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HAWAIIAN GAZETTE, FRIDAY JANUARY i 1909. SEMI-WEEKLY.
II I I M- II I ' ' Ml
D.
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HAWAIIAN, GAZETTE
Entered at the Postoffice oi Honolulu, X.f Second-class Matter.
Semi-Weekly Issued Tuesdays and Fridays.
WALTER G. SMITH, Editor.
Subscription Rates:
Monih -i Per Month, Foreign I -M
Year 4 $J.O0jPer Tear, Foreign
TlilDAY
:
Payable Invariably in Advance.
CHARLES S. OBANE, Manager.
.$4.00
JANUARY 1
OLD YEAR AND NEW.
with In tlic calendar of Hnwnli as
Tho year 1008 will bo written capitals
the ono that lias brought the grcntcst returns to tho Btaple industry of tho
roup, tho most promiso to diversified ngriculturo and tho one which has
ushered in a new era of development.
Tho returns from tho merchandise this Territory has shipped away in the
ono year, chiefly sugnr derived from tho cultivation of a littlo moro than
500,000 acres of land, amounts to about $225 per capita on tho
estimated present population. The per capita ownlngs in money of tho United
cstimntcd for by tho last census, aro
fctatca proper as a whole, as ono jcar
$31.40; of tho United Kingdom, $17.G8; of rrance, $37.13; of Germany, $22.40;
of Tho Netherlands, $20.78; of Cuba, $15.02; jet, counting out nil other accumulations
of money saved from former years or derived from- Hawaiian in-vestments,
our own per capita is $74.11 moro than, all the rest of them put
together. Tho figures suffer from having been taken in different years, but not
enough so to perceptibly narrow the margin of Hawaii's tremendous lead.
Aside from" tho development of tho sugar industry Hawaii has experienced
a notablo gain in tho production of pineapples. Over 400,000 cases went out in
3908, and there is the promise of a million cases this year. Tobacco farms aro
coming into bearing; more sisal has been planted; cotton has been introduced
-with good prospects; rubber groves havo added to their area, and interest in
nil forms of agricultural production has increased; population is steadily and
securely growing. In these respects alone tho record of 100S has been notable.
The one jcar justifies all that was hoped of or promised for tho policy of annexation
which ends Its first decade of trial with the present jenr.
The fact of equal if not greater importance to tho expansion of industry, is
tho decision of tho government to establish, on the Island of Oahu, tho greatest
military and naval post in the world. Beginnings have been made in a projected
outlay for the physical plant nlone, Including dredging for naval approaches,
forts, drydock, arsenals and camps, of (.10,000,000, a sum to bo vastly
-exceeded in tho end and which will assure tho annual expenditure for operation
jind maintonnnco of between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000. As tho year in which
Hawaii began busficss as a war base, 1008 promises to bo put down in locnl
liistory as ono from which great commercial, political and sociological changes
accrued.
Judging from the eshlegram about the Claus Spreckeli will, there aro
makings of a fine lawsuit ilfir. The wav John D. and AdolmVhavA lein
THE DAY OF HIGH EESOLVE.
Tho majority of men mak6 New Yenr resolutions and more try to Jicep thorn
than is commonly thought. Tor weeks after January 1, the depressing effect .of
New Year resolutions is felt In tho saloon and cigar .business; and to make the
less ns light as possible, barkeepers keep open house on New Year's day so as
lo drown out the resolution fever, -while cigar men see that their customers havo
gifts that will keep them smoking until the new year is under way.
A small percentage of the men who TCform stick to their self-imposed
pledges,' nnd these are pleased to find that n good habit is just about as easy
to ncqulro as a "bad one. It is not the evil habit only that sticks. Tho boy
who disdained to brush his feeth bit finally got used to it, would no more omit
that hygienic service now than the other boy, who never learned how, would
take it up. -Men who slop drinking and stick to it long enough to get the habit
cf abstinence find It about as hard to break that habit as drinking men do to
break theirs. Tho fetters of habit ate for the good and bad alike.
It is n mighty good thing to male New Year resolutions of some kind ns a
test of manhood. You ought to take stock and find out where you stand; nnd If
your standing isn't good, try and improve it. If you can do so, you nro the
real thing; If not, you are degenerating; and a degenerating man is n moro
melancholy sight than a fine tree with the scale eating up its feaves and bark.
Resolutions should suit the Individual case, but here is a good ono of general
application: "There nro three companions with whom I shnll keep on good
terms my wife, my stomach and my conscience."
CIVIL SERVICE TESTS TOR POLICE.
There is n way to get a Letter police force than wo havo or ever havo had
by means of nn ordinance, passed by the Supervisors, putting nppointinout to
Hint body on n civil service basis.
The Advertiser is assured that the Supervisors havo the legal right to
enact this reform. .
By means of it, candidates for tho police force would hnve to pass an examination
as to their mental and physical fitness and, in tho caso of former
peace officers, ns to their records of cflicicncy in police service. Both politics
nnd color would Lo ruled out of tho test and the selection left wholly to merit.
the
Yirn.
vlded for in (he pity may not, strike lhun jiw b'tupc equivalent to tto 10,000.000
Apiece thoy might expect from n.30,000OqOJ3bqquosh j . ; r
This system extends to most responsible positions in the civil service of IS doing Splendid work.
tho United States and would bo in lino with better government for Honolulu,
.
Mr. Charles L. Ithodes, who leaves tho Advertiser to become the Mayor's
secretary, is a well-read lawyer nnd a newspaper man of marked ability. About
twelve years ago he was chosen, with two others, from tho staff of a Chicago
newspaper, to infuso new blood into the writing forco of tho San Francisco
Chronicle. Ho did brilliant work there, but, attracted by tho fnmo of Hawaii,
lio caino to Honolulu to join of the Star. Ho wsa editor of that
paper for somo years nnd, on tho retirement from this journal of Miss Krout,
joined its staff, becoming its commercial nnd court writer. Renders of tho Ad
vertiser need no assurance that his work is good. Mr. Rhodes has always
been a Democrat and is counted ns ono of tho most sagacious advisers of that
party in this Territory. Ho will be, in a very comprehensive sense, tho right
hand of Mnyor Tern.
-H
Mr. Makino, in tho letter signed by him about tho wage question, shows
that the "impoverished Japanese laborers," far from being unable to pay
their living expenses and save something, send half their pay, or nbout $3,000,000
a year, Jo Japan, They nro earning, at the minimum scale of $18 a vvago
given the least skilful and competent among them moro than twice ns much
monev ns thev could net at homo" and three times what they need for living
Tho outlook for tho new jcar is sufficiently encouraging. Wo arc promised L,x.,ensosi ,t Japanese boarding-houses it costs them only one-third of their
a creat circulation of money, nn increase in the number of useful inhabitants, incomes to live, leaving be saved or sent home, less the trifling
a better tourist trade, nn expanded agriculture, more of all that goes to securo
lho greatest good to the greatest number and our fair share of comfort and
happiness.
, THE SICILIAN EARTHQUAKE.
Tho region where tho great carthqunko occurred, Sicily and southwestern
Jtaly, has been a danger spot from immemorial times. Its beismic turmoil was
so great in tho classic ages that it found record in literaturo which has come
down to us. Even then thcro were lcgen.ls of greater unrest, vvnicu inouurn
geologists havo confirmed by tho discovery thnt the present island of Sicily
was onco a part of tho Italian peninsula but was cut off-by seismic cleavage.
Having an active volcano within its borders and another on au islet just off
ahoro and having proximity to thoso vaster depths of sea which suggest a
possible seopago to tho fires below, Sicily has been in perpetual danger of destruction
and is jet. She is n magazino of explosive forces, and so, indeed, are
the neighboring provinces of Italy, l'roni first to last, hundreds of thousands,
perhaps millions, of her people have been destroyed cither by earthquakes,
-volcanic eruptions or tidal waves, tho laBt previous disaster of tho kind having
occurred in 100C. Ravaged by wars ns tho island has been by Carthaginians,
H tines, Normans, Romans nnd modern peoples in turn, tho greater number
of Sicilian victims have gone to tho account of old Uncclndus, "the sou of
earth."
It is a singular comment on tho unthinking conservatism of the people of
this stricken country that they go on building tho snmo kind of homes that
their forefnthers did, only to find them shaken down about their ears in tho
tame old way. They forget much and learn nothing. The .Inpancso show far
more prcscienco than tho Sicilians in dealing with tho seismic problem. Indeed
that quality was shown by their ancients. 'Ilio Tartar elements in the Japanese
race brought with them tho ideas of a solid structure which jet prevail in
tho country whenco they came; but after a short experience with earthquakes
they invented or borrowed from the Malajun Jnpanese, the bamboo house
which, instead of showing n puny and futilo resistance to tho earth wave as the
jnoro solid buildings do, ride it e.isily like a bark does tho ocean swell. Mediaeval
.Inpancso prints or carvings reveal the bamboo huts, even in tho wintry
northern island. But Sicily is jet lho Sicily of old. Its towns and cities aro
built to resist, wbilo experience shows thnt, when tho earth is convulsed, their
old dwellings of stone nnd heavy timber collapse. What Sicilians need aro tho
lightest practicable structures to live in. When build these, tho mortality
lilts, save on tho ocean shores and tho slopes of volcanoes, to which they persist
in going bnck, will not make the of their frequent earthquakes so
pppalling.
But now the world is in tho presence of a calamity greater than that ol
Martinique, of Krakatoa, of Valparaiso or of San Francisco. Indeed, tho San
Francisco earthquake was a small affair except for tho firo that followed it,
lo this Sicilian and Italian convulsion. 'With 100,000 dend amid tho ruins of
fair cities, with coasts devastated and villages prostrate, tho spectacle is one
to invoke tho charity of Christendom. It appeals to Bj'iupathy as no other
disaster has done in these times.
,-M
HAWAII AND STATEHOOD.
We hnvo never built much on tho assurance of President Ro.wvclt that
Hawaii may soon begin to look for statehood. It was a pleasant tiling to say,
lint after all tho President could not tell what Congress might do in sin.!' u
matter; and there is nothing in Roosevelt's prcfcrcnco for Hawaii which blnu
the policy of tho Senate and llouso or of his own successor in office.
Excepting when n crisis comes, as it did ut the time Nevada was admitted,
two Senators were needed to support wnr measures of tho administration,
questions of statehood depend, chiefly, on the numbers and quality of the
electorate. The reason why Xcw Mexico is not a stato is that so largo a
proportion of its inhabitants cannot speak Knglish; and as to Arizona, thfc
denial of statehood of which it complains, is due to tho Binallness and' the 11 n
certain tenure of its population. Hawaii is worse off proportionally in tho
nutter of English speaking people thau is New Mexico and a larger percentage
of its population is transient (hut is to not bound to tho soil by owner
ship or citizenship than is the case with Arizona. Whilo this condition lasts
and no Nevada crisis intervenes, it is idlo to talk of statehood, though If the
land wero to fiH,up with Independent, English-speaking lurmers, there would bo
so trouble at all. The possible inundation of serfs from Italy would, of course,
give- the day of statehood 11 long postponement; and there seems to bo moro
dinger of this than there is promiso of Americanism.
Furthermore, tho military plans of the Government for the war base of
Hawaii must ) e reckoned with; And hints hnvo come to town that the program
Is rather drastic. If it is carried.out Hawaii will never boa state and may not
teinain a- territory. -
item for clothes.
Tho sudden brilliancy of tho akj just before the Sicilian earthquake was
probably due to a show of fire in the craters of Stromboli and Aetna. In ancient
times such a phenomenon might have given birth to somo supernatural bugaboo
that would have come down to us in the classics with a record of the multitudes
it had scared to death. Dreadful as, great earthquakes aro, science has nt least
mitigated the forco of their assault upon the nerves by explaining their signs
nnd wonders, eliminating the wrath tnf heaven and evicting the gods and devils,
genii, beasts of revelation, imps and other enmivora which used to add such
needless terrors to earth convulsion,
,. " ...U.
1 ,
Up to and including President 'Hnrnson's timo it was tho custom to
oin t tho secretary of the Executive1, at tho close of tho administration, a pay
master in mo army vviiu ine ranK,oi major, jn 111s second xcrm, l'resiueni
Clov eland mado his former secretary, Dan Lnmont, a cabinet officer, and this
lulo has been continued. Mr. Cortelyou, who aspired for tho nomination which
Mr. Tnft received, is a bignnl beneficiary of tho new method of reward. Win.
I.ocb, Mr. Roosevelt's secretary, isiovv on the slato for a cabinet portfolio.
Tho news that tho Governor has had a "favorablo interview" with Mr.
Carnegie, indicates that tho rich ironmaster mny yet conio to tho relief of this
importunate city and give it tho public structure which its own peoplo
hnvo felt unable to build. Mr. Carriogio has reason to think that tho poor ore
ilwnvs with him, but he may bo pardoned some surprise, having heard about
ur $40,000,000 crops, to see people flocking in from Hawaii with their "Please,
kind sir, a little dolo for
f
Tho fleet supplies that aro being rushed to Messlnn aro a gift which tho
sufferers will appreciate. A half million dollais' wortli of naval stores, purchased
as thej' have been at tho lowest cash price, amount to a very largo
tonnago indeed, and will sustain the life of a host of people. Food nnd shelter
nro needed In tho stricken zone quite as much as money, so tho charity of our
government hns been exercised.
Tho new Mayor's appointments includo those of some. Republicans who havo
made good in ofiico and is a tributo to efficiency. Mr. Thurston, the firo chief;
Mr. Frazee, tho Superintendent .of Elccttic Lights, nnd Mr. Gere, tho County
Engineer, will put. This is a policy which will plcaBO tho taxpayers and
strengthen confidence in the new administration.
Tho Biimo peoplo who so bitterly' opposed a "centralized" Territorial gov
ernment nro tho ones who drew up and passed tho municipal bill which puts
overj thing in tho hands of tho Mayor. aro repentant now because a
Democratic Mayor was elected. Hut for that, tho workings of tho appointment
mill would bo greeted with frantic applause
H
A facetious paper says that Taft will be inaugurated President of tho
United States on March 4, 1001); that precisely four mouths thereafter all of
the banks in the United States, mast of tho fnctories, nnd practically all of
the great business house will clove. Compute four. months from March 4.
,
Tho safety valve attachments olAfclna and. Stromboli have 'never worked
well as compared with thoso of volcanoes hero and In several other parts of
the world; though it is possible that, but for these vents, Sicily and Calabria
would long ago have been blovvn into tho nir, as tho Island of Krakatoa was.
'
What will happen when the 14 inch guns at Wnikiki go off may bo judged
from tho fact thnt the concussion of guns in the naval bombardment ot
in 1805, was felt, in the shaking of tho paper windows of Chinese
houses, at the Shantung miles away.
.,.... . 1 . 1
Mr. rtuof had n belated Christmas present of fourteen years' imprisonment.
Let us all hope that the higher courts will cut any string that may .havo been
tied to it. A sequestration of ltucf for fourtceu years js none too long.
I
1
Mr. Durton was beaten for mayor of Cleveland by Tom Johnsqn. If he
hadn't been, ho vyould have stood small chance for the United States Senntorship
he now receives. His was a lucky political catastrophe. 1 - '
j,
One may predicate a largo emigration this coming year from Sicily and
Calabria, , ' ! ' '
nrr
V.-.U
There is a good, opening in Honolulu jiyjw for nt. white
rarpenters from the Coast,
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Tlje eafjIiqwiko.'jtijSiijily a'nd CaJabri(i,io;curr'd5abouL tbfi Sam.0 time In the
j morning as didithat of 'San. Francisco. , 1'
- ipi f I" V ?i
CABLE REPORTS
v (Associated Press .Cablegrams.), -, y
(Continued From Pago One.) ' "
ROME, Italy, December 29. The total death roll in the city of
Messina from yesterday's earthquake is estimated at 50,000 persons.
The total in all districts will probably be double -that number. ;
Many cities and towns are in ruins and it is impossible td
exact figures of the extent of the deaths and disaster.
Reggio is isolated and the city is believed to be destroyed.
The Strait of Messina has been altered by the seismic disturbance
and navigation is therefore made extremely hazardous.
Great loss has been suffered by shipping.
Messina is being looted and fire adds to the horror of the situation.
Mount Etna is particularly active.
The King and Queen of Italy will go to the scene of the disaster.
Pope Pius has started a relief fund with a subscription of one
million lire. The world is responding to the call for assistance.
Many foreigners are among the victims of the disaster.
The prison at Messina collapsed with the first shake, and the
prisoners readily escaping aided in sacking the city. The Chief oE
Police is dead, and the barracks are demolished. The commander
was killed in the ruins.
All of the Province of Calabria is devastated.
The tidal wave did frightful damage along the coast and scores
are reported to be alive, but penned beneath the ruins. A thousand
are dead.
At Palmi hundreds were killed. Bagnara has a thousand victims.
Cassemza reports five hundred dead. The tourist hotel at
Palermo was destroyed.
All the priests and nuns at Messina perished.
Relief is being orgamzed as rapidly as possible. The Red Cross-
HOME, December 30. It is now estimated that the dead in the
districts devastated by the earthquake number not less than 100,000.
Warships of all nations are hurrying to the scene. Some that
have arrivedjjhave been transformed into floating hospitals.
There, isfgravc danger of pestilence and bodies arc being burned
at MjTssinff. "J Torrential rains are falling at the latter place and the-fleeing
thStishnds and the cries of the injured form a most harrowing
sectacl Many people have gone insane.
Incomplete reports indicate that the dead at Messina will
'ber from 12,000 to 50,000. A. S. Cheney, the American Consul, and
his wife were killed. In Reggio and adjacent villages are at least
45,000 corpses. Cassano reports ioco and Bagnara 2000. The latest
reports say that 4000 soldiers are buried underneath their barracks
at Messina. Forty-one out of 200 customs officers were saved and
out of 280 railroaders eight were saved.
The lighthouses on the coast are gone and a great rock near
Charybdis has fallen and now blocks the entrance to the Strait.
There is great suffering for food and clothing. The earthquake
occurred at 5 :3o in the morning.
All the bourses and theaters are closed.
The King and Queen will arrive in Sicily today.
LONDON, December 30. The United Kingdom is in the grip-of
a violent blizzard. The channel steamer service, telegraph and
telephone business have been suspended and the railways are blocked-There
is great suffering among the poor.
SAN FRANCISCO, December 30. Yesterday Abram Ruef was
sentenced to serve a term of fourteen years' imprisonment at Sarc
Quentin.
SAN FRANCISCO, December 30. The Mayor has removed
President Boyle of the Board of Education.
SAN FRANCISCO, December 30. Mayor Taylor has issued a.
proclamation asking for contributions to relieve distress in the devastated
provinces of Italy.
ROME, December 31. The latest reports concerning ine toiai
number of deaths as a result of the great earthquake of Monday place
it at hundred and ten thousand. The city of Messina was the1
scene of the greatest proportion of fatalities. Out of a total j
Jation there of ninety thousand people, the number of killed is-1
seventy thousand.
Telegraphic communication with Messina has been restored,
but the line is being monopolized for the transmission of government
messages.
BRINGING WOUNDED TO NAPLES.
NAPLES, December 31. An Italian cruiser arrived here yesterday
from the scene of the earthquake, bringing five hundred
wounded persons. Other vessels with thousands of wounded are
expected today. Many buildings are being improvised as hospitals-
to receive them.
CORPSES CHOKE THE STRAIT.
ROME1, December 31. The Strait of Messina is choked with,
the corpses of men and animals, and the stench from the
is awful.
CONVERTED INTO DESERT.
The former enchanting coastline of .the Messina Strait has beert
converted through the crumbling down of the cliffs and the effects
Ul UUOl ww 1 .ww v
, m m . C
Eighteen hundred prisoners were killed in tne aesixucuoxi ui
the prison at Monteolone. - .
The rainstorms are continuing ana huuuik w " am.....,,.
WTMfi AMTi nilEEN WEEP.
The King and Queen are at Messina and are frequently in tears
at the terrible sights of suffering on every hand. The King has personally
extricated several persons from the ruins of fallen buildings
and the Queen spent yesterday in the hospitals assisting in the worfc
AMERICANS REPORTED AT MESSINA.
There is an unverified report to the effect-that there were ninety-American
guests in the Messina hotels at the time of the disaster.
THE AFTERNOON REPORT.
ROME, December 30. At least half of the population of
and Eastern-Sicily have been killed or injured in the catastrophe.
nf nrnnir nrp nininned under the ruins in the city OI
Messina, and the populace of the province are starving while their
ruined homes are being wiped out by fire.
' The city oi Reggio has suffered total destruction. It was swept
and inundated by a tidaKwave which devastated the coast.
The Aelonian Islands have been devastated and further snoclts
arC Shocks are continuing at Messina, Syracuse, Palermo Island and
Utica. The people arc terrorized.
The volcano of Stromboli is extremely active, vomiting lava
The city, of Bagnara is in ruins and hardly one of the inhabitants
remain to tell the fearful story of destruction.
ROANOKE, Virginia, UccemDer 31. oixiy " -
disaster one ot tne local couicrics.
riere as a result of a in
PARIS,, December 3. Tne court nas ruiea w v...."w.
. -. .. t: j. roef.iirn ami Viicj former wife, the Princess ac
Sagan, forrnerly Anna Gould, shall remain in the custody of the
m SAN FRANCISCO, December 31. Kaufman defeated Barry
in their fight last night.
OLD TIME IDCL
WON FOR ENEMY
George Selbv (Kid McCoy) had an
experience upon one occasion that he
never told to the newspapermen. McCoy
was on a train between New York
and Boston. Getting into an nlterca
Una wjth th conductor, a slight but
powerful the "Kid"
rosejip to wipe the oCfender from the
map of tl;e world. Instead, he received
a short-arm jolt flush on the jnw
end went down and out for
more than the usual minutes,
filially rerbvering, be said faintly to
the conductor': T"
M never thought 'Kid' McCoy would
get a jolt llko that from a bobby!"
Great Lordf jdioutcd tho ticket
puncher, "jou ateu't McCoy, aro
yout" fc
"That's, jne," .rueful! replied the-middleweight,
.. "
The little man shivered. "
"Why aWn't"voo tell me, Jo! Why,
man, I'vo got two tnonlhs' salary bet
on you f or 'tomorroir nightl'
In spite of his sore jaw McCoy went
into the ring the following evening anil
disposed of hi opponent .in the third
round, nut heart tb think
that by doing so he was-winning n Cozy
bet' tor tho' man who knocked him but.
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