Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 194, 22 August 1894 — A DANGEROUS SYSTEM. [ARTICLE]

A DANGEROUS SYSTE M.

Daring tfae rccent tri«I of certain parti«9 charged witfc i!licit liqoor-«ellio£. it w*s proren that the specia! officers employed by the matsh&Iand boidtng eommia I sions a»police officers are p«xd by the eaae and h*ve no regnlar j saUries. Tbis is tbe roost pernics« us system ever inaagurated bere. and »e are snrpised to see tbe present gOTernmeut toleratiog it. The nrgan of the reform party bas heretofore been a warm ehampion of aboIishing the sysI tem of paying infonners in opinm i : cases a sbare of tbe fine and of ; the opiom seizeJ. Formerly informers received sbares in the finea for the couviction of diverse | offenders, but at present opinmotftDsos are ,the only iostances where tbe system his been retained. Marshal Hitchcock bas started 1 it again, apd it is on record tfa>»t bis spies i%cexve for eacfa and every case of illicit liqnor seiling ' in *.vhich a conviction is secored. If tfaere i» no conviction the iufoimer gets u< tfaing. A more j>ernicious and ontrageons system cannot beimagin , ed aud it 'ehouKl be stopped at onee. In anotfaer eolnmn we have referred to tbe cl:>ss of people eroployed by the maishal and vested with poliee authoritv. aud 1 , . * . the aspect of tbe sitnation becomes extiēmely aggravuted vrben we add tbnt tfaese creatures are i encouraged to run tfae people down and |o. if ueceseary make ■ cases for tLe purpose of roakiug ] a living. ilon who eouKln’leain twenty- fiveJcents in a week at a legitimate trade nre told that tbey wili be paid ?25 i£ tbey ean bring any taxpaying citizeu into tronble and'cause him to be fi»ed and punisbad. What a maguificent ehanoa for a conspiracy, wfaat gigantic prospects of unlim- . ited wealth; tbe system opens to tliese “geutiemen” of fortune > witfa uufcnown antecedents! And what anlimited daugers tlireaten tbe community tfarougb Mr. Hitcfacock‘s method! lu tfaese illicit liqnor selling cases mazkod coins pb»y a «onsiderable role. Senior Captain Andrews, wbose intelligence is ou!y exceeded by bis beauty and who evidently desires to beat tbe record of Vidocq is a great man ufactnrer of marked eoin, and he gives it arouud to his tools iu a most promiscuous manner, not knowing wliere tfaey will spend it or wlio will receive it. lt was stated by one of the witnesses m the Houghtailrug case yesterday, that fae, who is a spj’ and officer, bad received twenty-seven dollars ($27), from Captain Andrews in marked eoin, How the coins were marked, fae did not know, nor did the senior captaiu and wbere it was speut nobody knew. Tbe danger to tbe commanity under such circamstances is very plain. Mr. A. lives alone iu a cottage, say in Pauoa valley. He goes to tOwn on Saturday'. makes fais purcbases araong whieh are u bottle of wfaiskey and a bottle of gin, and in getting change ftom tfae barkeeper fae receives—unknown to faimself—a marked eoin paid over the connter by one of Mr. Hitchcock’s pets oot of tbe Andrews funds. A. goes home, receives a few friends on Snnday morning at 9 o’eloek and treats Ihem to a drink. Is visited again | at 10 o’eloek by more triends wbo also accept bis bospitality, and at noon he is left alone witb i fais store ratber diminisfaed. In ihe afternoon be sits in bis garden when tbe galtant senior | oapiain comes tearing along. witb an officer. jnmps of fais borse. reads a warrant of arrest snd then proceeds to search the house (withont a searcb warrant) and bebold ! finds two half-fiiied bottles four or five cocktail glasses and a pitcber with iee water. Liquor, glasses. pitcher, and A. ; are sexzed to the great snrprise of | tbe latter and dragged to the station lionae. Mr. A. is asked to empty bis pockets whieh he I does and with a cry of trinmph ; poonces on tbe cbaoge and hoKIa np a marked balf dollar whtch he preaerres. The next day the case is calied before the learned district magistiate. who looks wiae. but does nol propose tc * ‘ait’ ’ »11 day if be ean belp >1 and to ihe utter i sorpxiae of JL tbo prosoca-

tion brings forth an array of witnesses. Tbe senior eapiain testifies to tfae arrest *nd tbe mark- j ed ha!f dotiar whieh he immediately recognires as one of the tbirty or forty eoina, whieh he I bas marked and disiribnted dnrI ing the last week. Two or three : I of the “gentlemen‘‘ of tbe force are calied. and in very different langnages testify to drink:ng in Ihe honse of A . whnee name they don’t know and to have given him jnst tbat balf dollar fonnd on his person. Some Ohinaman from Panoa is pnxlnced who stntes that at 9 oeloek, he saw people go into A. s hoose and eome ont again. and tbat a similar enmioal proceeding occnrred 'at 10 o’eloek. Tbat settles tbe | case. A. has no defense to otier; how coold he. A fine is imposed and tfae formerly respect;»ble taxpayer goes home with tbe sad experience that it is “not good for man to be tlovte as long as ihe Hitcbeock wstem is m force. In the meau Jtime. the spie« aro wariuly i congratulated by the triumphant senior captain. and pocket their $25 a pieee. for later on to blow them in while bn»gging of and enjoyiugthe r»»nmisceuses of the cute manner in whieh they did, tbat ehump from Paooa up. Aud liko the jackals they are, they go forth looking for other prey and for more $25 pieces. Any unbiased man who will iuvestigate the system now in vogue will fiud tbat tl»o preaumed case above stated is not exi»ggerated. or. very iraaginary. It is sincereiy to be hoped tbat the ‘ I retxrement from office of Maiwhal Hitchcock will lead to the abolisbing of his dangerous systera. If not, we will eucourage the Councils to take tbe matter up. and take measures for preventing the outrages whieh eventu.illv , will resnlt from tbe pnneiple re- j , ferred to. Let the governuient emp!oy decent and respectable men, and pay them a sufficient I salary aiul all necessar>- work | will be done, and law aud order [ npheld.