Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-04-03
FORBES ORDERED
LIEUT.. Whichever
REPORT PRINTED
In Letter Published Today He
! Takes Responsibility; De-
cIares He Furnished Dele
gate Kuhio One Copy Last
November .....t

Charles r. Forbes, superintendent
of public works. in letter to the AID
tertiser. published this morning, re-
Seals himself as the man who ordered
the "Whitener report" on the National
Guard printed in the Hawaiian Ga
zette office and took about 100 copies
10 Washington. 49,.
Superintendent Forbes letter is the
latest contribution TO the rapidly
changing controversy regarding this
letter In addition to stating that he
Is the author, he denieDelat he igHor-
ed Delegate Kuhio in allowing others
10 see the report. He says he sent a
copy to Kuhio at the latter's residence
before either he or Kuhio left for
Washington last November. He de-
MES that the report was ever publicly
circulated. H..
His letter says in part: - i.
"A great mystery has been thrown
over the identity of the public official
who ordered the printing of this re-
port, and that mystery | will first I'M
Vel. ! ordered the report printed and
the work was done in The Advertiser
job office. ] have never made any
secret of this and there is not and
never was any reason for any mystery
ior secrecy. My reasons were simple.
II was under instructions TO proceed to
Washington in the interest of certain
legislation desired by the Governor of
the Territory, one Of the bills for
which ! was to work providing that
the Acknowledgement of the Hawaii
National Guard should be an ap-
pointee OF the President, in order that
there might be a continuity in the
policy of the guard administration
and that the National Guard might be
placed wholly outside of any possibil-
ity of partisan politics. The national
government desired this; the various
ranking officers of the regular army
In Hawaii had expressed their APP
proval of IT,. and the governor desired
IL. AS a matter of fact, ! am quite
prepared to state that nine.tenths of
the citizens of Hawaii desire it.
Did Not Hear All Report Read.
This report was not read to me in
Its entirety. but the portion read stat
ed that the matter of the appointment
of the Acknowledgement by the Presi-
dent, instead of by the governor, was
highly desirable, and | expressed the
opinion to Gen. Johnson that such a
report while available to the mem.
bers of Congress on application to the
bureau of militia, probably would not
be seen by the average. con grcssman
and that il would be advisable to have
. number OF copies available for those
members whom Irmight interest in
the general Hawaiian legislature
81 wish to state here and most en-
phaticaliy that this report was never
publicly circulated. One hundred cop
les Of Il were ordered printed. The
job was hurried. first received the
report on November -. ] left for
Washington on November IS. on
November Is I sent copy Of the ire
port to Prince kuhio, Delegate to
Congress, sending special nessen-
ger TO his home at Waikiki. This
messenger, Manuel Cook, personally
delivered the copy of the report, along
with whatever other printed matter
] was to take to Washington, and the
delegate personally received il.
"The other copies of the report, with
the exception of two copies, which |