Ke Alakai o Hawaii, Volume X, Number 7, 18 February 1937 — Star-Bull Continues Efforts To Transform King Into Statesman [ARTICLE]

Star-Bull Continues Efforts To Transform King Into Statesman

"He Gets Action," The StarBulletin irrtpresses upon us in an editorial head over a gushing, slopping over editorial regarding the latest antics of Delegate Sam King, the Eep/üblican whom the misguided voters of the Territory sent back to Washington at the recent election to work with a predominant!y Democrātic administration and Congress.

"Delegate Sam King, back in Washington," continued the paid propagandist of the sugar planters and all of their numerous ramifications, "only a few days after his efforts in San Francisco to obtain a food supply shlp lor Hawaii, loses no time in demonstrating that the confidence expressed in him at the November eleeUon was not mssplaced." "He Gets Action," The StarBulietin informs us—but exactly what "aeUon" did Republican Delegate Sam Ki n g "get" in those' self-same efforts to obtain a food supply ship for Hawail? We pause for a reply — but darned if we are going to hold our breath until we get an answer to that question from The Star-Bulletin—or anybodv else— our life is too precious—at least. to <us. Delegate Klng, "ge.tting aetion" all along the way and eopious reams of personal puhlieity, failed lamentably, howeyei, to get any action whatsoever on the matte'r of obtaining a food supply ship for Hawaii. Alaska got several fo o d supply ships without any trouble, and with a mi.nimum, of delay. But, of course, Alaska is in a slightly different category from Hawail. Alaska at the last eleeiion showed its appreciation ōf the beriefits of President Roosevelt-'s New Deal by returning a *Democratic Delegate to Congress. Here ; in Hawaii we failed to show our appreciation of those same benefits by returning a Republican Delegate to Congress. Alaska gotits food supply sh i p pronto. Hawaii, depending upon Delegate Sam King, a Hep)ublican, sbmehow is still waiting for any enCouraging word that any speciaj supply ship would sail for the Territory to relieve our admittedly acute situation of greatly increasing prices for foodstuffs brought about by the maritime strtke. But what is this "action" that Delegate King is getting that sets The Star-Bulletin off in a skyrocketing effusion of praise?

"One of first acfcs is to announee that the Territory's eampaign for statehood will be resumed inimediately. A sta t ehood bill has been introduced and a joint committee will be asked to study the proposal!" "Action — action" — My God, what kind of aelion is that? We thought from The Star-Bul-ietin's editorial heaaiine — "He Gets Action"—that the Territory probably had had its request for a special food $upply ship granted—or that we had been alloted some more millions of dollars to feed ouF unemployed, or that some other tangible benefit that the second-class mjnd could envision was about to eome to the Territory. But iio! "He Gets Action" — in the words of The Star-Bul-letin—means just that Delegate King, apparently forgot our increasingly acute food js<ilalion. and again introducea a statehood bill for the Terrltory. If Uiat is The Star-Bull« tin s idey of "gettlng ae ti o n," we sliail probably have that- newspaper issulng an extra editlon if Delegate King is se«n expectorating on the streets of Washingt-on! AH oi this simmers down to the fact that Dtlegate King, having run up agalnst a stonewall in his futile efforts to obtain a food supply ship for Hawaii, and having wrung th a t orange of publicity dry, sUnply took a new tack in k«?eplng hls name on the front page of The Star-Btalletln. And, of course, tlie Hulleiln*,

faliing all over iteelf to do the, bidding of its sugar-coated masters, labels an announcement of I the probable introduction of a| statehood bill at the new eon,-. gress as "He Gets Actiou"l Ti§„ that one—if you ean! "Eventually, the logic of facts„ will win for us, but in the mean- i time it is reassuring to know'we have a delegate who does .no t permit thc issue to be dormant,", We wonder if Tlie Star-Bul-ietin and those many of the Territory who reaiy aie sincere in their desire for state"hood for the Territory have ever stopped to ponder on the insurniiOuntable obstacle to that particular ambition of Hawaii exected. at the 1 a s t eleeūon -r~, when Hawaii joined' the in-* famous company of Maine anā Vermont in showing base ingra-„ titude to President RooseYeJt and the Democratic adminjstr3,-,. tion? Has it occurred to those indfviduals that Hawaii might best iorget its statehood dream, for. tlie next fdui* years at least—a<s the result of the Republican viqj ; tory doRTi here? Has it red to those individuals tha£ no President of the United States, ;nor any administration thereof, would willingly permit the ad- s mission of another state to the* Union when that President or that adminīstration knew full well that ihe opposition party— the Republicans in this instanj££, would thereby gain two in the United States Senate one vote in the House of Represēntatives? Nay, nay, Pauline—they don't play politics t li a t way on mainland! Even ehe great Abraham iLineoln, toward whom the Republicans look as the : ' founder of their party, — when' acceding to the admission of new States to tlie Umon from ranks of previous made vefry certain that those" States would elect members cT CongresS—and particularly Senators—who wauld support hi§ policies regardmg the of slavery! (s? And if you don't.b.elieye..ihia,, better take a trip back througri y ou r Ameiieān ītistory l in' tīie' pre-Civil War and Reconstructioo D«ys! There are several

surprises in (,he history of o u r nation during t-hose periods! :so, "He Gets Action" King — by annouucing that lie intended to introduc& the statehood bili again—wil 1 be sadly mistaken, as wlll all sincere advocates of for Hawaii. Unfortun-

ately if they are guilible enough to harbor any idea that a pred<Mninantty Democratic Congress a n d administration is going to iisten with suiy sympathy whatsoever during tiie next four years to any plea for statehood for Hawaii! Whatever ehanee the Territory ever had of hecoming a s t a t e dnfing the present Roosevelt administration was lalled absolutely by the fact that this Territory*s voters saw fit on November 3 last, to turn down the administration and elect a Republiean I>elegate to Congress, as well as a predominantly Republiean legislature. The results of that election, of coMrse, are interpreted in Wa&hington to mean

that this Territory, if "proiiiot~ ed" to stat-ehood, woiild select *. twu United States Senators and on e Represeritative ai ,£arge from the Republican ranfe. President Roosevelt a.n d his Democratic colleagues ii* the'administration and in the Congress stiil don't like Republlcans -r- we . guess it must the nature of ... the beast—the latter. Perhaps the Hawaiian Sugar Planters association and the , other "Johnny-come-lately" advocates of statehood for Hawaii ; will realize some day the farfiung effects that wlll result / from the chicanery and trickery J that they played upon the voters of Hawaii iast election day, Per- /; haps some day! - * u