The San Francisco call., 1898-01-10
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 INDIVIDUAL THOUGHTS. ,
BY q MODEST CRITIC.
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since the truth began to be told about the neat little schemes to abandon the Monroe doctrine, saddle on this coun- try a few million dollars of debts, and admit to American citizenship a horde or coolies. There has never been a sound argument made on the side of annexation, for the very good reason that hone can be made. We have, nevertheless, heard some cratic views on the question. For instance, Senator Morgan was recently reported as say Ing that he saw revolution approach ing in Hawaii if annexation were not accomplished, and therefore it was SUD- possible that in his mind it was neces- sary to hurry up with the diabolical job. What occult power the Senator has I know not, but he saw anything but revolution some months ago when he was there. The situation may have changed materially since then, but if so we have heard nothing of it on the Pacific slope. What we shall lose by letting the Hawaiian people attend to their own affairs is not apparent. Again. this prominent Democrat an- nounced on the occasion when he honored us with his presence and opin- ions as one reason for annexing the Sandwich group that when he was in Honolulu he saw no great opposition to annexation shown by the natives. That is a very strong argument on his chosen side of the case clearly enough! I have no desire to lampoon this distinguished gentleman, but if he will hie him to Patagonia he will find no great opposition on the part of the Patagonians to become free and en- frightened American citizens. Let us proceed, then, with all due celerity to annex Patagonia, and in heavens name let us fortify it too. We shall surely have to fortify the Hawaiian Islands if we are to make them part of American territory.
 Driven by ridicule and fair argument from the position which it has main tained as to the commercial and stra- tegic value of these islands to us, the Chronicle has fallen back on the salu- brity of the climate as reason for an- neXation. At great expense, doubtless, 1t has added to it's staff an astronomer and meteorologist for the purpose of teaching the public that heat is felt in direct proportion, the world over, to the height of the mercury in the tube of thermometer; that trade winds are unvarying, and that the suns ecliptic has recently been changed for the benefit of anneXationistS only. The meteorologist has probably never been outside of San Francisco or he would know that radiation and humidity have as much to do with oppressive heat as has the amount of heat emit ted by the suns rays. To illustrate: I have found the heat much harder to bear in New York with the thermome- ter at 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade than I have in Calcutta when the temperature was 100 or over. This scientist would find also, had he the necessary experience, that trade winds do fail, and those of the North Pacific Ocean are least of all to be relied on. But the statement by the astronomer that the sun is never vertical in Ha- waii, already referred to I believe edi- torially, is most comical of all. Burn ham and Barnard have vowed that places between a line drawn 23 degrees and 2S minutes parallel to and north of the equatorial line and a line drawn in like manner at a similar distance south of it have the sun in the zenith twice in his yearly course. But, then, Pro- fessors Burnham and Barnard may have been wrong, and they were not interested in annexation anyway! So how could they know? Sensible ar guments on the annexation side truly grow apace.
 The tempest in a teapot" in the Ori- To ha bnr produced some remarkable cablegrams from foreign correspondents of the Creelman type. (By the by, what has become of this interviewer of Kings. Princes, Sultans and Popes?) A few days ago we were seriously told that England had ordered out the naval reserve on the China station That would be a fighting force of about ten men-at most twenty. The English naval reserve is not fashioned after our plan. It is composed of sailors serving at sea regularly, who are drilled on board a Government vessel or at shore battery a specific mum. Der of days in each year. It is seldom that any ship has among her crew more than two men of this reserve, and I doubt much if there are forty to be found in all the British shipping in this port.
 Now that the trouble over the Chi nese territory is apparently at an end let us see what probably caused all the fuss. It was something like this: Ger many applied to China for the privilege of a coaling station on the Chinese sea- board. The request was refused. It was again urged and again refused and then pressure was brought to bear Most of the other great powers have facilities in the Orient that Germany did not possess, and she had a perfect right to ask the courtesy. It is more than probable, too, that she offered to lease the land she wanted at the begin ming of the negotiations. That the Chi nese were alarmed. at the landing of German marines is easily credible, theiI late experience with Japan being still fresh in memory. Fearing further dis aster she gave way. The idea of Johr Bull negotiating an $s0, 900 loan fol | China was proof enough that there was