Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-04-27
REMARKS OF Mr.. MILlIksN
In Committee Of the While April 18Th upon
the Consular and Diplomatic fpp.op ia
tioa Bill.

II IS announced 10 tne house. Every D0dy
of course, agrees With them. Nor am here
TO criticise MIR. Van Allen. think that
when Democrat can be found who will
decline an Office he ought to be dis'in-
auished, if not honored. daughter
agree also with my f,isud as to the vice
aud the crime of using money in elections
But do not think he was quite fair hen
he stated that they use no money in the
South, y lille we use it in the North. Hi:
statement may be correct; but would it no,
have been cute fair for him 10 have gone
little farther and stated that the reaeor
they do not use money in the South is thai
they have other and worse methods of &C
complshng their purpo'es at the polls thai
the use of money!
| Mr.. Walker. Oh, no; not worse; more
honorable, you mean.
Mr.. Milliken. l mean what say. lik
my friend from Massachusetts Mr.
Walker, but cannot allow him to be my
interpreter. Laughter.
| But have been charmed by the sublime
and | ought perhaps TO say childlike-
faith and confidence and hope of my frie nc
from Mis- 'issippi in attempting to resources
the Hawaiian policy of the administration
and make it respectable. 1t is the hes,
evidence I have ever yet seen of the truth
| or at least of the most firm faith in the
truth, of the doctrine of the resurrection
from the dead.
shall not attempt here today to defend
Mr.. Stevens. He is my constitute MT he has
been my friend for thirty years. know him
well. shall not spend time in defending
him, because he does not need defense
here. The gentleman from Mississippi
SAYS Mr.. Stevens had been condemned by
the secretary of state during the admins
tration of Mr.. Harrison. Sir, he was not
condemned at all. The secretary of state
simply showed that the acli IN of Mr..
Stevens had broader reach than Mr. Stev-
ems himself thought it had. In other words,
the action of Mr.. Stevens, as the secretary
of state said, amounted to the government
of the United States assuming prote ctor-
ate over the Hawaiian lei nds. That is all
there was 10 that matter. There was no
rebuke of the action of Mr.. Stevens, ex-
cept so far as it perhaps reached beyond the
line which the minister himself expected it
to reach.
But when the gentleman says that Minis
ter Stevens was rebuk.d by this House
why. Mr.. Chairman, what couli you ex-
pect? Here is House with 90 d mo-
cratic majority. Does anybody suppose
that man who raised the American flag
anywhere where there was the slightest
doubt Of the propriety of it, would not be
rebuked by this Democratic House? have
noticed with great deal of amuseme Mt and
some degree of interest the uneasness of
our ID 3mocratic friends over this raising of
the flag. 1t seems to come before them as
Banquo's ghost did before Macbeth; ard
they are sorry that it will not down" at
their bidding. 1t did down at your bid
ding addressing the Democratic side of the
House in Hawaii. But that flag will yet
be raised upon the Sandwich islands and it
will be raised to stay there; and no Demo-
cratic emissary of any Democratic admins
tration will pull it down. Applause on
the Republican side,
Mr. Stevens .'condemned by the people
of this country" Why. sir, if could have
the faith in anything in this world that do
not absolutely know to exist that my friend
must have in order to make such a state
ment as tbs and to believe it himself if
were thousand times richer than he is,
should be glad to give all owned and all |
could ever earn for such a foi'h. "Con-
demned by the American people," / believe
today that if there has ever been a man in
this country whose action was sustained by
the people of the country-not only Of his
own party, but of your party-it is John L.
Stevens who raised the American flag at
Honolulu. He is a man who in private life
is without a stain. He has been in the di-
plomatic service of the country, ,hi nix,
thirteen years. and no man who has
been in that service has made a
more honorable record than has been
made by John l.. Stevens. The crime that
he committed in the eyes of this admiustra-
ton and the Democratic party was that he
believed in his country. He believed in
extending her interests. He believed that
the civilization which had been created and
had been built up in the Hawaiian Islands
by the American people should be sustained
by them.
My friend says, let the people of Hawaii
work out their own salvation. Why, they
did work out their own salvation. They
achieved the revolution which placed an in
telligent aud honest and pure government
in power in those islands. And what did
this administration do? | am not here to
say hard words of this administration. 1
thoroughly believe, with my friend, that
HteH III power SUoulu NOT De the targets OF
the slanderer But that is their fate You
know that 1900 years ago Horace sang that
the tall pines are shaken by the winds,
while the modest shrubs of the valley are
undisturbed. agree ~ith my friend that
such ought not to be the fate OF public men,
but it is.
He says, what motive could the admins
tratiou have in insitntiog bad govern
ment in Hawaii: do not knor. | am
not here to discuss the motives of the ad
ministration. | am not inclined to give
every man. whether he be in office or gu.
of Office, the credit of bad motives when he
does good things. But no matter about the
motives on mstter whether You think the
President of the United States would want
to restore a monarchy in the Ssndwich Is
lands or not; no matter VI stber you can
search out anil discover any motive for the
act, the absolute fsct that he did it can not
be argued down by saying that he had no
motive for doing it.
Now, one word m ire, Mr.. Chairman.
got up here not TO trouble the Hous, with a
speech. Mr.. Stevens was sustained ia the
Senate of the United States by the r. port
of perhaps 'he sblest Denocra, that lives
in this country at this time. sllude to the
senator from Alabsms, Mr.. Morgan. That
report v'pdicates lin from beginning to
, opI ho ,:opt, az