Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 281, 16 September 1891 — Page 4

KA LEO O KA LAHUI.

"E Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono."

 

KA LEO.

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John E. Bush.

Luna Hooponopono a me Puuku.

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WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16, 1891.

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NOTICE.

 

The Mechanics' and Workingmen's Political Protective Union, will hold a meeting in the International Hall corner Hotel and Bethel Street on Thursday evening September 17, 1891.  Door open at 7 o'clock.

Per Order.

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The Bulletin's Inconsistencies.

 

IV.

 

            KA LEO advocates a modified form of socialism for this country; so says the nebulous production of the brainless "senior" writer in Queen street, characterized by some as "the blunderer."  Now it appears to all clear-minded readers, that the article in KA LEO does nothing of the kind, not even the 'milder socialism of which the Pope and lord Saulisbury have become exponents," however flattering it may be for the LEO to be put in such distinguished company.  Cannot you yet read correctly, Dan?  It seems you'd better go back for a couple of years to your brother's school -you seem to suffer from mental as well as visual obfuscation.

 

            "The socialism KA LEO would like, however, is a salary for every body from the treasure, and everybody to fix his own salary" -where and how the "blunder" has made this startling discovery is difficult to say, unless he merely judges the LEO by his own self, and imagines his own wishes to he shared by "everybody."  How we would like to see the "blunderer" have the power of drawing a salary from the government without "being hampered by any pledges" or principles!!  That would be fun!!!  But the cap does not fir the LEO, because it has, on the contrary, always been advocating the reduction of all excessive and unnecessary salaries.  One more inconsistency nailed to your ear, old boy!  Go and learn how to write without distorting everything and everybody through your uncanny makaaniani, "as through a glass, darkly,"

 

            The "blunderer" has been ordered by its autocrat shareholders to fight KA LEO for all it was worth, and the little nebulosity, who calls himself the most read newspaper writer of the place, is trying hard to earn his salary; that is right enough oh, blunderer, and we thank you for giving us such fine chances to bowl you over and over as every line you write can be turned against you.  Last night, the Bulletin was out on the war path about the reorganization of the Mechanics' Union, and he gives, -for one, -excellent advice to that association, so good in fact and so well to the point that we cannot too strongly recommend it to the attention of all its members:  "They (the mechanics) should not let politics whose hands are innocent of toil come into their meetings and monopolize the discussions and dictate the conditions of the contest."  Correct! and so we do hope that the mechanics will bewared of little Dan, that "defeated politician whose hands are innocent of toil," and will not allow him to "monopolize the discussions," nor will they permit his aqueous organ, the blundering Bulletin, to "scheme how to get the Mechanics' Union to carry out its selfish aims" and we here give warning "that the interference," in the association, by the Bulletin, that "orb" owned by white-handed politicians, at the head of which are some ministers and their planter friends and some ladies of rank, "will prevent the adhesion of the truly representative mechanics and workingmen, who gave tone and back-bone to the original union."  Yes, Dan!  The workingmen know who their true and who their false political friends are; and the Bulletin "clique" and "coterie," are already branded according to their desserts as hypocrites and false friends; so you need not bother about giving the workingmen advice or taffy; they know what they have to do for themselves without your interference.

 

            The Bulletin does not seem very sympathetic to the native Hui Kalaiaina.  It probably knows that all its rhetoric and interested advice are lost on the members of that association.  So according to Dan. -not Dan Lyons, but the Maui defeated Dan, -"if the alliance be retained" between the Mechanics and the Hui Kalaiaina, "they should confer through committees" -now, that is exactly what has always been done, oh you "blunderer!"  The two executive committees used to meet whenever concerted action was needed, and it was to a meeting of these two committees that you owned the unmerited honor of your nomination to the Maui theater of your discomfiture.  How forgetful you do grow, Dan, when you think you don't need the boys and more !!

 

            But to return to the Hui Kalaiaina; it seems that, in the Bulletin's mind the future alliance between the two societies is doubtful, there is a "if!"  And the Bulleting does not care a cent about that alliance on account of "long-winded and generally empty harangues" from members of the Hui.  Now, do blunderer, those harangues, how ever long winded they may have been, were made by earnest patriots who were speaking, in their own country, about the rights and wants of their fellow-men.  That is on kind of man to silence and that is the kind of speech you and your patrons would like to hush up Dan, you only want the praises of the administration that gives pap to your newspaper and dividends to the motley crowd of your shareholders, and that is the kind of stuff your "orb" wants to "reflect."  But the public are sick of you and of your sycophantic policy.

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In America the People Rule.

 

            Under the above heading, the New York Tribune of a recent date, pictures and interesting view of an ideal democracy as it exists in popular form in the United States.  There are many lessons in the article of peculiar interest to the Hawaiian people at the present time, since the public mind has become agitated with ideas of popular government.

            After reviewing the origin and fundamental principles of government, the growth of the idea that Kings received their right to govern from on high, which has been disputed "from time immemorial, that rulers, got their power from the people;" then describing the organization of society from the unit of power, the family, and the progressive combinations, of towns, cities, districts, countries and states that together make the nation, the independent prerogatives of each grade, and the combined power of determining questions of government by ballot, the Tribune says:

            "From what has gone before, it is evident that the people are the source of all power in this country.  Our officials are expected simply to carry out the will of the people.  It them follows as a matter of necessity, that to have a wise and intelligent government our people must be wise and intelligent themselves, because they are, in fact the government."

            "No man is born to any civil or political office in the United States.  Rulers are made and unmade at the will of the people.  Our theory is that the people will select the best men for place and power.  They often fail to do so, but they hit it right more frequently than is done when these offices are filled by the accidents of birth."

            "When once understood, our @ of government will be admit@ to be the best ever yet devised.  @ system of local management @ left with the people of each @ for themselves, is as @ plan as has ever yet been @.  If our people could only @ agree on what is best to be @ would be little friction @ management of affairs.  @ comes the trouble.  Good @ often differ as to what policy @ be pursued.  They cannot @ as to what is best.  Selfish@ and ignorance also mis up in @ of the problem, and @ times wickedness and bad @ are not wanting.  A decision must be made.  Ina an absolute monarchy the question would be settled by the will of the monarch.  Ina republic, we leave the decision to the vote of the majority of the people.  Our theory is that the majority will be more likely to be right than the minority, and certainly more likely to be right than any one man.

            "Thus it becomes evident that the intelligence of the voter, which will enable him to decide wisely, and then an honest count of the ballots, so as to learn where the majority stands, these are the two safeguards of this Republic.  Intelligent, well-informed people and an honest, fair election are the substratum on which rests this great American Nation.  Pure homes, well regulated families, good common schools, an untrammeled press, and honest ballots honestly counted will keep this Nation among the best and wisest Governments on the face of the earth."

            These are exactly the requisites required here to make of this country a true Paradise.  With purer homes and better regulated families, progressively improved schools to bring up an intelligent and well informed generation, also with a less trammelled press, more fee to point out government, judicial or private abuses without being threatened with contempt of court or libel suits, and lastly with honest election with a rigid application of the secret ballot -whereby every man will give his sincere decision, -will give us a system of government, such as it is the good of the National Party, "of the People, for the People, and by the People." and not -as at present, for and by clique and family compacts.

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Pseudo-Science.

 

            A writer in one of the Reviews has advanced the proposition that hypocrisy is the mother of morality; that is the habit of pretending to be righteous in the course of time develops real, practical morality.  As hypocrisy is to virtue so is pseudo-science to real knowledge, and it is to be hoped that what now popularity passes for science among the people may ultimately become a nearer approach to a true understanding of the causes of natural phenomena.

            The so-called popular science and the science of the school text books is little better than superstition, a kind of creed that chidden and people generally are expected to swallow whole.  The proposition that the moon revolves around the world is taught and accepted in the same way as the dogma that God spat upon the earth and made man out of the mud.  One of the crudest attempts at science had lately been ventilated in the local papers on the question of the artificial production of rain.

            It is taught in all our schools and supported by the head scientist of the missionary colleague, that the moisture-laden trade winds striking the cold mountains produce the abundant rain-fall of the windward sides of these Islands.  This is a perfect specimen of pseudo-science.  This theory presumes that mountains are colder than the air at the same altitude, country to the fact.  Then the most obvious and fatal objection is that the precipitation begins long before the clouds touch the mountains and where the temperature is high.  It rains at Hilo and away out at sea where the ground and sea are both warm and where the clouds do certainly not come in contact with any cold mountains.

            Th principle cause of precipitin as given by meteorologists is the elevation of the lower saturated strata of air by sliding up the inclined plains of the land.  This is more in accord with the facts, but is insufficient to explain all the phenomena which are too complex to discuss here.

            Explosions cannot be supposed to cause rain by lifting the vapor-laden air as mountains do, but might prods some effect by disturbing the layers of warm air near the surface and the colder one above.  The greatest effect of explosion would be to send out to great distances, at least as far as the sound travels, waves of condensation.  Any condensation of saturated air will cause rain, but as each wave of condensation is rapidly followed by a wave of refraction in disturbances caused by explosion, the effect that would be produced remains doubtful.  But the cause of the floating of water in air is probably its very find state of division and even momentary condensation of the air would cause the molecules or particles of waters to unit into larger particles which would fall as rain as soon as they became of sufficient size.  We have no space to discuss even the outlines of the subject nor do we venture an opinion as to the practicability of producing rain.  And people will do well to wait the result of experiment before making a parade of what they don't know about the subject.

D.L.H.

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ON DIT.

 

            That the government is whining because of an empty Treasury, and consequent inability to go on with necessary public works, and yet a thousand dollars a  week, and more have been and is being expended for a road for what - echo says for what!

 

            That Thurston says in his interviews by easter news reporters, that a popular Hawaiian newspaper (yes) is bringing the Hawaiian people to favor annexation, on account of the effect of the McKinley  Tarriff Bill on the prospects and prosperity of the country.  But why, so mealy-mouthed about the name of the paper?

 

            That the discovery of how to make it rain is only a prelude and a sign of that rain of fire that is needed to purify the impure state of this sphere, -and that we are only at the threshold of wonderful discoveries that will terminate with a grand burning up of al things.

 

            That Balmaceda's defeat is a sweet lesson to aspirants for personal government, and to the enemies of the popular wishes of the people.