Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-11-04
ANNEX HAWAII.
POLICY AGREED UPON BY ALI.
POLITICAL PARTIES,
Treaties from Marcy to Mckinley-We
Need the Gibraltar of tie Pacific
Prompt Action Urged Upon the
Senate.

For fifty years past the policy OF the
United States has been to. exclude 9TH
er nations from the political control of
Hawaii. Secretary OF State Webster
said:
Il trust the French will not take
possession (of HawaiD; but if they
do, they will be dislodged, ii my advice
Is taken, if the whole power of the
government is required to do it,"
Since the days when Secretary of
State Webster uttered these words, and
President Pierce and Secretary of State
Marcy negotiated a treaty OF annexa
ton, down to the date of the negotia-
ton of the present treaty of annexa
ton by President Mckinley and Secre-
tary Sherman-during this long inter-
val we have seen Democrats, Wings,
Republicans. Populists. Gold Standard
men and the friends Of free silver, re-
CARELESS of party, all advocating Amer
lean control in Hawaii. Nor is there
any indication of divergence from this
truly national policy. 1t was, in fact,
emphasized by the Republican party in
their national platform at ST. Louis in
1896, in the following words:
"The Hawaiian Islands should be
controlled by the United States, and no
foreign power should be permitted to
interfere with them
This was the true Democratic doc
trine before the Republican party ex-
listed. 1t is distinctly an American
and not a party policy. 1t is a policy
that has been ohampioned by Pierce.
by Marcy, by Johnson, by Grant, by
Arthur, by Seward, by Fish and by
Blaine. Today this policy is advocated
by Gold Democrats like j. R. Proctor
and Thomas f. Bayard; by Silver
Democrats like Senator Morgan Of AL
ALBANIA and Senator Rawlins of Utah;
by Gold Republicans like Senators
Frye, Lodge, Davis and Thurston; by
Silver Republicans like Senator Teller;
by Populists like Senator Stewart OF
Nevada and Senator Allen of Nebras-
ka; by Senator Kyle, the Independent.
1t is advocated by such radically antag-
onistic newspapers as the Herald,
Tribune" Sun" and Journal of
New York. 1t is advocated by such men
as ex-Secretary Foster, General Scho-
field, Admirals Belknap and Walker.
and by Captain Mahan. 1t is a COM
mon ground upon which all can come
together, because Hawaiian annexation
is a policy as broadly national as the
Monroe doctrine.
IN .aoAn Co.., NLn aIA~ffAn 80 ttfo
policy are ~self-evident. Hawaii is the
equator, that is nea enough to the
Pacific coast to be used as a base of ma
val operations against US. A foreign
power, in possession of Hawaii, would
be within four days steaming distance
of San Francisco. Shut out from Ha-
wall, foreign nations would be forced
back the entire width of the Pacific, a
distance prohibitive of effective naval
operation, because battleships cannot
carry coal enough to steam that dis
f, lance.
A foreign power in possession of
T, Hawaii would compel the elaborate for
LITIGATION of every port on the Pacific
/ Coast in order to afford protection to
our people and property u there.
With all foreign powers excluded from
Hawaii, our people and property on the
/ Pacific Coast would be comparatively
free from foreign danger. If we do not
annex Hawaii some other country will,
and it is more economical for us to
fortify one point In Hawaii than twen-
ty points in California, Washington
and Oregon.
We need Hawaii far more than Ha-
waii needs us. We need it as England
needs Gibraltar, not so much for its
territory nor its commerce, but for it's
location. We need it, not for agrees
sion, but for the protection Of the in
terests that we have there and for the
protection of our people and property
| upon the Pacific Coast.
Another, and a subordinate, reason
in favor of annexation is because Ha-
wall lies in the direct track of all
trans-Pacifc trade. With one excep-
| ton, all of the seven different steam
ship lines that cross the Pacific stop
at Honolulu. A" the China and Japan
trade, to and from the Nicaragua ca
nal, will subsequently do the same.
Hawaii has been rightly termed the
Commercial crossroads as well as the
strategic key" of the Pacific.
Hawaii. although but partially de-
veloped, is a rich and prosperous coun-
try. 1t already consumes more of our
United States products than any other
country bordering upon the Pacific.
Under annexation we shall not only
| protect this trade, but we will multiply
1t tenfold through the resulting devel-
| opment Of Hawaii.
Hawaii produces sugar, coffee and
bananas, all OF which we buy largely
from foreign countries. BY annexation
we will produce these articles for our
selves. The acquisition of the Hawa-
iian sugar lands will the sooner re-
| lieve us of our dependence upon Ger
many and other European countries as
the base of our supplies Of sugar. We
| can absorb the Hawaiian cane sugar
as well as all the beet and cane sugar
that we are likely to grow for very
many years to come. American citizens
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