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A Souvenir of the Trip of the Congressional Party to Hawaii in 1915 Booklet

Cover of a booklet titled "A Souvenir of the Trip of the Congressional Party to Hawaii in 1915,” with images of palm trees and water, and a “Congressional Party Hawaii 1915 Aloha” seal/tiles/collection/2/28329.xml
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Title page of book, with a black and white photograph of palm trees on a beach near mountains, and text reading, “Congressional Visit to Hawaii 1915 By Roderick O. Matheson, Photographs by J. Williams and E. K. Fernandez, Official Photographers; R. K. Bonine and A. Gurrey, Jr. The Advertiser Press, Honolulu, Hawaii”/tiles/collection/2/28371.xml
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Page with three head and shoulders photographs of men, captioned, “Hon. J. K. Kalanianaole, Delegate to Congress. Hon. Lucius E. Pinkham, Governor of Hawaii. Hon. Wade Warren Thayer, Secretary of the Territory.”/tiles/collection/2/28372.xml
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Page with a photograph of men in suits, captioned, “Legislative Committee In Charge- Sitting, left to right: President Chillingworth, Senate of Hawaii; Secretary of the Territory Thayer, Governor Pinkham, Prince Kalanianaole, Delegate to Congress, and Speaker Holstein of the House of Representatives, Hawaii. Standing: Representative Coney of Kauai, Senator Rice of Kauai, Representative Watkins of Oahu, Representative Huddy of Hawaii, Senator Coke of Oahu and Representative Goodness of Maui.”/tiles/collection/2/28373.xml
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Page with text and a photograph of a ship, captioned, “The Good Ship Sierra, of the Oceanic Line, Which Brought the Party to Hawaii.” Text reads, “Congressional Visit to Hawaii, 1915. To Visit the newest portion of the American Union, the Farthest west of the United States, thirty-seven members of congress, ten Senators and twenty-seven members of the House of Representatives, left Chicago on April 22 as guests of the Territory of Hawaii, reaching Honolulu on the morning of May 3, to spend eighteen busy days touring the four principal islands of the Hawaiian Group. Accompanying the members of congress, also as guests of the Island Territory, were wives, sons and daughters of the congressmen, secretaries and newspaper men and several other distinguished guests, prominent amongst whom were Assistant Secretary of the Interior A. A. Tones and Mrs. Jones; F. B. Lord, president of the National Press Club, Washington; Mrs. James Hamilton Lewis, wife of Senator Lewis of Chicago; Hon. Joseph Know lands of San Francisco and Mrs. Knowlands; and J. A. Breckons of Cheyenne, Wyoming, private secretary to Senator Warren and for years well known in Hawaii through his work as a newspaper correspondent. In all, the party which stepped down the gangplank of the good ship Sierra in the bright sunlight of a May morning at Honolulu numbered one hundred and twenty persons, the largest semi-official party that had ever crossed the Pacific and including many of the leading statesmen of the nation. In the party were: Senator Albert B. Cummins, Des Moines, Iowa, and Mrs. Cummins. Senator T. W. Hardwick, Sandersville, Georgia. Senator Ollie Tames, Marion, Kentucky, and Mrs. James.”/tiles/collection/2/28374.xml
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Page with text and a photo of a group in suits, hat, and leis, captioned, “Reception Committee, With Leis, Which Met the Visitors Outside Honolulu Harbor.” Text reads, “Senator James E. Martine, Plainfield, New Jersey, and Mrs. Martine. Senator Lee S. Overman, Salisbury, North Carolina; Miss Grave Overman, Miss Kathryn Overman, Miss Mildred Borden and Miss Ann I. Pou, daughter of Representative Pou. Senator Joe T. Robinson, Lonoke Arkansas; Mrs. Robinson, Miss Aline King and Miss Miller. Senator Willard Saulsbury, Wilmington, Delaware, and Mrs. Salsbury. Senator John Shafroth, Denver, Colorado, and Mrs. Shafroth. Senator Reed Smoot, Salt Lake Utah; Mrs. Smoot, L. L. Nunn, Mr. Baynes and Mr. Jenkins. Senator Francis E. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Mrs. Warren. Representative J. A. M. Adair, Portland, Indiana, and Mrs. Adair. Representative J. W. Alexander, Gallatin. Missouri, and Mrs. Alexander. Representative D. R. Anthony, Leavenworth, Kansas, and Mrs. Anthony. Representative R. W. Austin. Knoxville, Tennessee : Mrs. Austin and Miss Austin. Representative A. J. Barchfeld, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Barchfeld, Miss Barchfeld , Mrs. Myra Davis, Mr. W. C. Gearing, Mrs. W. C. Gearing and Mr. F. P. Kraus. Representative W. P . Borland, Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Borland and Mrs. K. B. Fullerton. Representative William G. Brown, Jr., Kingwood, West Virginia, and Mrs. Brown. Representative Clement Brumbaugh, Columbus, Ohio, and Mrs. Brumbaugh. Representative John L. Burnett, Gadsden, Alabama. Representative Phil P. Campbell, Pittsburg. Kansas; Mrs. Campbell and Miss Campbell. Representative J . G. Cannon Danville, Illinois. Representative William J. Cary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mrs. Cary and W. J. Cary, Jr. Representative W. A. Cullop, Vincennes, Indiana, and Mrs. Cullop. Representative W. F. Conry, New York City, and Mrs. Conry.”/tiles/collection/2/28375.xml
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Page with text and a photo of a group of men and women on the steps of a building, captioned, “Senator Overman, Mr. A. J. Erly, the Misses Overman, Representative Rodenberg, Territorial Secretary Thayer and Mr. F. P. Kraus, in Honolulu.” Text reads, “Representative James S. Davenport, Vinita, Oklahoma; Mrs. Davenport and Mrs. L F. Parker. Representative L C. Dyer, St. Louis, Missouri. Representative Geo. W. Fairchild, Oneonta, New York, and Mrs. Fairchild. Representative Scott Ferris, Lawton, Okla., and Mrs. Ferris. Representative J. A. Frear, Hudson, Wis., and Mrs. Frear. Representative Carter Glass, Lynchburg, Virginia; Mrs. Glass, Miss Glass, Carter Glass, Jr., and Mrs. G. F. Lucado. Ex-Representative and Mrs. J. M. Gudger, Asheville, North Carolina. Representative Albert Johnson, Hoquiam, Washington, and Mrs. Johnson. Representative J. N. Langley, Pikeville, Kentucky, and Mrs. Langley. Representative William Kettner, San Diego, California, and Mrs. Kettner. Representative Gordon Lee, Chickamauga, Georgia; Mrs. Lee and Miss Pringle. Representative J. R. Mann, Chicago, Ill., and Mrs. Mann. Representative C. B. Miller, Duluth, Minnesota, and Mrs. Miller. Representative William B. McKinley, Champaign, Illinois, and Miss Julia Mattis. Representative J. H. Moore, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Moore. Representative D. J. Riordan, New York City; Mrs. Riordan and Miss Riordan. Representative W. A. Rodenberg, East St. Louis, Illinois, and Mrs. Rodenberg. Representative John J. Rogers, Lowell, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Rogers. Representative E. W. Saunders, Rocky Mount, Virginia; Mrs. Saunders, Peter Saunders and Miss Kitty Lee. Representative Swagar Sherley, Louisville, Kentucky, and Mrs. Sherley. Representative J. L. Slayden, San Antonio, Texas, and Mrs. Slayden. Representative C. B. Slemp, Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and Miss Slemp. Representative W. H. Stafford, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Representative R. Y. Thomas, Central City, Kentucky. Hon. A. A. Jones, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and Mrs. Jones.”/tiles/collection/2/28376.xml
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Page with text and a photo of a smiling man and woman in bathing costumes, standing in the ocean, with a caption reading, “Representative Wm. G. Brown and Mrs. Brown, Ready for a Dip at Waikiki.” The text reads, “J. A. Breckons, Cheyenne, Wyoming. F. B. Lord, president National Press Club, Washington. Mrs. James Hamilton Lewis, Chicago. Hon. Joseph Knowland, Oakland, California; Mrs. Knowland and Miss Knowland. A. J. Erly, Washington. T. S. Blalock, Georgia. The Legislature of Hawaii, on the suggestion of the Hawaiian Delegate to Congress, Prince Kuhio Kalanianole, had appropriated forty thousand dollars for the expenses of the trip, being desirous that as many members of congress as could visit Hasaii should be invited to do so, to see for themselves what the actual facts concerning the Islands are, how the people live, what are the working conditions of the laboring population, what the port and harbor needs of the Islands might be, the manner in which the chief agricultural industries of the Islands—sugar and pineapples—is conducted, and, generally, what the Territory of Hawaii is and could be to the balance of the American Union. The value of bringing to the personal attention of the national legislators the military and naval needs of Oahu, the Mid-Pacific Sentinel for the Pacific Coast, was also taken into consideration in the voting of the appropriation, thus making the visit of the Congressional Party of national as well as of Territorial importance. This was the third Congressional Party to visit Hawaii as official guests of all the people of Hawaii, similar congressional delegations having toured the Islands in 1907 and 1909. Because of published criticisms that the Congressional visitors in 1915 were brought to Hawaii as a special performance of the ‘sugar lobby’ these facts are given. Hawaii has welcomed and entertained former Congressional parties, and hopes to welcome and entertain others in the future. It is good business for all concerned, and Hawaii attached no conditions to her invitations except that her congressional visitors come and see for themselves and then legislate concerning Hawaii in the light of personal knowledge of conditions. The members of the Congressional Party of 1915 gathered in Chicago on April 22, where they were met by J. R. Desha. secretary of Delegate Kalanianaole, who accompanied the party to Honolulu. The trip from Chicago to Honolulu has been described by F. B. Lord, president of the National Press Club, who was one of the guests of the Territory. Mr. Lord wrote, on the clay of the arrival of the party at Honolulu: ‘It was with an anticipation which had been growing more and more keen and acute clay by clay for the past two months’”/tiles/collection/2/28377.xml
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Page with a photo of a building, captioned, “The Capitol, Honolulu, Formerly the Royal Palace, Erected by King Kalakaua”/tiles/collection/2/28378.xml
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Page with text and a photo of smiling people walking down stairs, captioned, “Mr. Robert W. Shingle, Senator Ollie James, Mrs. James and Mr. Edgar Henriques, Setting Out to See Honolulu.” Text reads, “since the plans for the excursion began to take form, that the fortunate ones assembled on Wednesday, April 22, at La Salle Hotel 111 Chicago where they were met by J. R. Desha of Hilo, secretary to Delegate Kalanianaole, who was to conduct the party to the Islands. ‘Those who reached Chicago a clay in advance of the time of departure had the pleasure of being entertained at a luncheon given by the Chicago Commercial Club in the banquet room of La Salle Hotel. This was but an introduction, a sort of prelude to the series of luncheons, dinners and entertainments which were to follow, one close after another, all the way to the Coast, and while in San Francisco, from which port the party sailed on Monday afternoon, April 27. Inasmuch as the chief purpose of the trip is to acquaint the members of congress and those in official life in Washington with the governmental needs of the Islands, and their advantage from a naval strategic point of view, as well as the commercial opportunities which they afford, invitations were extended both to members of the senate and house of representatives and to those representing both political parties. Therefore, their visit will combine business and pleasure, while their wives, daughters and friends who accompany them will have occasion to enjoy Hawaii hospitality at the same time. Everything was in readiness at eight o'clock, Thursday night, April 22, when those members of the party who had met in Chicago hoarded the Santa Fe railroad's de luxe train, running special, for San Francisco. The first night out carried the happy travelers across Illinois, and a corner of southwestern Iowa, and when they arose the next morning the handsomely appointed train, with every equipment which a king might desire, was speeding through the rich agricultural region of western Missouri. The breakfast hour was no more than passed when the train drew into the new station of the Santa Fe at Kansas City,’”/tiles/collection/2/28379.xml
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Page with text and a photo of two men and two women wearing leis, captioned, “Representative Carter Glass, Mrs. Glass, Representative J. L. Slayden and Mrs. Slayden, After Being Bedecked with Leis.” Text reads, “where the members of the party who had started from Chicago were joined by the Missourians and others from Oklahoma and Kansas. Throughout the entire day the train swept across the broad prairies of the Sunflower State. Nightfall brought the train to La Junta, Colorado, where Senator and Mrs. Francis E. Warren, who had come down from Cheyenne, Wyoming, came aboard. By the time the party had been twenty-four hours aboard the train the members were rapidly becoming well acquainted with each other. On the morning of the second day out from Chicago the party reached Las Vegas, New Mexico, where a surprise had been arranged for Hon. A. A. Jones, assistant secretary of the interior, whose home is at that place. Every one except the assistant secretary had been let into the secret and, in consequence, all of the travelers were up at seven-thirty when the train reached the city. It seemed as if half of the population of the new State had turned out to bid welcome of its distinguished citizen, for the widespreading lawn in front of the Santa Fe station was thronged with men, women and children cheering and shouting for Jones. Mr. Jones promptly appeared and was presented to the crowd by Judge Leahy of the local court. The members of the congressional party formed the background while Secretary Jones spoke to his fellow townsmen, telling them of the trip upon which the party was bound. Then there were calls for 'Uncle Joe' as soon as the New Mexicans learned that the former speaker of the house of representatives was aboard the train. Mr. Cannon responded with a brief speech. and next there was a demand for Representative Mann, the minority leader of the house. When the men had had their say Mrs. W. A. Cullop, wife of the Indiana congressman, took the platform and amid great applause addressed the audience, urging especially that the women of New Mexico be given the franchise.”/tiles/collection/2/28380.xml
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Page with photo of a man and woman in leis, captioned, “Representative and Mrs. James R. Mann, Learning Hawaiian Customs.” Text reads, “After a half day's ride across the desert, Albuquerque, New Mexico, was reached, and it had been arranged that there should be a stopover there of four hours-from one o'clock till five in the afternoon. Alighting from the t rain the members of the party were caught by a moving-picture camera operated by Representative C. B. Miller of Duluth, Minnesota, who is an expert photographer. After the travelers had visited the curio shops and inspected some of the quaint 'dobe huts of the Mexicans in the vicinity of the magnificent Santa Fe station, they entered autos and were driven to the Indian school, where some four hundred pupils of both sexes in uniform were drawn up for review. By Saturday night the party was like one big family, and to relieve the natural weariness and monotony of long travel Mrs. William P. Borland, with characteristic enthusiasm, arranged for an evening of entertainment in the spacious observation car and introduced Representative W. H. Stafford as the master of ceremonies. There was a program of music and reading which gave to the trip its first touch of vaudeville. Mr. Desha furnished the instrumental music and also rendered several Hawaiian selections, the most popular of which was 'Aloha,' which came to be the official song of the party. A mixed quartet rendered popular and topical songs, while Representative M. F. Conry enlivened the evening with several solos and introduced parodies on the latest song hits, made specially applicable to the occasion. A delightful feature of Mrs. Borland's program was the readings by Mrs. William G. Brown. Just before leaving New Mexico and crossing the State line into Arizona the train stopped for a few minutes at Gallup, New Mexico, where snow was falling, and those who disembarked enjoyed a snowball frolic, an incident which they will recall as in striking contrast with the balmy air and sunshine of Hawaii. Little or nothing was seen of Arizona, as the party passed through the state during the night, and just after breakfast emerged at The Needles, California. A short stop was made there, and when”/tiles/collection/2/28381.xml
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Page with text and a photo of a man lying down, smoking a cigar, captioned, “Representative Burnett Resting, and—.” Text reads, “the journey was resumed the ever-resourceful Mrs. Borland had arranged for a religious service, which was carried out with nothing missing except the sermon and the collection, thus forever disproving the statement made by the effete Easterners that there is no Sabbath west of the Continental divide. "Then began the last lap to San Francisco, and during the evening another religious service was held. When the travelers awoke on Monday morning they looked out of the car windows upon San Francisco Bay with the beautiful Golden Gate through which they were soon to sail. in the gray dawn of the distance. In the metropolis by the Golden Gate, one interesting event closely followed upon the heels of another throughout Monday. In conjunction with the representative of Hawaii, the visitors were guests of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, the Commercial Club and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Company. During the forenoon there was an extended trip around San Francisco Bay, and a visit to all the points of interest in that little inland sea capable of giving anchorage to all the vessels of all the navies of the world. Following this there was an elaborate luncheon at the Commercial Club to which the women of the party were invited, the club by special dispensation extending its hospitality to them for this occasion. "During the progress of the meal, while members of the club sat around the sumptuously decorated dining hall an address of welcome was delivered by Mayor Rolph, to which responses in happy vein were made by Senator Overman, Senator James, Senator Warren, Representative Sherley, Representative Mann and Former Speaker Cannon. Senator Phelan concluded the oratorical feast with a pleasing address; after which the members of the party were given their first glimpse of the wonderful ex position. Driven swiftly through the streets of the new San Francisco they soon arrived at the main entrance to the fair grounds, and standing before the gorgeous Tower of Jewels building they again posed before the moving picture camera. Then followed a walk through the various courts surrounded by the beautiful buildings and along the broad avenues lined with scores of structures of great architectural magnificence, in order that the guests might get a general comprehensive view of the artistic arrangement of the exposition edifices. Then, as all roads lead to the Zone, the members of the party soon found themselves hiking down this broad thoroughfare flanked on either side with scores of novelty attractions, and on to the greatest of them all, the miniature reproduction of the Panama Canal. There spread out with picturesque panoramic effect they studied with much interest every detail of this marvel of engineering skill, the eighth wonder of the world. The topography of the isthmus, the stupendous locks, the Culebra Cut, the Gatun dam and all of the various features of this man, made waterway were observed with the keenest interest. The time had been so fully occupied that opportunity was only afforded before the return to the hotel to visit the beautiful Hawaii building, where the visitors were received with a most cordial welcome, listened to the sweet strains of Hawaiian music by the native orchestra, and had tea. At night the party returned to the exposition grounds and had an opportunity to witness the brilliant illumination which, due to the marvelous development”/tiles/collection/2/28382.xml
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Page with text and two photos of photographers, captioned, “Photographers Improving the Opportunity. Mrs. D.R. Anthony Kodaking. Representative C. B. Miller, On the Firing Line.” Text reads, “of electrical science during the past few years, far surpasses anything which any other exposition in the world has ever attempted. Through the courtesy of Bon. Norman E. Mack, New York's commissioner general to the exposition, a reception was held in the New York state building, and the members of the party were given a dinner by Senator Phelan. Following the banquet the party repaired to the California state building, where another reception was held and dancing was indulged in until a late hour. "The time fixed for the sailing of the Sierra was two o'clock in the afternoon, which gave every one a chance to recuperate during the morning, from the strenuous experiences of the clay previous. The sun was shining and the Sierra lay peaceful alongside the clock as the voyagers surged across the gangplank and lined up the rail waiting for the start. Several hundred friends gathered at the wharf and watched the steamer slowly pull away, while great streams of paper garlands stretched from the promenade deck to those on shore who were to be left behind. The Hawaiian band struck up 'Aloha,' and, amid cheers and good-byes and the waving of handkerchiefs, the good ship peacefully slipped out of the bay, through the Golden Gate and into the broad Pacific. Just before passing out into the sea the members of the party gathered on the port side and viewed the exposition grounds from the short front. For the first hour out everyone was gay and happy, but gradually as the land become hidden from view those who were not good sailors betook themselves to their cabins, and some did not come up on deck again until the Sierra was far out at sea. Many of them remained below for three clays. A few of the women and about one-half of the men underwent no ill effect from the sea, notwithstanding the fact that the ocean was somewhat rougher during the first three clays of the voyage than it is ordinarily at this season of the year. The cause for this was shown on Friday morning when the wireless which kept the Sierra in communication throughout the passage with the station at San Francisco, brought the news that a terrible gale, blowing at more than one hundred miles an hour had swept along the California Coast the night before, doing much damage to shipping. The Sierra was just a clay ahead of the storm and escaped with only the fag-end of the wind which raged off the mainland. By Friday afternoon there were frequent glimpses of the sun, and the members of the party who had been indisposed began to shown signs of returning animation and interest in life, and to mingle more freely than before with their traveling companions. There were deck promenades, potato races and various games, as well as bridge in the social hall. Mrs. Borland and Mr. Slemp arranged a progressive Mrs. D.R. Anthony Kodaking. bridge for Friday afternoon, in which there were twenty-eight participants.”/tiles/collection/2/28383.xml
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Page with text and a photo of two men and a woman standing near low columns, captioned, “Senator Martine, Mrs. James and Senator James, before the Bishop Museum, Honolulu.” Text reads, “On Friday evening and Saturday evening there was dancing and those who did not dance amused themselves in the social hall and in the smoking room with games of cards. 'Uncle Joe' Canon delighted the younger members of the party by doing the Virginia reel on deck and demonstrating that despite his seventy-nine years he is still a devotee of the spritely muse. Sunday morning services were conducted by the ship's surgeon, assisted by the musical members of the party and the religiously inclined, and a goodly collection was made among the passengers the passengers for the benefit of the sailors' home. The captain's dinner at night was another of the delightful features of the day. In the evening the good-bye gathering was held in the social hall where all of the passengers assembled. Senator Smoot was made chairman of the meeting and after expressing in a brief and appropriate speech the appreciation of his fellow-travelers to the captain, and other officers of the vessel as well as to the members of the crew for their services in making the voyage a happy one, he called upon various members of the party for remarks. Senator Warren, Senator Cummins and Representative Cannon responded in lighter vein, then followed a program of entertainment in which Mrs. Brown again delighted her hearers with a reading from the 'Girl of the Golden West', and Mrs. James Hamilton Lewis recited an original poem, in which she made humorous reference to various members of the party. The Congressional visitors were welcomed to Hawaii before their liner reached its dock, a reception committee on launches greeting the visitors outside the harbor, while the Hawaiian band, aboard a tug, gave a musical note to the reception. Before the congressmen and the other members of the party had set foot ashore they were introduced to the Hawaiian custom of decorating welcomed friends with flower garlands, ‘leis’ in the Hawaiian tongue, a delegation of pretty Hawaiian girls accompanying the reception committee to the Sierra to place these flower wreaths about the visitors' necks. A number of the visitors had visited Hawaii on previous occasions, and to”/tiles/collection/2/28384.xml
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Page with text and a photo of three men, captioned, “Hon. L. A. Thurston, Representative James R . Mann, and Hon. John A. Scott of Hilo.” Text reads, “these the wearing of leis was not new thing, but the majority experienced all the pleasure of novelty. The first glimpse of the Honolulu harbor, with its busy wharves, drydock, warehouses and modern coaling plant, with the shoreline crowded with automobiles, proved to be somewhat of a surprise to those entering the harbor for the first time. The steamship congestion, partly accounted for by the presence in port of two interned German warships and seven German steamers tied up for safety, interested those members, too, who are concerned with harbor and shipping development. The need of a larger harbor was most apparent. In the committee which welcomed the visitors to the Islands were the members of the general committee named by the legislature to have charge of the arrangements as a whole, and by a special committee of the leading residents of Honolulu. The general committee, of which Hon. J. K. Kalanianaole, Delegate to Congress, was chairman, was made up of Governor Lucius E. Pinkham, Hon. Wade Warren Thayer. Secretary of the Territory; Hon. Charles F. Chillingworth, President of the Senate; Hon. H. Lincoln Holstein, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Senators Harry A. Baldwin, James L. Coke, Stephen L. Desha and Charles A. Rice and Representatives J. H. Coney, Peruvian J. Goodness, George H. Huddy and Norman Watkins. The Honolulu reception committee, the members of which escorted the visitors to their hotels at Waikiki, Honolulu's sea-side district, was headed by Mayor John C. Lane and composed of Admiral C. B. T. Moore, Major General Wm. H. Carter, Chief Justice A. G. M. Robertson, Justice E. M. Watson, Justice R. P. Quarles, Judge Sanford B. Dole, Judge Charles F. Clemons, Judge C. W. Ashford, Judge Wm. L. Whitney, Judge C. B. Stuart, I. M. Stainback, C. J . McCarthy, Charles R. Forbes, J. H. Fisher, J. D. Tucker, H. W. Kinney, Walter E. Wall, W. P. Jarrett, Jeff McCarn, J. J. Smiddy, Malcolm Franklin, J. F. Haley, C. A. Cottrill, F. L. Waldron, J. M. Dowsett, A. W. T. Bottomley, W. O. Smith, C. R. Hemenway, C. H. Olson, A. Lindsay, Jr., J. T. De Bolt,”/tiles/collection/2/28385.xml
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Page with text and a photo of a group, captioned, “Sitting-Lieutenant Colonel J. B. McDonald, Mrs. J. T. Robinson and Mrs. McDonald. Senator Joe T. Robinson is standing.” Text reads, “Richard Ivers, C. B. Cooper, E. A. Mott-Smith, H. V. Murray, F. C. Smith, Albert Waterhouse, G. H. Angus, E. W. Sutton, J. D. Dole, W. P. Thomas, E. A. Berndt, Ed. Towse, John Effinger, Z. K. Myers, J. D. Mclnerny, W. T. Rawlins, Georg Rodiek, August Humburg, J. E. Sheedy, R. O. Matheson, R. H. Allen, R. C. Brown, J . A. Kennedy, F. E. Blake, F. M. Swanzy, E. H. Wodehouse, E. D. Tenney, E. F. Bishop, J. R. Galt, G. R. Carter, G. P. Castle, J. B. Castle, C. H. Cooke, E. I. Spalding, R. W. Shingle, R. H . Trent, Williard E. Brown, L. Tenney Peck, C. G. Ballentyne, L. L. McCandless, A. J. Campbell, W. M. Giffard, G. J. Waller, M. M. Johnson, D. Kalauokalani, Palmer P. Woods, Samuel Parker, A. F. Griffiths, John Mason Young, Arthur L. Dean, A. F. Judd, A. E. Murphy, Antonio Perry, A. L. Castle, John Hughes, Akaiko Akana, Archie Mahaulu, Edgar Henriques, A. D. Castro,.C. P. Iaukea. Charl es Notley, D. E. Metzger, John H. Wilson, C. H. Brown, J.M. Riggs, A. A. Young, S. S. Paxson, A. J. Wirtz. Edward Quinn, D. P. R. Isenberg, William Williamson, C. A. Brown, H. M. von Holt, W. A. Bryan, L. E. Thayer, J. S. Donaghho, John Waterhouse, B. F. Dillingham, T. H. Petrie, W. L. Stanley, W. F. Frear, Arthur G. Smith, John W. Waldron and J. G. Pratt. The first afternoon ashore, many of the visitors enjoyed the surf at Waikiki, a bathing beach mad e famous by the many songs and stories for which its charm has furnished the motif. A few of the youngest and bravest essayed to learn the mystery of the surf board, but the majority were quite content with the thrills supplied by surf riding in outrigger canoes, with skilful, brawny Hawaiian youths as paddlers. ‘A toboggan ride on water,’ is the way one fair visitor described the sensation of shooting along on the crest of a big comber, sliding down water hill without ever reaching the bottom. The formal greeting of Hawaii to the members of the party came that evening, when the visitors were guests of Governor Pinkham at a reception in the Capitol, the affair taking. place in what was once the throne room of the Royal Palace, where King Kalalaua and, later, Queen Liliuokalani, had held their royal levees. This reception was largely attended and the various senators and representatives were kept busy greeting the residents who hailed from their various home States. The next two days were spent on the Island of Oahu, and busy days they were. Tuesday morning proved of interest to the visitors, a visit to a number of the educational institutions of the city being made. The tour included short stops at both private and public schools, preceded by visits to two of the forts in Honolulu. The mortar pits at Fort Ruger, built on the slope of the extinct crater of Diamond Head, were first inspected, while the more venturesome of the party traversed the tunnel bored through the lava side of the old crater and inspected the fortlike interior of this Hawaiian Gibraltar. The Coast Artillerymen demonstrated the loading and firing of the big pieces of ordnance. Fort DeRussy, where Uncle Sam has mounted fourteen-inch and six-inch rifles, was next inspected, and here the guardians of the big guns also demonstrated their skill in handling the great pieces.”/tiles/collection/2/28386.xml
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Page with a photo of a building and trees, captioned, “Pauahi Hall, One of a Score of Fine Buildings of Punahou Academy, Honolulu.”/tiles/collection/2/28387.xml
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Back cover of the book, stamped “The Advertiser, Honolulu, T. H.”/tiles/collection/2/28388.xml
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Cover of a booklet titled "A Souvenir of the Trip of the Congressional Party to Hawaii in 1915,” with images of palm trees and water, and a “Congressional Party Hawaii 1915 Aloha” seal
Title page of book, with a black and white photograph of palm trees on a beach near mountains, and text reading, “Congressional Visit to Hawaii 1915 By Roderick O. Matheson, Photographs by J. Williams and E. K. Fernandez, Official Photographers; R. K. Bonine and A. Gurrey, Jr. The Advertiser Press, Honolulu, Hawaii”
Page with three head and shoulders photographs of men, captioned, “Hon. J. K. Kalanianaole, Delegate to Congress. Hon. Lucius E. Pinkham, Governor of Hawaii. Hon. Wade Warren Thayer, Secretary of the Territory.”
Page with a photograph of men in suits, captioned, “Legislative Committee In Charge- Sitting, left to right: President Chillingworth, Senate of Hawaii; Secretary of the Territory Thayer, Governor Pinkham, Prince Kalanianaole, Delegate to Congress, and Speaker Holstein of the House of Representatives, Hawaii. Standing: Representative Coney of Kauai, Senator Rice of Kauai, Representative Watkins of Oahu, Representative Huddy of Hawaii, Senator Coke of Oahu and Representative Goodness of Maui.”
Page with text and a photograph of a ship, captioned, “The Good Ship Sierra, of the Oceanic Line, Which Brought the Party to Hawaii.” Text reads, “Congressional Visit to Hawaii, 1915. To Visit the newest portion of the American Union, the Farthest west of the United States, thirty-seven members of congress, ten Senators and twenty-seven members of the House of Representatives, left Chicago on April 22 as guests of the Territory of Hawaii, reaching Honolulu on the morning of May 3, to spend eighteen busy days touring the four principal islands of the Hawaiian Group. Accompanying the members of congress, also as guests of the Island Territory, were wives, sons and daughters of the congressmen, secretaries and newspaper men and several other distinguished guests, prominent amongst whom were Assistant Secretary of the Interior A. A. Tones and Mrs. Jones; F. B. Lord, president of the National Press Club, Washington; Mrs. James Hamilton Lewis, wife of Senator Lewis of Chicago; Hon. Joseph Know lands of San Francisco and Mrs. Knowlands; and J. A. Breckons of Cheyenne, Wyoming, private secretary to Senator Warren and for years well known in Hawaii through his work as a newspaper correspondent. In all, the party which stepped down the gangplank of the good ship Sierra in the bright sunlight of a May morning at Honolulu numbered one hundred and twenty persons, the largest semi-official party that had ever crossed the Pacific and including many of the leading statesmen of the nation. In the party were: Senator Albert B. Cummins, Des Moines, Iowa, and Mrs. Cummins. Senator T. W. Hardwick, Sandersville, Georgia. Senator Ollie Tames, Marion, Kentucky, and Mrs. James.”
Page with text and a photo of a group in suits, hat, and leis, captioned, “Reception Committee, With Leis, Which Met the Visitors Outside Honolulu Harbor.” Text reads, “Senator James E. Martine, Plainfield, New Jersey, and Mrs. Martine. Senator Lee S. Overman, Salisbury, North Carolina; Miss Grave Overman, Miss Kathryn Overman, Miss Mildred Borden and Miss Ann I. Pou, daughter of Representative Pou. Senator Joe T. Robinson, Lonoke Arkansas; Mrs. Robinson, Miss Aline King and Miss Miller. Senator Willard Saulsbury, Wilmington, Delaware, and Mrs. Salsbury. Senator John Shafroth, Denver, Colorado, and Mrs. Shafroth. Senator Reed Smoot, Salt Lake Utah; Mrs. Smoot, L. L. Nunn, Mr. Baynes and Mr. Jenkins. Senator Francis E. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Mrs. Warren. Representative J. A. M. Adair, Portland, Indiana, and Mrs. Adair. Representative J. W. Alexander, Gallatin. Missouri, and Mrs. Alexander. Representative D. R. Anthony, Leavenworth, Kansas, and Mrs. Anthony. Representative R. W. Austin. Knoxville, Tennessee : Mrs. Austin and Miss Austin. Representative A. J. Barchfeld, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Barchfeld, Miss Barchfeld , Mrs. Myra Davis, Mr. W. C. Gearing, Mrs. W. C. Gearing and Mr. F. P. Kraus. Representative W. P . Borland, Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Borland and Mrs. K. B. Fullerton. Representative William G. Brown, Jr., Kingwood, West Virginia, and Mrs. Brown. Representative Clement Brumbaugh, Columbus, Ohio, and Mrs. Brumbaugh. Representative John L. Burnett, Gadsden, Alabama. Representative Phil P. Campbell, Pittsburg. Kansas; Mrs. Campbell and Miss Campbell. Representative J . G. Cannon Danville, Illinois. Representative William J. Cary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mrs. Cary and W. J. Cary, Jr. Representative W. A. Cullop, Vincennes, Indiana, and Mrs. Cullop. Representative W. F. Conry, New York City, and Mrs. Conry.”
Page with text and a photo of a group of men and women on the steps of a building, captioned, “Senator Overman, Mr. A. J. Erly, the Misses Overman, Representative Rodenberg, Territorial Secretary Thayer and Mr. F. P. Kraus, in Honolulu.” Text reads, “Representative James S. Davenport, Vinita, Oklahoma; Mrs. Davenport and Mrs. L F. Parker. Representative L C. Dyer, St. Louis, Missouri. Representative Geo. W. Fairchild, Oneonta, New York, and Mrs. Fairchild. Representative Scott Ferris, Lawton, Okla., and Mrs. Ferris. Representative J. A. Frear, Hudson, Wis., and Mrs. Frear. Representative Carter Glass, Lynchburg, Virginia; Mrs. Glass, Miss Glass, Carter Glass, Jr., and Mrs. G. F. Lucado. Ex-Representative and Mrs. J. M. Gudger, Asheville, North Carolina. Representative Albert Johnson, Hoquiam, Washington, and Mrs. Johnson. Representative J. N. Langley, Pikeville, Kentucky, and Mrs. Langley. Representative William Kettner, San Diego, California, and Mrs. Kettner. Representative Gordon Lee, Chickamauga, Georgia; Mrs. Lee and Miss Pringle. Representative J. R. Mann, Chicago, Ill., and Mrs. Mann. Representative C. B. Miller, Duluth, Minnesota, and Mrs. Miller. Representative William B. McKinley, Champaign, Illinois, and Miss Julia Mattis. Representative J. H. Moore, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Moore. Representative D. J. Riordan, New York City; Mrs. Riordan and Miss Riordan. Representative W. A. Rodenberg, East St. Louis, Illinois, and Mrs. Rodenberg. Representative John J. Rogers, Lowell, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Rogers. Representative E. W. Saunders, Rocky Mount, Virginia; Mrs. Saunders, Peter Saunders and Miss Kitty Lee. Representative Swagar Sherley, Louisville, Kentucky, and Mrs. Sherley. Representative J. L. Slayden, San Antonio, Texas, and Mrs. Slayden. Representative C. B. Slemp, Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and Miss Slemp. Representative W. H. Stafford, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Representative R. Y. Thomas, Central City, Kentucky. Hon. A. A. Jones, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and Mrs. Jones.”
Page with text and a photo of a smiling man and woman in bathing costumes, standing in the ocean, with a caption reading, “Representative Wm. G. Brown and Mrs. Brown, Ready for a Dip at Waikiki.” The text reads, “J. A. Breckons, Cheyenne, Wyoming. F. B. Lord, president National Press Club, Washington. Mrs. James Hamilton Lewis, Chicago. Hon. Joseph Knowland, Oakland, California; Mrs. Knowland and Miss Knowland. A. J. Erly, Washington. T. S. Blalock, Georgia. The Legislature of Hawaii, on the suggestion of the Hawaiian Delegate to Congress, Prince Kuhio Kalanianole, had appropriated forty thousand dollars for the expenses of the trip, being desirous that as many members of congress as could visit Hasaii should be invited to do so, to see for themselves what the actual facts concerning the Islands are, how the people live, what are the working conditions of the laboring population, what the port and harbor needs of the Islands might be, the manner in which the chief agricultural industries of the Islands—sugar and pineapples—is conducted, and, generally, what the Territory of Hawaii is and could be to the balance of the American Union. The value of bringing to the personal attention of the national legislators the military and naval needs of Oahu, the Mid-Pacific Sentinel for the Pacific Coast, was also taken into consideration in the voting of the appropriation, thus making the visit of the Congressional Party of national as well as of Territorial importance. This was the third Congressional Party to visit Hawaii as official guests of all the people of Hawaii, similar congressional delegations having toured the Islands in 1907 and 1909. Because of published criticisms that the Congressional visitors in 1915 were brought to Hawaii as a special performance of the ‘sugar lobby’ these facts are given. Hawaii has welcomed and entertained former Congressional parties, and hopes to welcome and entertain others in the future. It is good business for all concerned, and Hawaii attached no conditions to her invitations except that her congressional visitors come and see for themselves and then legislate concerning Hawaii in the light of personal knowledge of conditions. The members of the Congressional Party of 1915 gathered in Chicago on April 22, where they were met by J. R. Desha. secretary of Delegate Kalanianaole, who accompanied the party to Honolulu. The trip from Chicago to Honolulu has been described by F. B. Lord, president of the National Press Club, who was one of the guests of the Territory. Mr. Lord wrote, on the clay of the arrival of the party at Honolulu: ‘It was with an anticipation which had been growing more and more keen and acute clay by clay for the past two months’”
Page with a photo of a building, captioned, “The Capitol, Honolulu, Formerly the Royal Palace, Erected by King Kalakaua”
Page with text and a photo of smiling people walking down stairs, captioned, “Mr. Robert W. Shingle, Senator Ollie James, Mrs. James and Mr. Edgar Henriques, Setting Out to See Honolulu.” Text reads, “since the plans for the excursion began to take form, that the fortunate ones assembled on Wednesday, April 22, at La Salle Hotel 111 Chicago where they were met by J. R. Desha of Hilo, secretary to Delegate Kalanianaole, who was to conduct the party to the Islands. ‘Those who reached Chicago a clay in advance of the time of departure had the pleasure of being entertained at a luncheon given by the Chicago Commercial Club in the banquet room of La Salle Hotel. This was but an introduction, a sort of prelude to the series of luncheons, dinners and entertainments which were to follow, one close after another, all the way to the Coast, and while in San Francisco, from which port the party sailed on Monday afternoon, April 27. Inasmuch as the chief purpose of the trip is to acquaint the members of congress and those in official life in Washington with the governmental needs of the Islands, and their advantage from a naval strategic point of view, as well as the commercial opportunities which they afford, invitations were extended both to members of the senate and house of representatives and to those representing both political parties. Therefore, their visit will combine business and pleasure, while their wives, daughters and friends who accompany them will have occasion to enjoy Hawaii hospitality at the same time. Everything was in readiness at eight o'clock, Thursday night, April 22, when those members of the party who had met in Chicago hoarded the Santa Fe railroad's de luxe train, running special, for San Francisco. The first night out carried the happy travelers across Illinois, and a corner of southwestern Iowa, and when they arose the next morning the handsomely appointed train, with every equipment which a king might desire, was speeding through the rich agricultural region of western Missouri. The breakfast hour was no more than passed when the train drew into the new station of the Santa Fe at Kansas City,’”
Page with text and a photo of two men and two women wearing leis, captioned, “Representative Carter Glass, Mrs. Glass, Representative J. L. Slayden and Mrs. Slayden, After Being Bedecked with Leis.” Text reads, “where the members of the party who had started from Chicago were joined by the Missourians and others from Oklahoma and Kansas. Throughout the entire day the train swept across the broad prairies of the Sunflower State. Nightfall brought the train to La Junta, Colorado, where Senator and Mrs. Francis E. Warren, who had come down from Cheyenne, Wyoming, came aboard. By the time the party had been twenty-four hours aboard the train the members were rapidly becoming well acquainted with each other. On the morning of the second day out from Chicago the party reached Las Vegas, New Mexico, where a surprise had been arranged for Hon. A. A. Jones, assistant secretary of the interior, whose home is at that place. Every one except the assistant secretary had been let into the secret and, in consequence, all of the travelers were up at seven-thirty when the train reached the city. It seemed as if half of the population of the new State had turned out to bid welcome of its distinguished citizen, for the widespreading lawn in front of the Santa Fe station was thronged with men, women and children cheering and shouting for Jones. Mr. Jones promptly appeared and was presented to the crowd by Judge Leahy of the local court. The members of the congressional party formed the background while Secretary Jones spoke to his fellow townsmen, telling them of the trip upon which the party was bound. Then there were calls for 'Uncle Joe' as soon as the New Mexicans learned that the former speaker of the house of representatives was aboard the train. Mr. Cannon responded with a brief speech. and next there was a demand for Representative Mann, the minority leader of the house. When the men had had their say Mrs. W. A. Cullop, wife of the Indiana congressman, took the platform and amid great applause addressed the audience, urging especially that the women of New Mexico be given the franchise.”
Page with photo of a man and woman in leis, captioned, “Representative and Mrs. James R. Mann, Learning Hawaiian Customs.” Text reads, “After a half day's ride across the desert, Albuquerque, New Mexico, was reached, and it had been arranged that there should be a stopover there of four hours-from one o'clock till five in the afternoon. Alighting from the t rain the members of the party were caught by a moving-picture camera operated by Representative C. B. Miller of Duluth, Minnesota, who is an expert photographer. After the travelers had visited the curio shops and inspected some of the quaint 'dobe huts of the Mexicans in the vicinity of the magnificent Santa Fe station, they entered autos and were driven to the Indian school, where some four hundred pupils of both sexes in uniform were drawn up for review. By Saturday night the party was like one big family, and to relieve the natural weariness and monotony of long travel Mrs. William P. Borland, with characteristic enthusiasm, arranged for an evening of entertainment in the spacious observation car and introduced Representative W. H. Stafford as the master of ceremonies. There was a program of music and reading which gave to the trip its first touch of vaudeville. Mr. Desha furnished the instrumental music and also rendered several Hawaiian selections, the most popular of which was 'Aloha,' which came to be the official song of the party. A mixed quartet rendered popular and topical songs, while Representative M. F. Conry enlivened the evening with several solos and introduced parodies on the latest song hits, made specially applicable to the occasion. A delightful feature of Mrs. Borland's program was the readings by Mrs. William G. Brown. Just before leaving New Mexico and crossing the State line into Arizona the train stopped for a few minutes at Gallup, New Mexico, where snow was falling, and those who disembarked enjoyed a snowball frolic, an incident which they will recall as in striking contrast with the balmy air and sunshine of Hawaii. Little or nothing was seen of Arizona, as the party passed through the state during the night, and just after breakfast emerged at The Needles, California. A short stop was made there, and when”
Page with text and a photo of a man lying down, smoking a cigar, captioned, “Representative Burnett Resting, and—.” Text reads, “the journey was resumed the ever-resourceful Mrs. Borland had arranged for a religious service, which was carried out with nothing missing except the sermon and the collection, thus forever disproving the statement made by the effete Easterners that there is no Sabbath west of the Continental divide. "Then began the last lap to San Francisco, and during the evening another religious service was held. When the travelers awoke on Monday morning they looked out of the car windows upon San Francisco Bay with the beautiful Golden Gate through which they were soon to sail. in the gray dawn of the distance. In the metropolis by the Golden Gate, one interesting event closely followed upon the heels of another throughout Monday. In conjunction with the representative of Hawaii, the visitors were guests of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, the Commercial Club and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Company. During the forenoon there was an extended trip around San Francisco Bay, and a visit to all the points of interest in that little inland sea capable of giving anchorage to all the vessels of all the navies of the world. Following this there was an elaborate luncheon at the Commercial Club to which the women of the party were invited, the club by special dispensation extending its hospitality to them for this occasion. "During the progress of the meal, while members of the club sat around the sumptuously decorated dining hall an address of welcome was delivered by Mayor Rolph, to which responses in happy vein were made by Senator Overman, Senator James, Senator Warren, Representative Sherley, Representative Mann and Former Speaker Cannon. Senator Phelan concluded the oratorical feast with a pleasing address; after which the members of the party were given their first glimpse of the wonderful ex position. Driven swiftly through the streets of the new San Francisco they soon arrived at the main entrance to the fair grounds, and standing before the gorgeous Tower of Jewels building they again posed before the moving picture camera. Then followed a walk through the various courts surrounded by the beautiful buildings and along the broad avenues lined with scores of structures of great architectural magnificence, in order that the guests might get a general comprehensive view of the artistic arrangement of the exposition edifices. Then, as all roads lead to the Zone, the members of the party soon found themselves hiking down this broad thoroughfare flanked on either side with scores of novelty attractions, and on to the greatest of them all, the miniature reproduction of the Panama Canal. There spread out with picturesque panoramic effect they studied with much interest every detail of this marvel of engineering skill, the eighth wonder of the world. The topography of the isthmus, the stupendous locks, the Culebra Cut, the Gatun dam and all of the various features of this man, made waterway were observed with the keenest interest. The time had been so fully occupied that opportunity was only afforded before the return to the hotel to visit the beautiful Hawaii building, where the visitors were received with a most cordial welcome, listened to the sweet strains of Hawaiian music by the native orchestra, and had tea. At night the party returned to the exposition grounds and had an opportunity to witness the brilliant illumination which, due to the marvelous development”
Page with text and two photos of photographers, captioned, “Photographers Improving the Opportunity. Mrs. D.R. Anthony Kodaking. Representative C. B. Miller, On the Firing Line.” Text reads, “of electrical science during the past few years, far surpasses anything which any other exposition in the world has ever attempted. Through the courtesy of Bon. Norman E. Mack, New York's commissioner general to the exposition, a reception was held in the New York state building, and the members of the party were given a dinner by Senator Phelan. Following the banquet the party repaired to the California state building, where another reception was held and dancing was indulged in until a late hour. "The time fixed for the sailing of the Sierra was two o'clock in the afternoon, which gave every one a chance to recuperate during the morning, from the strenuous experiences of the clay previous. The sun was shining and the Sierra lay peaceful alongside the clock as the voyagers surged across the gangplank and lined up the rail waiting for the start. Several hundred friends gathered at the wharf and watched the steamer slowly pull away, while great streams of paper garlands stretched from the promenade deck to those on shore who were to be left behind. The Hawaiian band struck up 'Aloha,' and, amid cheers and good-byes and the waving of handkerchiefs, the good ship peacefully slipped out of the bay, through the Golden Gate and into the broad Pacific. Just before passing out into the sea the members of the party gathered on the port side and viewed the exposition grounds from the short front. For the first hour out everyone was gay and happy, but gradually as the land become hidden from view those who were not good sailors betook themselves to their cabins, and some did not come up on deck again until the Sierra was far out at sea. Many of them remained below for three clays. A few of the women and about one-half of the men underwent no ill effect from the sea, notwithstanding the fact that the ocean was somewhat rougher during the first three clays of the voyage than it is ordinarily at this season of the year. The cause for this was shown on Friday morning when the wireless which kept the Sierra in communication throughout the passage with the station at San Francisco, brought the news that a terrible gale, blowing at more than one hundred miles an hour had swept along the California Coast the night before, doing much damage to shipping. The Sierra was just a clay ahead of the storm and escaped with only the fag-end of the wind which raged off the mainland. By Friday afternoon there were frequent glimpses of the sun, and the members of the party who had been indisposed began to shown signs of returning animation and interest in life, and to mingle more freely than before with their traveling companions. There were deck promenades, potato races and various games, as well as bridge in the social hall. Mrs. Borland and Mr. Slemp arranged a progressive Mrs. D.R. Anthony Kodaking. bridge for Friday afternoon, in which there were twenty-eight participants.”
Page with text and a photo of two men and a woman standing near low columns, captioned, “Senator Martine, Mrs. James and Senator James, before the Bishop Museum, Honolulu.” Text reads, “On Friday evening and Saturday evening there was dancing and those who did not dance amused themselves in the social hall and in the smoking room with games of cards. 'Uncle Joe' Canon delighted the younger members of the party by doing the Virginia reel on deck and demonstrating that despite his seventy-nine years he is still a devotee of the spritely muse. Sunday morning services were conducted by the ship's surgeon, assisted by the musical members of the party and the religiously inclined, and a goodly collection was made among the passengers the passengers for the benefit of the sailors' home. The captain's dinner at night was another of the delightful features of the day. In the evening the good-bye gathering was held in the social hall where all of the passengers assembled. Senator Smoot was made chairman of the meeting and after expressing in a brief and appropriate speech the appreciation of his fellow-travelers to the captain, and other officers of the vessel as well as to the members of the crew for their services in making the voyage a happy one, he called upon various members of the party for remarks. Senator Warren, Senator Cummins and Representative Cannon responded in lighter vein, then followed a program of entertainment in which Mrs. Brown again delighted her hearers with a reading from the 'Girl of the Golden West', and Mrs. James Hamilton Lewis recited an original poem, in which she made humorous reference to various members of the party. The Congressional visitors were welcomed to Hawaii before their liner reached its dock, a reception committee on launches greeting the visitors outside the harbor, while the Hawaiian band, aboard a tug, gave a musical note to the reception. Before the congressmen and the other members of the party had set foot ashore they were introduced to the Hawaiian custom of decorating welcomed friends with flower garlands, ‘leis’ in the Hawaiian tongue, a delegation of pretty Hawaiian girls accompanying the reception committee to the Sierra to place these flower wreaths about the visitors' necks. A number of the visitors had visited Hawaii on previous occasions, and to”
Page with text and a photo of three men, captioned, “Hon. L. A. Thurston, Representative James R . Mann, and Hon. John A. Scott of Hilo.” Text reads, “these the wearing of leis was not new thing, but the majority experienced all the pleasure of novelty. The first glimpse of the Honolulu harbor, with its busy wharves, drydock, warehouses and modern coaling plant, with the shoreline crowded with automobiles, proved to be somewhat of a surprise to those entering the harbor for the first time. The steamship congestion, partly accounted for by the presence in port of two interned German warships and seven German steamers tied up for safety, interested those members, too, who are concerned with harbor and shipping development. The need of a larger harbor was most apparent. In the committee which welcomed the visitors to the Islands were the members of the general committee named by the legislature to have charge of the arrangements as a whole, and by a special committee of the leading residents of Honolulu. The general committee, of which Hon. J. K. Kalanianaole, Delegate to Congress, was chairman, was made up of Governor Lucius E. Pinkham, Hon. Wade Warren Thayer. Secretary of the Territory; Hon. Charles F. Chillingworth, President of the Senate; Hon. H. Lincoln Holstein, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Senators Harry A. Baldwin, James L. Coke, Stephen L. Desha and Charles A. Rice and Representatives J. H. Coney, Peruvian J. Goodness, George H. Huddy and Norman Watkins. The Honolulu reception committee, the members of which escorted the visitors to their hotels at Waikiki, Honolulu's sea-side district, was headed by Mayor John C. Lane and composed of Admiral C. B. T. Moore, Major General Wm. H. Carter, Chief Justice A. G. M. Robertson, Justice E. M. Watson, Justice R. P. Quarles, Judge Sanford B. Dole, Judge Charles F. Clemons, Judge C. W. Ashford, Judge Wm. L. Whitney, Judge C. B. Stuart, I. M. Stainback, C. J . McCarthy, Charles R. Forbes, J. H. Fisher, J. D. Tucker, H. W. Kinney, Walter E. Wall, W. P. Jarrett, Jeff McCarn, J. J. Smiddy, Malcolm Franklin, J. F. Haley, C. A. Cottrill, F. L. Waldron, J. M. Dowsett, A. W. T. Bottomley, W. O. Smith, C. R. Hemenway, C. H. Olson, A. Lindsay, Jr., J. T. De Bolt,”
Page with text and a photo of a group, captioned, “Sitting-Lieutenant Colonel J. B. McDonald, Mrs. J. T. Robinson and Mrs. McDonald. Senator Joe T. Robinson is standing.” Text reads, “Richard Ivers, C. B. Cooper, E. A. Mott-Smith, H. V. Murray, F. C. Smith, Albert Waterhouse, G. H. Angus, E. W. Sutton, J. D. Dole, W. P. Thomas, E. A. Berndt, Ed. Towse, John Effinger, Z. K. Myers, J. D. Mclnerny, W. T. Rawlins, Georg Rodiek, August Humburg, J. E. Sheedy, R. O. Matheson, R. H. Allen, R. C. Brown, J . A. Kennedy, F. E. Blake, F. M. Swanzy, E. H. Wodehouse, E. D. Tenney, E. F. Bishop, J. R. Galt, G. R. Carter, G. P. Castle, J. B. Castle, C. H. Cooke, E. I. Spalding, R. W. Shingle, R. H . Trent, Williard E. Brown, L. Tenney Peck, C. G. Ballentyne, L. L. McCandless, A. J. Campbell, W. M. Giffard, G. J. Waller, M. M. Johnson, D. Kalauokalani, Palmer P. Woods, Samuel Parker, A. F. Griffiths, John Mason Young, Arthur L. Dean, A. F. Judd, A. E. Murphy, Antonio Perry, A. L. Castle, John Hughes, Akaiko Akana, Archie Mahaulu, Edgar Henriques, A. D. Castro,.C. P. Iaukea. Charl es Notley, D. E. Metzger, John H. Wilson, C. H. Brown, J.M. Riggs, A. A. Young, S. S. Paxson, A. J. Wirtz. Edward Quinn, D. P. R. Isenberg, William Williamson, C. A. Brown, H. M. von Holt, W. A. Bryan, L. E. Thayer, J. S. Donaghho, John Waterhouse, B. F. Dillingham, T. H. Petrie, W. L. Stanley, W. F. Frear, Arthur G. Smith, John W. Waldron and J. G. Pratt. The first afternoon ashore, many of the visitors enjoyed the surf at Waikiki, a bathing beach mad e famous by the many songs and stories for which its charm has furnished the motif. A few of the youngest and bravest essayed to learn the mystery of the surf board, but the majority were quite content with the thrills supplied by surf riding in outrigger canoes, with skilful, brawny Hawaiian youths as paddlers. ‘A toboggan ride on water,’ is the way one fair visitor described the sensation of shooting along on the crest of a big comber, sliding down water hill without ever reaching the bottom. The formal greeting of Hawaii to the members of the party came that evening, when the visitors were guests of Governor Pinkham at a reception in the Capitol, the affair taking. place in what was once the throne room of the Royal Palace, where King Kalalaua and, later, Queen Liliuokalani, had held their royal levees. This reception was largely attended and the various senators and representatives were kept busy greeting the residents who hailed from their various home States. The next two days were spent on the Island of Oahu, and busy days they were. Tuesday morning proved of interest to the visitors, a visit to a number of the educational institutions of the city being made. The tour included short stops at both private and public schools, preceded by visits to two of the forts in Honolulu. The mortar pits at Fort Ruger, built on the slope of the extinct crater of Diamond Head, were first inspected, while the more venturesome of the party traversed the tunnel bored through the lava side of the old crater and inspected the fortlike interior of this Hawaiian Gibraltar. The Coast Artillerymen demonstrated the loading and firing of the big pieces of ordnance. Fort DeRussy, where Uncle Sam has mounted fourteen-inch and six-inch rifles, was next inspected, and here the guardians of the big guns also demonstrated their skill in handling the great pieces.”
Page with a photo of a building and trees, captioned, “Pauahi Hall, One of a Score of Fine Buildings of Punahou Academy, Honolulu.”
Back cover of the book, stamped “The Advertiser, Honolulu, T. H.”
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Date

1915

Dimensions

7 1/2 x 10 1/4 x 1/8 in. (19.1 x 26 x 0.3 cm)

Accession Number

2010.016.018

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

In 1915, Members of Congress and a gaggle of press took a trip to Hawaii. The excursion, documented in this souvenir book given to the visitors, showed that Hawaii’s Territorial Delegate Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole was a peerless event planner. Most Members of Congress knew little of Hawaii, making the case for statehood difficult. Kuhio began hosting tours to educate them on the islands’ beauty, fertility, and strategic position in the Pacific. For the 1915 trip, Hawaiians sailed out to greet the congressional visitors before they reached land, presenting leis that portended a grand adventure ahead.

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