Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-02-20
EDITOR
FUNSTON.

Within few weeks the navy and the army hav
lost their greatest fighters Dewey and Funston
And the nation has lost men who were great in peac
as well as in war.
When Dewey steppcd out Of active naval service
he did not 20 into obscurity. lie became the helt
of the general board. and there brilliantly shapet
the policies of Unele Sans greater navy.
Fighting Fred Funston's career was on,
achievement after another. He was not only mill
tary commander. but had the qualities of civil Off
cial 10 high efficiency. breadth of view
promptncss 10 act in Il community emergency
knowledge of how 10 handle civilians-which il
quite different from handling military organiza
tons
Honolulu knew Funston we'll liked him. respec
him, admired him. To the comparatively few who
knew his work few years ago, as commander Of
the Hawaiian Department. this admiration was ex
traordinariIy strong.
Funston's life was one OF almost as varied and
quite as strenuous activity as that Of Theodore
Roosevelt. And this activity did not end with the
leading of forlorn hope in filibistering expedi
ton or the capture of an Agninaldo. He was as
great in relief work after the San Francisco earth
quake and fire as in leading TO battle.
Typical of his direct, practical and informal
methods of handling troublesome situations was an
incident when he commanded the Hawaiian Depart
ment. situation Of grave Importance in military
defense preparations arose Gen. Funston invited
The newspapermen to TO his Office and there he
sat down with them in a heart-to-heart talk He
told them the problem that he faced, what the Ha-
waiian Department was doing TO meet it, and what
he thought the newspapers could do to help him.
Boys, he said in effect, "you can be of great
sisahce not only to me but to the country if you
will stand by me. j have to tackle mighty hard
Job and il is one requiring some delicate handling.
I've been newspaperman and know what news
paperman's problems are in dealing with big news.
Now if we can work together, know can get the
hest effect
Three years afterward, down on the border. Fun
sion told an army officer of this, and the officer later
coming to Hawaii retold il to the editor OF the Star
Bullet ip-.s.4v ,S.assesst .-ss-asse $3.50
And Funston said 2 the officer related, .that he
hid never found more effective cooperation than he
got from The newspaper boys of Honolulu. He said
II was splendid thing"
Many other incidents quite as characteristic of
his man-to-man methods could be related either by
army officers or by tho many newspapcrnef who
were his starch and apprcciative friends.
lit is probably exaggeration to say that Funston
would have landed in the White House had there
been with Mexico. Every war in which the
United States has taken part has made presidents
81 military leaders, and Funston would surely have
been one of the great figures of a Mexican war;
TO stIrh a possibility this fighting Kansan never
gave two thoughts, but he had remarkably strong
hold on the affections of his country. His type APP
Ieals 10 the American Imagination, and the fact that
Fred Funston made good in everything he tackled
has been sufficiently demonstrated to convince every
American who knew this little general that he would
have made good as the occupant of the White House
That cleanup week is here, but of course you don't
have TO curb your ardor or fret Yourself in waiting
for 1t TO do all the cleaning by itself.
Duke Kahanamoku and his wave petered out ere
they reached the pageant beach
Henry is now just one of the Fords.