The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-03-01
THRILLING WITH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.

1t Is evident that the Hawaiian annex
alton treaty will not be acted upon dur
ing the present session of the Senate.
This result is due to the position taken
by the Democrats. There is reason to
believe that if vote could be had In
the Senate the treaty would be ratified,
but the Democrats have agreed to pre-
vent an executive session to consider
the matter, thus throwing it over to the
next administration, thereby cOmplicat-
ing matters and endangering favorable
action. Their motive in this is two
fold. A few of them are opposed to an
nexation and hope by postponement to
defeat the treaty, while a majority, al
though favoring annexation. wish to
postpone consideration of the subject
till after the 4th of March, in order to
give the Cleveland administration the
credit of settling it and whatever pres
tige or glory may come of annexation.
1t is anything but a pleasant spectacle
to patriotic Americans to see this sub
ject dragged into partisan politics and
treated from SO narrow a point of view
as that of making political capital for
one administration over another. We
are accustomed to seeing important
questions of domestic policy treated in
that manner, and that is humiliating
enough. but it is far worse in the case Of
an international question involving the
interests and honor of the country for
all future time. The subject should
have been treated as promptly by the
Senate as it was by the President, and
should have been disposed of on Its
merits without reference to party poll
tics. Senator Morgan. the Democratic
leader of the Senate in everything re-
lating to foreign affairs, and who has
just sailed for Paris to sit as Behring
sea arbitrator, has left on record his
deliberate Judgment, very strongly ex-
pressed, that his party colleagues will
make great mistake if they put over
the ratification of the treaty submitted
by President Harrison to another ses-
sion. But that course has been decided
on, and it will be done.
ministratiOn may be, the American peo-
pie will not fail to note that President
Harrison recognized the Importance of
the question and the necessity of prompt
action as soon as it was presented to
him. They will remember that within
q few days after the Hawaiian commits
sioners reached Washington the Presi-
dent sent to the Senate a carefully
framed treaty of annexation, accompa-
MED by message setting forth in clear
and strong terms the Importance of tho
islands to the United States and the
necessity of prompt action by the Sem
ate. There is nothing in the treaty
committing the next administration to
any policy in regard to the kind of gov
ernment to be adopted for the islands
or hampering its action in any manner
whatever. 1t simply provided for the
annexation of the islands, leaving ev-
erything else to future legislation. The
treaty could have been ratified within
forty-eight hours after it was sent
to the Senate. The situation was
quite we'll enough understood for
intelligent action. Public sentiment, as
expressed by the press, was overwhelm-
ingly in favor of annexation. The OPP
portunity of acquiring the islands was
not of our seeking; on the contrary. it
sought us. The American people be-
ieve in the manifest destiny of the Re-
public, and they believe that when such
opportunities present themselves they
should be embraced. They would have
heartily approved the prompt ratifica-
ton of the Hawaiian treaty, and, be-
yond doubt, events would have fully
indicated the action. If the opportunity
is lost the responsibility will rest on the
Democrats in the Senate, who have
played their usual game of peanut poll
tics in dealing with an important inter-
national question. They are triflinR
with great opportunity in the hope of
scoring little party advantage. They
have not sense enough to understand
that there is tide in the affairs of ma
tions, as of men, which should be taken
at the flood, and they are willing to risk
great national advantage for the sake
of currying favor with Grover Cleveland.