The San Francisco call., 1897-10-09

GUILTY.
"Second-Because such involuntary servi-
tude may now, under the decision OF the Su-
preme Court of the United States in the Arago
case, be so extended"
"The question whether sections 1898 and
1899 conflict with the thirteenth amendment
forbidding slavery and involuntary servitude
depends upon the construction TO be given TO
the term involuntary servitude' Does the
epithet involuntary attach TO the word
sservitude continuously and make illegal
any service which becomes involuntary at any
time during its existence, or does it attach
only to the inception of the servitude and
characterize it as unlawful because unlaw-
fully entered into.
"If the former be the true construction, then
no one, not even a soldier sailor or appren-
tice, can surrender his liberty, even for day;
and the soidier may desert his regiment upon
the eve of battle or the sailor at an intermedi-
ate port or landing, or even in q storm at sea,
provided only he can find means OF escaping
TO another vessel If the latter, then an
individual may, for valuable consideration,
contract f or the surrender of his personal lib
erty for def ute time and for a recognized
purpose, and subordinate his going and CON-
ing to the will of another during the continu-
ance of the contract--not that all such con-
tracts would be lawful, but that servItude
which was knowingly and willingly entered
into could not be termed involuntary. Thus,
if one should agree, for yearly wage, to serve
another in a particular capacity during his
life and never 10 leave his estate without his
consent, the contract might not be enforcible
for the want of legal remedy, or might be
void upon grounds of public policy, but the
servitude could not be properly termed in
voluntary"
1t will be seen from the above that
| hut ha lima oohi iS1 cd
to compel men to work against their will
in this country to-day. No one disputes
that such machinery exists in the Ha-
waiian Islands. Years ago seamen knew
all about those things because they some
times slowed away deserting laborers in
the holds of vessels in order to get them
out of the jurisdiction of the Hawaiian
courts.
The annexation treaty provides that
The municipal legislation of the Ha-
waiian Islands not enacted for the fulfill
ment of the treaties SO extinguished, and
not inconsistent with this treaty, nor
contrary to the constitution of the United
States nor to any existing treaty of the
United States, shall remain in force until
the Congress of the United States shall
otherwise determine"
In other words, the flag that waved in
victory over slavery at Appomattox shall
again be sulied, and the blood shed in
the most terrific civil war of modern time
will have been shed in vain. A new
Mason and Dixon's line is. to be estab.
lished by this treaty, and the Hawaiian
ar-planter is to be used for an object
lesson to the Louisiana and California
sugar planter of the necessity of slavery
in raising sugar and cotton.
| Some optimist will say. with the Su-
| preme Court in the Arago decision, Nor
would public opinion tolerate statute to
| that effect" 10 this the writer answers
| that if this people can, because the inter-
est of few citizens demands ii, be per-
suaded to annex these islands with their
slave laws, then surely the extension is as
much more reasonable as the mum ber OF
those interested is larger.
Annexation is urged IN the name OF
patriotism. If patriotism was ever the
last refuge of scoundrels this is a specific
| instance. After having first enslaved the
native population, then imported slaves
from different foreign countries. they seek
in the name of patriotism 10 shelter this
iniquity under the power of this country,
and 10 protect their interest they would
revive slavery under Its flag.
They would give the sugar-planter, the
| cotton planter, the coal mine-owner and
the factory lord the opportunity to point
to these islands as justification for their
claim TO statutes in the different States
providing for machinery under which it
would be legal to bring the deserted la
| borer back to his N aster.
Every workingman throughout the
length and breadth of this land should
ponder this matter carefully, and when
that is done there is no danger of any
| sympathy with this reintroduction Of
slavery under the American flag. Esau
sold his birthright because he was hungry.
/ We are asked to sell it because some body
else Is hungry for power and would undo
| the work of Lincoln to attain it.
Rather more than 500 solicitors prac-