Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-12-14
HAWAIIAN ANNEXATION.

| Senate can never pass the annexation
! treaty pending in that body They
have abandoned that scheme and have
taken up the plan of pushing the
/ scheme through by joint resolution
| which requires only a majority vote
The big Republican majority and
K eetl's autOcratic power in the House
are relied on to accomplish the pur-
pose. and there is very grave danger
that this infamous job will be colsum-
mated
What situation is here presented to
the Anne vican people. The Sugar Tru 81
should net have power to dictate the an
nexation OF the Sandwich Islands just
because it has rich sugar producing
lands and it would enable them to pro-
cure raw 81 gar without paying any
duty on it, Nut aside from all this, it
is bad for the United States to estab-
lish the precede vt Of going to the far
off islands of tive sea and setting up
colonies to be fostered and defended
at immense expen Sc. Already the cost
of our government is too great for the
people to bear. Tax es, direct and indi-
rect, are now greater than the war
taxes of 1S60-64. There seems to be
no let-up, and taxes llemain high and
money is dear when l,aid in the pro-
ducts of farms and factories. The gold
standard has deprecated the value Of
property, divided it in two in the mid
die, and yet there has be en- no letting
down in taxation. The people will en-
dure this for a while, but there will
come Gay Of reckoning and they will
not submit to a new schem that has
no other use than making places for
politicians and saddling added expense
in the shape of taxes upon the people.
We have a coaling station which we
own on the Hawaiian Islands. That
is all we need To holding this land
two thousand miles away is like try
ing to hold a sledge hammer out at
arms length. This kind of foreign pol
icy is simply throwing dust in the eyes
Of the people at home. We have
enough unsettled questions in regard
to our taxes and our money, our own
internal Improvements and coast forth
fications. Let us attend to them, and
make out of this country all we can
and leave the far away, half-savage
islands of the South Sea alone. Ger
tainly, if any spot deserves attention
it is Cuba and not Hawaii. Cuba is
right close to us; it is American land.
In few years, if it was owned by the
United States, it would be peopled by
Americans. The Bermudas are our
neighbors; when we have any surplus
energy or money let us turn our at
tention toward them; they are near at
home.
Suppose the Sandwich islands are
annexed to the United States. Then
our principle of universal suffrage
must be applied to them. Every Chi
naman, every Japanese coolie and
Kanaka under the fifteenth amendment
of the Constitution would have a
right to vote, for that amendment de-
clares that the rights of citizens Of
the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account OF
race. color O. previous condition of
servitude. So the minute these Ha-
waiians are absorbed into our system
they befome citiAeES of the UEite1
States-lepers and all, While we have
laws prohibiting them from being
citizens of the present Union, this an
| nexation would make over 20, 900 Chi
namen citizens of the United States.
and it is proposed to annex these ISL
ands without submitting the question
! to a vote. The advocates and repre-
sentatives from Honolulu say that they
| do not dare to submit the question,
because they would be defeated. 1t
would be a crime and shame to the
United States to change its traditional
policy and go off into the islands of
| the South Pacific to secure territory
and an homogeneous mass of monde
script ard semi barbarous people I'M
worthy of citizenship in this country.