Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-02-18
MILITIA REPORT
TO WASHINGTON
ROUSES PROTEST
CONTINUED from page one)

e.. -. -.
ment OF inefficient and indifferent
field officers. slaekness on the part
of officers and non-attendance at drill
on the part Of the enlisted men.
Politics instead OF efficiency. attention
tc how the men vote instead of how
they perform their duties has been
the basic evil of this organization in
the past" s.. -. ~.
II is such paragraphs and sentences
as these which have moved Col. Jones
and a number of veteran officers of
the guard to protest in the most earn
est manner to the war department
through Delegate Kuhio against the
report Demand Is made that if this
record is, filed with the war depart
ment in Washington there shall be
filed with IL documentary refutation
OF the charges that under Col. Jones
administration the National Guard of
Hawaii was politics-ridden and COM
manded by inefficient and indifferent
officers.
Lieut.. Whitener's report then points
out that the community and the terri
tory strongly back and encourage the
National Guard and that 1t is popular
with the people at large He then goes
on to say that when, on August Is,
1915, the governor relieved the form
er acknowledgement and appointed Col.
Samuel !. Johnson to succeed him, his
stated purpose was to have the Ma
tional Guard greatly increased in num-
bers and brought up to efficiency
So far as know. there has not been
a single instance OF politics in the Ma
tional Gnard since that date. Eff
cheney has been the keynote of the
new administration and Col. Johnson
has, to my knowledge, removed many
officers for inefficiency who belonged
to his own party.
Removals Denied.
This statement with reference to
the removal of officers the present
guard officers declare is not in ac-
cordance with fact. -.
Lieut.. Whitener's report then en-
larges at much length upon Gen.
Johnson's services and his sacrifices
in resigning his private affairs to give
his time to the National Guard. He
dwells then upon the territory-wide in
tefest in the guard and again speaks
of Gen. Johnson's invaluable services.
Entering the realm OF probabilities
the report says that so long as the |
present governor and the adjutant-I
general remain in office the National !
Guard viii be free OF politics and will
make great strides toward efficiency
But, he adds, there might be change !
In governors from any one of num-
Der of causes.
Predicts Future "Machine."
Looking over the field" he COM
and the candidates for gov
ernor from both parties, it is practi-j
eally certain that the next governor,
no matter what his party, will at once
issue orders to convert the National
Guard Of Hawaii into a political ma
chine that will vote right. And this
means that all the officers so care.
fully selected will resign, and their
places taken by party men. The Ma
tional Guard of Hawaii will become
rotten to the core The old, shiftless,
Indifferent political organization of
the past will be the type of the fu-
ture"
He then relates as fact an incident I
which he says occurred when report
was printed in one of the Honolulu
iailies that the governor was going to
resign. "A former candidate for gov
srnor Of the territory" met Gen.
Johnson and said he was to be the
next governor, told johnson that he
would continue him as adjutant-
general II he would become a Demo-
rat. The report says that each candi-
tate for governor, of no matter what
party, is fully determined to make a
political machine" out of the National
3uard.
Turning again to Gen Johnson's
lbilities and the sacrifice he is max
ne to take the position of adjutant-
general the report points out that he 7
,annot be expected to be held in the
service of the territory without much
anger compensation.
Urges Federal Appointment for Gen.
Johnson.
1t is urged that he be appointed
general by the president
With a salary of something like $4,000
year. 1t will be remembered that a
,ill carrying out substantially this
Ian is now before Congress. OF Gen.
Johnson the report says, HE can hold
hese people together and give more
liability and efficiency to the whole
han any army officer. He is better
ualified to deal with this peculiar
lass of volunteer troops thun any
fmy officer ! know"
starces Flatiy contradicted.
In nat contradiction Of Lieut.. White
Ier's charges are affidavits from Ma
ional Guard officers which are being !
ent to Washington to be presented to
he war department through Delegate
Iuhio. Following are extracts from {