The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-06-29
HOT TIME IN
THE SENATE

Saturday afternoon by Mr.. Allen. the
populist senator from Nebraska. assisted
by Jones, of Arkansas; Pettus, of Ala
bama. and White. of California They
could not, however, muster corporals
guard to stand by them. for fifteen was
the highest vote any of their dilatory mo-
tons received. The only result they
achieved was to show the weakness and
lack of cohesiveness of the opponents OF
annexation and to arouse Senator Morgan,
of Alabama, to deliver one of the most
remarkable speeches of the session. in
which he excoriated the hlibusters and
held them up to the seorn of the senate
and their constituents Among other
things Senator Morgan said:
1.-THE evident purpose here is to block
progress upon the joint resolution by
filibuster. II is due to a majority of the
senate. due to the cause and to THE occa-
son, due to the situation of the country.
that the senate of the United States should
not refuse to do its duty one way or the
other upon the joint resolution. The coun-
try is not in condition to be trifed with.
The people of the United States are not
going to put up with the senate If 1t trities
with the general and public welfare upon
an occasion of the solemndty and 1mpor-
tance and necessity of the present The
president of the United States will be COM
pelled-indeed he has already been COM
PEELED by the hardness of congress ana by
its refusal to perform its constitutional
duty-to seize upon friendly state, mere
ly because it is dependent upon us ana
cannot help itself, to send our armies TO
Hawaii for refreshment. and repose, for
coal to work our ships in an attack upon
Spain at Manila elsewhere"
Mr. Hoar Gep. Mass.)-Does the sena-
tor mean to state to the senate that that
has been done without the consent OF the
authorities?
Mr. Morgan-If there has been any Off
cial assent on the part of the executive OF
Hawaii | have not heard of it.
Mr.. Hoar-It is a very serious statement
to make and / do not myself belieVe the
senator is correct.
Mr. Allen-I understood the senator from
Alabama to say that the president has
seized upon the Hawaiian islands.
Mr. Morgon-Yes, virtually.
Mr. Allen-Does the seizure go any
further than simply a friendly act on the
part of the Hawaiian government in per-
hitting our troops to rest there ana TO re-
fresh themselves?
Mr. Morgan-We are taking advantage OF
Hawaii simply because we know that she
is bound to us with hooks OF steer, or
rather with. stronger hooks of affection, ana
that she is as American as we are. we
know thai and because she is in that sit
uation Tor mere political purposes, Tor the
mer< sake of controlling the November
S<ections, the senate of the United states
is permitting itself here to stand and hlg-
gle and to put the president of the United
States to shame in the the presence OF the
nations of the world and of international
law. That Is what we are doing. Now, sir,
l will bring a parallel case. When we
started this war we declared That CUBA
of right is and ought to be a free state.
Mr. White-We never said it was free
and independent state.
Mr. Morgan-That the people were 1nde-
pendent. That is stronger than the state.
Mr. White-It may be. We shall hnd out
some day.
Mr. Morgan-We will find out some day
whether the people are stronger than the
state We will find out here now. We are
testing that mattr now. Here is part OF
the state that is obstructing the Will OF
the people beyond all question, as it came
to us from the house of representatives,
and we will soon find out whether the
people are not stronger than the end OF
the state which is in this chamber. AT all
events the people of Cuba are, and of right
ought to be- free and Independent. Ihat is
the declaration of this body and of the
other body approved by the president of
the United States, and that is the att-
tude of the United States government Cen
eral Shafter is now conducting war in
Cuba of heroic kind, filled with sacrifice
and death from the missiles of the enc
my and the diseases of the climate. No
more serious attitude has been taken by
any government in this world than is repre-
scented by the flag of our country at San
tiago de Cuba today; and yet that atti-
tude is taken in a country where the peo-
pie ought to be free and Independent. The
govrnment of Cuba has not officially in
yitd u.s. l have not heard of any message
from the president of Cuba asking us to
go there with our flag and our armies and
to occupy that country. They are receiving
us precisely as Hawaii is receiving us, eX-
cept for better reason. Hawaii is sacrifice
ing her independence, her autonomy, the
sovereignty of her islands for the purpose
of exhibiting her friendship for the people
of the United States, her love for the peo-
pie of the United States, without any ute
rior consideration moving her. for the po-
litical situation far as Hawaii Is con-
cerned has been that of annexation, and
the treaty of annexation was ratified by
her senate before the war started /
should like to know now whether these fine,
silken, glossy arguments about the consti-
tuition of the United States and about the
rights of the president of the United States
to coal his ships and stop and refresh his
troops in Hawaii and in Cuba are to stand
for a moment in the presence of the events
that are confronting this people and caus-
ing them to lay their lives down at our
command, and whether we can afford to
stand here apd bubble about a little point
like this and obstruct the war and put to
peril the troops that we have sent out upon
the high seas. / should like to know it,
We have got to face it. and l am delighted
to act with thin, though they are not my
friends politically. l will stand by them
through thick and thin for my country and
its flag.
Mr.. President, we shall presently be hay
ing wounded men and men sick with all
manner of tropical diseases coming back
from the Philippines. Are they there I'M
lawfully? Are they there without our
command? Are they there in some unholy
exploit from which we are not willing to
relieve them or aid them while they are
there and those who go to reinforce them,
marking up on the records of history the
highest tribute to American power and
American character that has ever been
drawn by the hand of man with the sword.
These men will be coming back presently,
many of them; and senators are here on
this floor filibusterdng to prevent those
men from having a friendly welcome and a
landing under their own flag and their own
conniry at Hawaii as they come back, say