The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-05-07
FOR ABROCATION
Senator Perkins Says Treaty is
Not Reciprocal.
HAS PRESENTED TWO PETITIONS
Like Sprecke1s, He Will
Work for His State.
He Believes Hawaii Has Best End of
the Bargain - He Quotes
Statistics.

WASHINGTN, April 21.-The fight
for and against the abrogation of the
Hawaiian reciprocity treaty is getting
hot. Senator Perkins today presented
to the Senate two huge petitions from
California, one favoring and the other
opposing the treaty's abrogation. The
petitions were referred to the Foreign
Relations and the Finance Commit
tees.
A lively debate is sure to be precipi-
tated over the abrogation of the treaty,
whether the proposition comes from
the Finance Committee or as an
To offset this, Senator Chandler will
doubtless repeat his former argume0t
that the United States ought not to
jeopardize its ascendancy in the Pa
cific, while Senator Morgan will insist
that the existence of the treaty gives
this country a command of the Ha-
waiian situation not to be wilfully
thrown away.
the Finance Committee has greatly
excited the Pacific Slope Senator
Perkins has already filed the petition
of the California State Grange in ia
vOr of abrOgating the treaty, and yes
terday he received the petition of a
large number of representative mer-
chants, manufacturers and capitalists
in San Francisco, taking the opposite
view. This petition denies that the
United States have been the losers by
the operations of the treaty.
Senator Aldrich is said to be strong
ly opposed to the treaty's continuance,
and it is considered probable that the
tariff bill to be reported from the Fin
ance Committee will provide for its
abrogation. Mr.. Mills of Texas will
make a speech in support of this pro-
position.
The possible abrogation of the treaty
brings up the important question of
whether the right granted to the Unit
ed States in that treaty to exclusively
use Pearl River harbor and establish
a coaling station there would also fall
to the ground at the same time
Senator Frye, who has given the
question considerable thought. said
that morally the United States would
have to abandon the harbor, but leg
ally it could keep possession.
''At the time of the negotiation of
the treaty" said Mr.. Frye, "the Fore
ign Relations Committee was unani-
mously of the opinion that the cession
of the harbor was for all time but
Minister Carter asking an opinion of
the State Department, was informed
by Secretary Bayard that the right to
the harbor expired with the treaty.
Personally. don't think we could hold
the harbor and look any other nation
in the face. I don't believe though,
that the treaty will be abrogated"
Senator Mills, who has been fighting
for the repeal of the treaty for 20 years
said that the Pearl Harbor question
did not enter into the question at all
eve will keep the harbor, if need be-"
said he. 1--WE have already given the
Hawaiians some SIC, 900. 900 in remit
ted duties and that ought TO pay for
any harbor on earth. The treaty was
Illegally negotiated in the first place.
''The House of Representatives is
empowered TO raise revenue and it
should have been consulted when there
was proposition to release millions
and millions of revenue. The ratiffca-
ton of the treaty by the Senate was an
act of usurpation. l shall certainly
do all I can to secure its repeal"
In this connection it is interesting
to know that Secretary Sherman be-
lieves that the abrogation of the treaty
would not carry with it the loss of
Pearl Harbor. When the subject was
last before the Senate he made his
position very plain. I'VE have an alb
solute, undeniable, unqualified grant,
said he (which was originally paid
for by S23 100000. to say nothing of
an extension of years, which was