The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-25
NOT AN ANNEXATIONIST
EX-pRESIDENT CLEVELAND REPLIES
TO SENATOR MORGAN.
He Says IL Is Very Strange that His
Position on the Hawaiian Question
should Re Misunderstood.

PRINCETON, n. j., Jan. AIT is one
of the strangest things of these strange
times, that my position on the Hawaiian
question should be misunderstood" That
is the way ex-President Grover Cleveland
expressed himself when shown the state
ment of Senator Morgan relative to his po-
sition in the Senate to-day. In order that
there could be no misunderstanding of his
position on the part of the public, he au-
thorized the following statement:
Il do not believe in discussing matters of
this kind as a private citizen. do not care,
however, TO be misrepresented. | will,
therefore, say that ever since the question
of Hawaiian annexation was presented /
have been utterly ana constantly opposed to
it.. The first thing did after my inaugu-
ration in March 1873. was to recall from
the federal Senate an annexation treaty
then pending before that body / regarded,
and still regard, the proposed annexation
OF these Islands as not only opposed to our
national mission The mission of our Nation
Is to build up and make a greater country
out of what we already have, instead of an
II did not suppose that there was any
enc in public life who misunderstood my
position in this matter. II had been said
that / was partial to the former monarchy
and desired to see it restored in order that
j might treat with it for the purpose of an
nexation. How could / have such an idea
If regarded annexation as contrary to our
national policy. The same answer can be
made to the statement that my opposition
to Hawaiian annexation was based merely
on dissatisfaction with the treaty pending
before the Senate at the time of my second
inauguration. | was opposed to annexation
as such.
In regard to the Hawaiian monarchy
aside from any question of annexation and
without harboring any previous designs of
restoring that monarchy / investigated the
relations of our representatives to it's over
throw. This investigation satisfied me that
our interference in the revolution of 1898
was disgraceful. ] would gladly. therefore,
for the sake of our national honor and our
countrys fair name, have repaired that
wrong.
TN regard to the Cuban question:: My
position was fully made known to Congress
in the various messages in which the SUBJ
ject was discussed. l was opposed to the
recognition of the belligerency of the ISL
and and my position was perfectly we'll
known Indeed, so very Enthusiastically were
my views on the subject that | was time
and again threatened by frenzied men and
women with dire calamitieS to be visited
upon myself ana children because of what
they saw fit to assert as my enmity to the
Cuban cause
My position on all the questions was
made perfectly clear in the official docu-
ments of the time. and there can be no
possible mistake. 1t is very difficult for me
to understand Senator MorganS evidently
wrong Impressions in regard to my position
Indeed, 1t is one of the strangest things of
these strange times that my position In
these matters should be called into ques-
tion.''