Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-11-22
A Multitude Of COunSelS

Hawaii is beset with a multitude of counsels, to
which our congressional visitors add the impress
sions they have received during the visit. Particu
larly is this the case in the public land problem
wherewith the islands have wrested through sew
eral political generations in Washington. a.
From Washington comes the warmest praise for
Hawas preparedness and evidences of patriotism
in filling its army quota and building up a large
national guard. Yet. ifIthe holus-bous homestead
ing advocates get their way, the staggering blow
will be struck at territorial revenues will hurt the
guard for # the terrtor~ should be forced to adopt
a policy of more leases of lands to plantations
we should sacrifice hundreds of thousands of dol
lars. And the national guard is a heavy responsible
ity on public funds
From members Of the congressional party come
celebrations to build up more of an agricultural
landowning class here, to develop the middle
class. and it is perfectly true that Hawaii has little
of the middle class to which our officials visitors
refer. Nor is there any doubt that Hawaii a
whole would benefit if larger proportion of it's
industrial population were landowners and were
farming that land efficiently.
demonstrating in Hawaii should not be declared
failure when the experiment is still in progress.
Thomas Edison had ten thousand failures before he
perfected the flament for the electric light bulb
four thousand failures before he perfected the pho
nograph. Yet would anyone call the electric light
ing systems and the monographs of today failures?
Man has been trying to fly since prehistoric days.
The failures are innumerable and mostly unrecord-
ed, some of them cost human lives Yet would any
one call the aviation of today failure?
The automobile industry was evolved out of ex-
Ieriments that failed. Is that industry failure?
Nothing is failure until it has been proved im
possible of accomplishment and demonstrating has
not been proved impossible of accomplishment. In
fact there several experiments that are distinct
ly promising.
With radicals on both sides, emphatic and some
of them wildeyed and vehement there ought to be
middle ground, moderate course, and as a mat.
ter of fact great many people who have given the
demonstrating problem some thought believe that
course is not particularly difficult nor intricate.
A scheme of demonstrating that will block takers
and prevent speculation is the prime requisite and
that should be accomplished by terms of entry that
will make the homesteader& stay on his land and
use it-that will prevent his selling the land for
very considerable period.
There are a good many individuals and families
in the territory who will tackle demonstrating with
the intention of staying with the game. These
should have their opportunity. To open to entry
all the major part of the public lands profit
ably leased from the territory's standpoint nor de-
manded by is entirely unwse. AS piece of fnan-
cial butchery. it would be in the class of the now
famous tragedy concerned with the killing of the
goose that laid the golden eggs.