Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1897-12-10

with an apparent disposition to charge us
with failure in this regard.
Bclligerency Not Favored.
I regard the recognition Of the belliger-
ency of the Cuban insurgents as now UNI
wise and therefore inadmissible. Should
that step hereafter be deemed wise as a
measure Of right and duty the executive
will take it..
Intervention upon humanitarian grounds
has been frequently suggested and has
not failed to receive my most anxious and
earnest consideration. But should such
step be now taken when it is apparent
that a hopeful change has supervened
In the policy of Spain toward Cuba? A
new government has taken Office in the
mother country. 1t Is pledged in advance
to the declaration that all the effort in
the world cannot suffice to maintain peace
in Cuba by the bayonet: that vague prom
Uses of reform after subjugation afford
no solution Of the insular problem; that
with substitution Of commanders must
come a Change Of the past system 81 var
fare for one in harmony with a new pol
icy which shall no longer aim to drive the
Cubans to the horrible alternative of
taking to the thfcket or surrounding In
misery; that reforms must be institut-
ed in accordance with the needs and cir
cumstances Of the time and that these re-
forms. while designed to give full auton-
omy to the colony and to create vir-
tual entity and self-controlled admins
tration, shall yet conserve and affirm the
sovereignty of Spain by a just distribu-
ton of powers and burdens upon basis
Of mutual interest. untainted by meth
dds of selfish expediency.
| The first acts Of the new government lie
| in these honorable paths. The policy Of
cruel rapine and determination that so
| long shocked the universal sentiment of
| humanity has been reversed. Under the
| new military commander a broad elem
cncy is proffered. Measures have already
| been set on foot to relieve the horrors
| Of starvation. The power of the Spanish
armies, it is asserted, is to be used not
| to spread ruin and desolation but to
| protect the resumption Of peaceful agri-
cultural pursuits and productive indus
| tries.
On the Hawaiian Matter.
! BY special message dated the six
| teenth day of June last, I laid before
the senate treaty signed that day by
the plenipotentiaries of the United States
| and of the republic Of Hawaii, having for
| its purpose the incorporation of the Ha-
waiian islands rs an integral part of the
| CnlIeu States, anu uItueE lis sovereignty
| The senate, having removed the injunc-
ton Of secrecy. although the treaty is
still pending before that body, the sub
| icct may be properly referred to in this
| message because the necessary action Of
! congress is required to determine by leg
| islation many details Of the eventual
| union should the fact Of annexation be
accomplished, as believe 1t should be-
While consistently disavowing from a
very early period any progressive policy
| Of absorption in regard to the Hawaiian
group long series of declarations
through three-quarters of century has
proclaimed the vital interest of the Unit
ed States in the independent life Of the
islands and their intimate commercial de-
| pendence upon this country. At the same
| time, it has been repeatedly asserted that
| in no event could the entity Of Hawaiian
| statehood cease by the passage of the
islands under the domination or influence
of another power than the United States.
Under these circumstances the logic of
| events required that annexation, hereto
fore offered, but declined, should in the
| ripeness of time come about as the nat
| ural result of the strengthening ties that
bind us to those islands, and be realized
| by the free will of the Hawaiian state.
That treaty was unanimously ratified
without amendment by the senate and
president of the republic of Hawaii on
the 10th of September last, and only
awaits the favorable action Of the Am
| erican senate to effect the complete alb
sorption of the Islands into the domain
| Of the United States. What the condi-
lions Of such union shall be; the po-
litical relation thereof to the United
States; the character Of the local adj
ministration: the quality and degree Of
the elective franchise of the inhabitants;
| the extension of the federal laws to the
territory or the enactment of special laws
| to fit the peculiar condition thereof; the
| regulation. If need be, of the labor sys-
| tenn therein, are all matters which the
| treaty has wisely re!egated to the con-
| gress.
Recommends . Confirmation.
If the treaty is confirmed, as every con-
sideration Of dignity and honor requires.
the wisdom Of congress will see to 1t that
avoiding abrupt assimilation Of elements
perhaps hardly yet fitted to share in the
highest franchises of citizenship. and hav-
ing due regard to the geographical condi-
TONS the most Just provisions for self
rule In local matters with the largest
| political liberties as an integral part Of
| our nation will be accorded to the Ha.
waiians. No less Ii due to people who.
after nearly fiye years Of demonstrated
| capacity to fulfill the obligations Of self
| governing statehood, come Of their own
/ free will to merge their destinies in our
body polite. Is
ii.-s slsf Il