words, we capitalize thirst and say to
man. virtually: The more thirst you
can cater to, the greater your profits.
Get corner on thirst for booze. Sec
to It! It's up to you. Thirst of the
boozer is your gold mine.
Society can never solve the drink
question on such a false principle. 1t
would be just as sensible to license a
man to save burning buildings. with
the understanding that the more fires
there were to put out the greater his
gain. It would be Just as sane to
license another man to bury all the
corpses, with the tacit agreement that
the more corpses there we're to bury,
the larger the dividends. None of as
would feel quite secure against the
use Of artificial stimulahts to aid our
demise Trough on rate, typhoid germs,
etc.-that chap might need our corpses
badly in his business, just as the liquor
seller needs our boys, and brothers,
and young men. While at the same
time 1t takes all sense of RESPONSE
bility off private citizens, Where the
public conscience Is 40 more sensitive
to the drink evil than 1t Is in Ko-
hala, the citizen win naturally heave
a sigh of relief and turn over for an
other snooze, saying: Thanks be!
don't have to do anything about this.
The license commissioners have made
q deal with a Japanest Tor someone
else) and he will have to put the blind
pigs on the blink, or go to pot-l
guess he will be on his job all right.
But there's anotherlg ness coming |
to all. We don't believe that granting |
one saloon license in Hawaii, or four,
will get US out of the kettle of fish Tor |
tub of sake) which we are In. It Is |
only a makeshift. It looks as easy as
twice two are four, but it isn't.
! The plantation has felt that 1t was
losing game, lighting wholesaler, |
with paid attorney who is away at !
the topof the political heap, and who,
as a Chinese concerned In some It'll
CATION that brought him against this
legal light said, Him allie same little
god in Kohala.' We have all felt that I
both territorial and federal authorities
have conspired, in a way to put US
all: under the thumb of the wholesale |
liquor business. It had come to that /
pass that a man In Kofala couldn't |
pay his taxes, serve on federal juries, |
be married or buried Eve barely saved |
reads and some other things by the
skin of our teeth without the offices
of a liquor wholesaler It was dis
ccuraging fight for sobriety and a bet
ter public sentiment, But 1t is our /
own fight, and in the end We shall
have to fight, If we want right condi-
lions. We can't wish it on to some
poor Japanese with q saloon license.
The decent people of Kohala have got
to have nerve and grit enough to fight
It cut in the open"
JOHN w. WADMAN.