The herald., 1898-02-03
Would Suit Senator White
Well Enough
ANNEXATION ANOTHER THING
AND WOULD PROFIT ONLY THE
SUGAR TRUST
Senators Prefer to Discuss Hawaiian
Matters Behind Closed Doors.
Work in Open Session
Associated Press Special Wire

| Associated Press Special Wire
| WASHINGTON. Feb. Ex-senator
| White of California continued his speech
in opposition to the Hawaiian annexa-
ton treaty in the executive session to-
| day, amid many Interruptions and much
cross-fire In the main his speech was
continuation of the argument on consti-
tutional lines, which was begun yester-
day, but he also took up questions Of
the practical purport in today's speech,
and undertook to show that for reasons
of commerce and defense the acquisition
of the islands would be unwise.
| Previous to Whites speech the senate
spent about three quarters of an hour
| in Legislative session with the doors
closed trying to decide whether Senator
| Pettigrew's resolution concerning the
acquisition of territory which would re-
quire a navy to defend should be dis
cussed in open OF executive session.
| When the vote was taken the majority
was found to be against the proposition
| for open sessions.
| When Senator White resumed the
|
thorites to show that the policy of this
country in the past has really been
against the annexation of the Hawaiian
islands He reviewed most of the docu-
ments quoted by Senator Morgan as fa-
vorable to annexation of the islands for
the purpose of showing that they were
all favorable to Hawaiian independence
but not to Hawaiian annexation.
|
tention that the control of Honolulu was
necessary to the defense of the Nicara-
guam canal and asserted that there was
no foundation to support it and gave
figures to show that in case defense of
the canal became necessary by this
country it would be defended from either
San Diego or San Francisco and not
from Honolulu. He said that no enemy
could use Honolulu as base of supplies
in case of war with the United States,
because the modern war vessel does not
carry enough coal to make the round
trip and to delay for hostile purposes.
He quoted Admiral Belknap to the effect
that Honolulu could be fortified effec-
tually, and Gen. Schofield to the effect
that it could not be fortified at all by
land defenses, which shows that the
|
one of the islands should be fortified all
three of them should be, and that it
would require an immense navy to re-
main there permanently, while the ac-
QUESTION of this territory would not di-
minish the expense of Notifications and
maintaining a navy at home. The sena-
| tor challenged anyone to produce proof
Of hostile intentions on the part of Eng
1o~ JoY, or nv ar n nf
power. and cited the declaration of vari-
Gus statesmen from each country deny
ing any desire to interfere in any man
ner with the United States.
1.-THE whole scheme for the annexation
of Hawaii" he said, "is based upon sem
timentality and sugar" and continuing
this line of presentation he said that the
sugar people who were netting eight or
nine million dollars year under the rec
iprocity treaty were back of the annexa-
ton project, with the hope of making
the benefits now derived from reciproc-
ity perpetual. If it We're not, he said,
for this condition of affairs, the treaty
would never have been heard of, and
hence he charged that "the patriotism
of senators was being imposed upon to
consummate most disgraceful PROPOSE
ton"
Among the senators who interrupted
White were Hoar Teller, Morgan, Hale,
Chandler, Wolcott and Tillman
Senator Hoars Interruptions brought
on prolonged debate, in which several
senators participated, and which for a
time threatened to divert the discussion
from the lines which Senator White
evidently desired to pursue. The Massa-
| related n
the japanese on the islands and the
complications growing out of their
| presence there.
To this White replied that the present
Hawaiian government was importing
contract laborers under a provision
which goes to the extent of permitting
their imprisonment He asserted that
since the trouble occurred few months
since. which resulted in refusing per-
mission to 700 Japanese to land on the
islands, over 1000 had been brought in
under contract. This practice he de-
nounced as hypocritcal.
Senator Tillman of South Carolina
came into the debate, making some as
sertions which created breezy stir for
a few minutes The South Carolina sem
ator referred to the recent Hawaiian
revolution, and to what he termed the
effort of the Republican party to es-
tablish a government in the interest of
the white people in the islands, when
they numbered only one out of thirty of
the inhabitants, and in this connection
referred to the reorganization of party
| lines in the south after the war.
eve were then" he said, "in South
Carolina attempting to establish
white mans government. The Repub-
lican party interfered with us then. or
attempted to do so, protesting to hold
opinions about the sacred rights of the
majority to rule. I should like to KNOW"
he continued, whether the Republican
party has changed its opinion on this
/ r,,Iiont f,f tho right of the white man To