Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-02-18

| CONTINUED from page ons)
ment of inefficient and Indifferent
field officers, slaekness on the part
of officers and non-aitendance at drill
on the part of the enlisted men.
Politics instead of efficiency, attention
&c how the men vote instead of how
they perform their duties has been
the basic evil of this organization in
the past" -..
IL 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 Knhio against the
report. Demand is made that II this
record Is filed with the war depart
ment in Washington there shall be
filed with il documentary REPUTATION
Of the charges that under Col Jones
administration the National Guard of
Hawaii was politics-ridden and CON-
manded by inefficient and Indifferent
lofficers. .<.- ...-l.".
/ Lieut. Whiteners report then points
out that the community and the terri.
tory strongly back and encourage the
National Guard and that it 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 l. johnson to succeed him, his
stated purpose was to have the Ma.
tional Guard greatly increased in num-
bers and brought up to efficiency.
f. 4
a single instance of politics in the Ma
tional Guard 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
terest 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 adjntant.
general remain in office the National ,
Guard win 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
ments. and the candidates for gov
ernor from both parties, 1t is practi- |
cally 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 /
which he says occurred when report I
was printed in one of the Honolulu
dailies that the governor was going to
resign. A former candidate for gov.
ernor of the territory" met Gen.
johnson and said he was TO be the
next governor, told Johnson that he
would continue him as adjntant.
general If he would become Demo-
crat. The report says that each eandi-
date for governor, of no matter what
party, is fully determined to make a
political machine. out of the National
Guard.
Turning again to Gen. Johnson's
abilities and the sacrifice he is max.
ing TO take the position of adjutant-
general. the report points out that he
cannot be expected TO be held in the
service OF the territory without much
larger compensation.
Urges Federal Appointment for Gen.
Johnson.
1t is urged that he be appointed
general by the president
with salary of something like $1,000
a year. II will be remembered that a
bill carrying out substantially this
plan is now before Congress. OF Gen.
Johnson the report says, he can hold
these people together and give more
stability and efficiency to the whole
than any army officer. He is better
qualified to deal with this peculiar
class of volunteer troops than any
army officer l know"
Flatly contradicted.
In Nat contradiction of Lieut.. White
ner's charges are affidavits from Ma
tionaI Guard officers which are being
sent to Washington to be presented to
the war department through Delegate
Kuhio. Following are extracts from
me Of these affidaYits which are fyni. |