The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1921-10-18
Clergy Protests
Sundays Program
Complain Maui Was Put In
An Irreligious Light and
Press Congress Visitors Are
Given Poor Impressions.

Editor Maui News:
May we say, through your columns,
a word in the interests of future
conventions on Maui?
Ne are opposed to the Blue-Law
Sunday. II makes church going com
pulsory, and is intolerable. We are
equally opposed to the Press Con-
gIess Sunday We have just had. ii
makes church going impossible, and
should not be any more tolerable.
-Four of us ministers were placed
on the committee of welcome. We
were at the wharf with our cars, and
did all we could for the delegates. We
hope they enjoyed the day. That was
Saturday. On Sunday the same cars
and drivers were asked to put in a
long day driving about the Island. We
were to show the pine and cant fields
and the shortage of labor in the morn
ing. Then to Lahaina for the luau.
Back in the afternoon and to the
swimming exhibition specially plan
ned at night. About twelve hours in
tne saddle!
Sight seeing is hard work. The
Press delegates have every hour for
three weeks crowded. A little let
uONu anu ItSt WOulu We al lhlt llllS-
We imagine many of them would
have welcomed it. How gracious it
would have been to have told them
of our churches and given them an
opportunity to attend. We don't say,
made to attend, but allowed to if
they preferred. We don't think you
can find 100 live business men and
their wives in any Uneven news
paper men without a generous sprink-
ling of those who attend church.
Some days before arriving they
were all ~canvassed in advance to see
who would prefer the crater trip.
What preferences they may have had
for Sunday were smothered out. They
were programmed through as though
of course no sensible man would care
for church. And the men of our
churches in many cases had to do the
driving, Some of the ministers, with
the services of the churches depend
ing on them alone, were asked to put
in the whole day driving about the
Island. That is rubbing it in!
The Maui pastors are not indiffer-
ent to the serious labor shortagefi but
they feel that a drive between two
and six in the afternoon could have
pointed out the untitled fields and
clinched that point. Maui needs more
cane labor-it also needs to drive out
okolehao and the churches are doing
their best to create the necessary SEN
timent.
We were all out to put Maui before
them in the most favorable light.
They were probably not impressed
that organized religion counts for
much here They will tell their friends
at home-''The Maui people are a
live and hospitable set after their
kind. They shot us by their churches
Sunday and took us for a thirty nile
ride in the morning and fifty miles to
a luau in the afternoon, | guess what
we heard about the moral tone OF
those islands is true. | would not like
to bring up my children in that at
mosphere." The net impression does
not represent Maui at her best, 1t mis-
represents her.
1t was not the time to offer this
suggestion when our guests were
among us, but we imagine there are
many who in the future would prefer
to see our fair Maui put in a more
favorable and true light.
We are, cordially,
AUGUSTINE JONES,
GEORGE DEKAY,
ELLIS E. PLEASANT,
j. CHARLES VILLERS.