The record-union., 1898-03-16

the flag of the United States. In COM
mon with my colleagues in the House.
1 expected to hear some cogent reason,
some potential argument in support of
his opposition to annexation, but l lis
tened in vain
/ Under the authority of the Constitu-
! ton, and following the leadership o1
such Republicans as Grant, Seward.
Blaine and Harrison. and in ODE dience
to the platform of his party, President
! Mckinley has accepted these Islands,
freely rendered to the United States by
competent authority. The gentleman
from Indiana is apparently content with
vigorous denunciation of this policy.
The logic of his position is the absolute
abandonment Of these islands, or it is
nothing.
Ever since the Islands of Hawaii have
been a factor in international politics
all statesmen and political parties have
regarded their commercial and military
advantages of such peculiar value to
the United States that they deemed it
necessary to adopt and enforce the pol
icy of not allowing any foreign power to
interfere with, control or colonize them
Since 1912 nine Presidents have declared
that no foreign power should dominate
the Islands
Notwithstanding the ability of those
who inaugurated this policy, notwith-
&nding its enforcement by all political
parties and by the foremost statesmen
in the last half of this nineteenth CEN
tUury, and Notwithstanding these men
say that the fruit of their policy would
be the ultimate annexation of the
Islands, the gentleman from Indiana
tells US the proposition Of annexation is
a mere bauble.'
"The question is not, should we Or may
we continue our policy of non-inserfer-
ence with the Islands under the control
of an independent government Or annex
them. The question is, shall we annex
| them or abandon them. By rejecting
them we are stopped from ever there
after exercising any control over them
as against the will of their Government
or the action of any foreign power. We
cannot let them go and hold them at the
same time. Their authority to tender
the Islands to any foreign power is con-
| ceded. Knowing the dangers, boTh in
ternal and external. which threaten in
te:ests and the stability of the Govern
ment, they will seek elsewhere, as a
matter of self-preservation annexation
with people whose representatives are
influenced by broad national interests,
rather than by corporate greed. 1t is
tue, as the gentleman from Indiana
says, the population of the Hawaiian
Islands is Heterogeneous in character, but
SO is the population of almost every
State in the Union. 1t is not true, how
ever, that the native Hawaiians arc an
Iilliterate race. The percentage Of Hit
eracy, according to the Hawaiian census
of 1896, is only a very little less iii the
State of Indiana than it is among the
native Hawaiians. 1 was surprised,
when there a short time ago, to learn
that it was almost impossible to dnd an
adult native Hawaiian who could not
read and write, and more than oua-third
of them read and write the English lam
gEage.
"Relief government is for these people
a thing of the past. 1t is inevitable
that in the near future some foreign
power will dominate their Government.
For myself, l would meet this question
as James G. Blaine in 1881 proposed 1t
was then feared that the neutrality of
the Islands was no longer practical, and
Mr.. Blaine then said: This Government
would then unhesitatingly meet the al
tered situation by seeking an avoWadly
American solution for the grave issues
pre- sented,' meaning annexation"
| Mr. Tawney was warmly congratu-
lated when he concluded.
At $40 D. m. the House adjourned