The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-01-19
CAPTAIN WHITES SCHEME.
HE WANTS TO SUPPLY SALMON TO
THE ISLANDS.
Direct From the Columbia Plan Per-
fected-He Furnishes u Chapter
on Annexation.

Il am COMING DdCh mere anu tilBdBt III
business so soon as we know il annex
alton is to be postponed or not, said
Capt. M. White of the American sealing
schooner J. Eppinger. 81 propose" he
continued, supplying the market with
salmon. I have connections on the
Columbia river. Properly equipped |
will sail into that stream, load up and
come direct to Honolulu and other
Hawaiian ports with sailed salmon that
middlemen will never see. There will
be no profits for the San Francisco peo-
pie and by my method | can make
prices that will be much better than the
present figures. / have had tins scheme
in mind for some time and have sue
ceeded in interesting good men at both
ends of the line" Captain White is
himself shrewd business man of
means. He owns part of the Eppinger,
made successful sealing voyage last
season, made money in South Sea trad
ing the year before that and was at one
time part owner of Alaska salmon
fisheries. He has long had his eye on
this salmon market and as he plainly
says, is only waiting for political set
Element.
Captain White, like nearly every
visitor to the Islands or these waters, is
an ardent Annexationist. 1t was lie
who endeavored to induce the United
States to extend its protecting wings
over the Gilbert Islands. While cruising
in the south the captain became init.
mate with the aged Kanaka king of the
Gilbert group. That monarch had con-
cluded, after giving the matter much
thought, to apply in person for annexa-
ton TO the United States. He asked
Captain White for passage to San Fran.
cisco, and came aboard with fat pig
and his interpreter, jolly beachcomber.
"The old fellow" said Captain White,
Imagined that he could close the deal
in San Francisco in a couple of days and
start back for his home within week.
l tried to tell him that such affairs re-
quired time, but he could conceive of
no manner of doing business but the
direct and simple methods he had seen
all his life. Well, placed him at the
hotel and he was interviewed and his
mission made known i'm the East. San
Francisco, patriotic as usual, tried to
push his case. AT first there were
promises of commission from Wash
ington. Then the old chap was
asked to come on to the ma
tional capital. He had heard of
the chilling blasts and snow
banks of the mid.continent and refused
to leave the coast He said he would
wait. For couple of months he had
jolly time. He was feted by clubs, had
the freedom of the city and was well
coined at all the theaters. AT the end
of three months he had wearied of high
life. He began to be anxious about his
pigs and his wives. One day on the
waterfront he and his prime minister
found bark bound for the south and
negotiated passage. The king by this
time had several suits of clothes, lots of
jewelry and trinkets and couple of
plug hats, but he longed for his island
home.
"In few months l received letter
from the king. The note had been
laboriously constructed by the old tar
who acted as the rulers right-hand man
and contained some comments by that
individual The story was to the effect
that the English had seized the islands
in the north. The deal had been
closed by swapping new English flag
for an old banner the King had owned
for years. The monarch was heartsore
and discouraged and not without
animus towards the United States.
The English had made coaling sta
ton out of his possessions, just what he
wanted us to do. I tell you" said
Captain White, warming up, that UNI
less the United States injects some life
into its foreign policy she will never
amount to anything on the water, even
with her white squadron and the
Columbia and the Olympia and the
merchantmen Cramps are building.
It's a downright shame nothing less.
Men like myself feel this keenly, but we
don't seem to be able to do anything.
Still you people down here will succeed
this time if you just hold on. Every
body in the United States who speaks or
thinks honestly on the subject is with
you. If Jim Blaine was alive and in
office, Hawaiian annexation would be
an accomplished fact in few weeks"