The San Francisco call., 1898-01-19
THE REAL ANNEXATION LEADER.

TI evening organ Of annexation III tnls clty \ has confded to the public the information that C. P. Huntington, and of course the Southern Pacific Railroad is in favor of the an- nexaton of Hawaii.
 While the frankness of this announcement may cause surprise the fact itself excites Mir Huntington, whose powerful and very comprehen- sive faculties have always been used to his personal advantage in the direction of his great enterprises has always frankly expressed views opposed to those held by great majority of the people of Cal ifornia. Especially has he always openly declared himself against any restriction of Chinese labor here. He used 1t in his great constructive enter prises to the exclusion of white labor to extent scarcely less than its the Panama railroad He has on the occasion of nearly every recent visit to San Francisco improved the opportunity given by public interviews in the press to insist that ports should be opened to coolie labor a factor necessary in the progress and prosperity of Cali fornia. Hence it is in line with his view of public policy that we should annex Hawaii where only some form of Asiatic servle labor endure the physical conditions and where low wages make high profits to the planter and employer.
 We have doubt that if he were asked whether the annexation treaty holds any guarantee that the cooie labor now in the islands is 10 be excluded from the rest of the country he would scout at the idea for few professors of public and interna tiona law have keener knowledge and sounder judgment upon such subject, and none has more courage in expressing it and taking the conse- quences
 His interest in many ways will be served by an nexation. He is the owner of Pacific liners Many of these ships built by cheap labor in England and have been sailed upon British register and the English flag only. Only recently he trans ferred the China to Hawaiian registry and sails
 
 Aztec and Barracouta If Hawaii is annexed then ships take American register. Well paid labor in the United States did not have the profit of their construction. That went to the em- ployers of cheap labor in England. The trade be- tween Hawaii and our present American ports will under the laws regulating coasting ma rine. Ships under foreign flags will be excluded from 1t and American ship-builders will get no ben eft from building American bottoms to supply the demand; for Mir. Huntingtons foreign built fleet is all ready to up the American flag and take the business.
 So, it appears that, look at it in any light, MT. Huntingtons word for annexation, like that of all the powerful and selfish interests that sde has its motive in the desire to profit by the decadence of the character of labor and the lowering of wages.
 From their point of view, the selfish point trely this is justified but is tt justified when in vestigated in the light of public interest?
 Have the people of California any profit ahead in aiding MT Huntington to get American reg iser his Britishbuil feet and in letting it pete in our coasting trade with the fleets built by well-pad labor at home? Have the people of this State any prospective profit in helping MT. Hunt ngton succeed in his policy of adding the ranks of coolie labor in destructive competition with our white wage-earners?
 II they believe that Mr. Huntington has been right all the time and they wrong all the time on their issues, they have chance to confess their errors and aid him. But, if they firm in the belief that he is wrong and that they have been right they should see it that Washington is not startled by their surrender.
 We have no impatient or harsh criticism of MT. Huntington for thinking, doing speaking he does It is his right But against that it is the
 right of the people and say that his interests are not theirs