The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-11
THURSToN's PLEA IN BEHALF
OF ANNEXATION,


As the time for the reassembling of
congress approaches the propaganda in
favor of Hawaiian annexation is re-
neWed. This propaganda is under the
direction of Lorin a Thurston, ex-Ha-
waiian minister to Washington He has
prepared a pamphlet of some eighty
odd pages, which consists of a state
ment of the reasons in favor of annex
alton; a brief description of Hawaii, its
people, government. laws. commerce,
etc. Advance sheets of the pamphlet
| have been forwarded to the leading pa
pers of the country. While short sum-
mary of some of the main arguments
in favor Of annexation has been sent
out in the Associated Press dispatches.
An examination of the reasons in ia
Vor of annexation and the objections
to it make it very plain why the goy-
eminent Of Hawaii should desire the
annexation of the islands to the United
! States. but it does not show so clearly
| by any means what advantage is to ac-
crue to this country as the result of
annexation The whole argument in
| favor of annexation, as shown in the
| advance sheets. may be summed up in
| this one sentence: Help me, Cassius,
or sink"
Speaking Of the menace to the islands
from Japan, Mr.. Thurston says:
The controversy with Japan is the
| preliminary skirmish in the great com
! ing struggle between the civilization Of
the east and of the west. The issue in
! Hawaii is whether in that inevitable
/ struggle Asia or America shall have the
! vantage ground of the control of the
! naval key to the Pacific" the CONNER
( eial Crossroads of the Pacific" All
that is now holding Hawaii from retro
| grading into an Asiatic outpost is a
handful of resoIute and determined
men. But there is a limit to their
strength. and if help is to come in time
settle the issue and maintain American
control of Hawaii. and nothing else
will.
There is nothing whatever in that
statement which viii convince any one
that annexation is desirable. The ten
dency of japanese civilization is to
leave off its Asiatic character and as
simulate itself TO European civiliza-
ton
The fifth reason given in favor of an
ne&ation is this;
1t will remove Hawaii from interna
tional politics, and tend to promote
peace in the Pacific by eliminating an
otherwise certain source of information
al friction
Every Indication now is that annex
alton will do the very reverse of what
is here predicted. Certain it is that al
ready this government has contro-
versy with Japan on its hands; wheth-
er the controversy is serious or not i,
exists
The Monroe doctrine is referred to-
, and to the objection that it is contrary
to that doctrine to acquire territory be-
yond the boundaries of the American
/ continent this answer is made:
The Monroe doctrine is a limitation
, | on European powers. excluding them
, from participation in the affairs of the
American continent and its outIyins
islands, but it places no limitation on
the United States
Instead of Hawaii lying outside the
: Monroe doctrine, there is no territory
TO which it more directly applies. and il
no other case has there been such con-
tinued insistence on the part of Amer
> lean statesmen of the application OF
the doctrine as is the case of Hawaii
There is scarcely anything to which
the American people pin their faith
more strongly than to the Monroe doc
trine. but only by an oriental magma
ton and the greatest sophistry can il
be made to apply to the Hawaiian isl,
ands. The Hawaiian advocates of an
nexation hold, according to Mr.. Thurs
tons pamphlet. that the Monroe doc
trine is limitation on European pow.
, ers. excluding them from participation
in the affairs of the American CONT
: nent and its outlying islands, but place.
no limitation on the United States II
his message TO congress President Mon
roe said nothing about outlying isl
ands." What he said was that tn,
g United States would consider any at
: tempt on the part Of European govern
ments Ito extend their system 10 an,
g portion of this hemisphere as danger
: Gus to our peace and safety" Island;
that are more than two thousand mile.
, from San Francisco were hardly in hi
mind Then another point that tn,
annexation sophists Who make such in
genious construction of the Monroe
i doctrine overlook or ignore. is the fac
5 that the Monroe doctrine is absolutely
silent on the question of the extension
- TO the western hemisphere of the Asi4ti
y systems Of government; no Limitation
$ IS placed on Asiatic powers.
i To the objection that there is Iepros!
in Hawaii and that it is not desirable