Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-07-12

/ ucI0 VIC udto Lie OOCtIluG III tcI-
ritoriai ACKNOWLEDGMENT and imperial
| ism and costly militarism enunciated
plainly, flat-footedly. There is no mis-
taking Elkins's view on this point He
| is for holding all the territory-savage
or otherwise, no matter where located,
en- this or the Eastern Hemisphere
that by any means we can lay our
hands on A mighty standing army
and a mighty navy with coaling sta
tons everywhere have unlimited at
| fractions for Coal Baron Elkins. And
doubtless his only fear is that the war
| will end before We can grab quite
everything in sight or out of sight on
the other side of the. world.
81 claim says Elkins, "that re-
public can have wise colonial policies
| governing distant islands and peoples
| Just as well as, if not better, than the
nations of Europe"
There we have it again in much
more straightforward language than
Elkins generally uses. He wants us to
adopt the European system out and
out, despite the earnest, solemn and
repeated warnings of the wise and far
seeing founders of our country. AS for
| the Monroe Doctrine-pooh!-w doubt
| if Elkins ever had any use for tex
cept as a jug-handled arrangement for
| American defense And for this peace
I full but potent influence he would sub
stitute a mighty navy-such as Eng
land requires to keep peace in her pos
sessions and in order to hold them at
ala mighty navy that requires
whole lot of high-priced coal!
Think of it," says Elkins. "Ac-
curing islands in the seas is to secure
necessary adjuncts to the extension OF
commerce and the building up of a
merchant marine and providing outlets
for home products"
In this Elkins has direct reference to
Hawaii. But he is wrong, as he is all
through his remarks, in spirit and sub
stance. The Hawaiian islands are not
necessary to us for purposes OF COM
merce, nor are they in the way of COM
merce on the Pacific ocean. They will
give us not whit larger "outlet for
home products" than we had before.
"Those islands are needed for pur-
poses Of defense" continued Elkins,
ito furnish base of operations for us
in time of war, and beyond this pre-
venting any other country from hold
ing them in time of war against us as a
base of operations"
This comes under the head of rot
pure and simple. The possession OF
the islands is a weakness rather than
strength because it is distant OUT
lying possession and instead of adding
to our defense simply gives us that
much more to defend and weakens our
Pacific navy by dividing it. The state
ment that we need these islands as a
base of operation is utterly false, for
! the simple reason that we have long
had the privilege of using for that pur-
pose Pearl Harbor, the most available
there and to this day it remains I'M
| touched for that purpose. Why? Be-
cause Congress has not considered the
matter of sufficient Importance to spend
money in putting it in shape. AS for
any other nation using the islands as a
base against us, that is a long ago ex-
! ploded bugaboo. Besides a simple
American protectorate would have
served all the purpose of annexation
against such a contingency. Moreover,
in war everything resolves itself into a
question of force.
| Mr.. El'-ins makes the further explod-
[ ed claim that the possession of the Ha-
waiian islands is necessary in connec-
| ton with the Nicarauga canal They
are not. They can in no way aid eth
or be of use to commerce that shall
| pass through it; nor will that COM
merce be defended by fleets at Hawaii
| Such defense when necessary will be
made by fleets whose base will be San
| Francisco harbor, LOO miles nearer to
Ncarauga than Hawaii.
MIR. Elkins's final claim that we need
| the islands as a part of our territory
| to establish cable station there to
connect with the orient is positively
| laughable in its utter Righteousness.
AS we'll might the protector of the At
lantic cable have claimed that we need
ed to annex the British isles in order
to establish cable connection with
them. We might have laid dozen
cables to Hawaii and estab lshed as
many stations there without thinking
of annexing the islands.
Naturally Mr.. Elkins does not care to
dilate at length on the kind of citizens
we get with Hawaii. Pecksniff, of
Fourteenth street, who has more gall
than even the Senator, because a great
deal more ignorant, does that for him.
Pecksniff says that none of the Hawa-