The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1898-02-12
MR.. LODGES VIEW.
HE BELIEVES IN ANNEXATION
OF HAWAII.
az Right the Ifiands nolong 60 This
Country Every Political Party Has
Favored Their Protection from Tor.
eign Foes.

To the Editor. American mission
aries chrislianized and civilized Ha-
waii. American enterprise developed |
the islands and created their wealth
For sixty years the United States has
guarded and protected them. and dur
ing that period d has repeatedly mott
iied other nations that u should regard
any interference Ia the Sandwich i'll
ands a. an act Of hostility. and other
nations have accepted this declaration
and recognized its force. That ultimate
annexation would De the result OF this
policy long continued has been well
known. and the treaty now before the
Senate is the third one which we have
made. A policy 80 steady and 30 long
settled. observed equally by an pollt
cal parties, was not lightly undertaken
nor carelessly sustained. and 90 brings
with % the responsibility Of FINAL full
nllment The time OF that mlnllment
has now come
The Islands are OF enormous import
ance 90 the United States from a mill
iary point OF view Examine the map
and you viii see that they are about
equi-distant from every point OF tho
great circle of coast reaching from the
farthest Aloutian island 90 san Diego.
and yet the objection is seriously made
that In case OF war the Sandwich go
ands would Boz 10 us a source 90 weak
ness, because an cnJmy could probably
take them. So che people who make
this objection propose 90 hand the iGl-
auds over 90 a foreign power before
wpr occurs. with Hawaii Boo tho bands
OF another nation n hostile fleet would
be- Tn striking distance 40 all our on.
| cllc coast ln our hands uo enemy
could attack the Pacific cOas, and leave
Hawaii as a menace Boz their rear They
would have 10 take tine islands hrsl
and d is better 10 fight from 40 HonoIu-
/ Ia than 90 San Francisco
The commercial importance of the
Islands equals their military import
ancc They form the only large group
north of the equator They are the koy
Of the Pacific as important 90 our r1
cinc trade as Gibraltar or Malta Go
England's eastern commerce with The
powers Of Europe dividing tho coast Of
China among them. to refuse io annex
Hawaiian islands would Do the aban-
donmcnt of 900 hope of sharing Zoo OBJ.
commerce az the Pacific. and would also
bring European powers. our rivals Boz
trade. fifteen hundred mile nearer Co
our shores while the Advantages of
| annexation Co us are so immelsurahly
they are not less 90 the people of the
islands. Excluding thc Chinese and
Japanese. who are contract lub0rorl
and have mo- right Boo ,0IDo iu The lis-
position OF Hawaii O. majority of 100
the other people favor annexation Al
hitting that the 10000 doubtful sigma
turrs Of The fo-Cailcd native petition
represent that number of siencrs ana
voters. there Fiill remains O. decisive
majority including nearly ouo-hlif the
natives and all The whites are boz favor
of annexation Moreover. tho duly
elected and recognized government has
ratified the treaty. and We have never
gone behind the action OF the govern
ment lu any annexation we have made.
We took mo- note OF the people iu Flor
ida. or Louisiana or California when
We annexed those great regions 90 the
national domain. Finally. Il should
hc remembered that under the Gas nc
the United States tho people 90 the
Sandwich Islands would have "a freer
and moro stable government than they
have ever enjoyed or than amy other
nation could give them.
From the military and commercial
point Of view. Tor thc protection Of or
coast and the very existence 90 0ur
trade in the Pacific the position of
those islands b. OF vital importance
hut there is one other consideration
oven stronger than these. Tho men
who have made those islands what thgl
are and have given them all the value
which they possess arc Americans
They are our own kith and Kin. Mann
az them fought for the Union iu the Wal
of the Rebellion. and they cclcbat,
Memorial day as We DO. They hay.
gone there under the assurance th1.
We would guard and protect them u
! We DO not annex those Islands nov
those people will ho oueulfcd by the Boz
rush Of As.1tIcs We have usright %
leave them Co such a tate no We ro
sect them their only possible hope 1
escape would be to place ,homscly,.
beneath he English hag Within six
~ days after the rejection oi auueya
tion the Hawaiian Islands would pas.
either Co England or Japan and w'
should have no right 20 object Wh"