The San Francisco call., 1897-10-03
A CASE OF PROPOSED GRAND LARCENY.

: 1
United States under present conditions S in all its
sttuent PARTICLES proposition to steal them. Of right
they belong to the people who nhab hem No foreigner has
equitable cam either by purchase conquest discovery
by which he honestly appropriate them to his own use
Every argument far advanced by the Statesmen" East
and West to sustain the larceny of these islands has reposed
higher plane than this We want the territory;
make something by taking it; strong enough to
take it, and although history consider act theft we
dealing with the present. and propose commit the
crime.
Yet careless Americans of the present generation
be OF the demands them of enlightened public moral
ity there is doubt that their duty reflect long time
before they connve ndorse the annexation of the a
waan Islands If the native islanders awea and declining
race all the reason why should protect and uphold
their Government Why should 100000 civilized Ameri
steal country because its native population longer
able to defend against the aggressons of commercial and
business schemes7 There distinction between public and
private larceny If it is wrong for indiyidua to commit
larceny it is wrong for a nation to commit it.
After all, it not and despicable act for the great
and glorious nation of Washngtonthe land of the free and
the home of the bavethe refuge of the oppressed and down
odden of the word-the nation in which justice and political
equality thrive side by side in virgin so descend to the
focble appropriation of country which does belong it
simply because its longer able to defend t
Would not be manly for to steal something
from England, or Russia, Germany, from some other
country which could give US a fight for the spoils2
Besides these moral questions, there economic
sderations involved in the proposed annexation of the
Hawaiian Islands For many years Cafonians have been
fighting Chinese and Japanese immigration At time the
State fairly rang with the appeals of people Amer
Congress topass excluding the former from
the country We opposed the immigration of Chinese be-
we believed they non-assmable race and that
their here injurious to if destructive of
civilization. We claimed that it impossible to compete
with them in business and that if left to overWhelm US their
capacity for living cheaply and their vices would eventually
destroy us.
Congress finally passed law excluding all Chinese from
the United States except those of favored In
the Hawaiian Islands there 10000 Chinese and Japanese
ready for annexation To be sue the proposed treaty
they not to here. But that bosh. The man-dea
ers OF Hongkong who tracked in return certificates, prior
residents cooe contracts and merchants, students and
travellers will find way to aside that clause of the
treaty, the very act of annexation does legally
it aside
The question IS do the people of California who spent
twenty fighting 10000 Chinese coolies and their
desire Chinese and japanese
coolies in the Hawaiian lslands2
the good people of the United States really desire to
acquire these islands for POLITICAL or commercial pur-
poses there but honorable way for them proceed
AS preliminary to all treaties they should SECURE practically
the unanimous consent of the native population When the
men and women to whom the sands really belong
neXaon will be time enough consider the conditions on
which their country shall into Union Annexation
ON the lines far laid down grand larceny pure and sim
pe It's more it would be disgrace American justice
American character and to American civilization