The Portland daily press., 1898-12-09
CURRENT COMMENT.
THE TERRITORY OF HAWAII.
ALBANY journal. J

Hawaii is to be organized practically
into territory with che same privileges
and functions as possessed by Arizona,
New Mexico and Alaska. This sugges--
ton will come as shock to the people OF
tho United States, even to many OF those
who have favored the annexation OF these
islands. The policy to De pursued with
Hawaii likewise may Do pursued with
Porto Rico and the Philippines. Fear
and distrusb are in every thoughtful
mind. It is not forgotten that the great
population and interests of this country
were for mum Der OF years overbhlanced
In the United States senate by the repre-
ssentatiyes In that body of few states
casting vote in no instance as large as
that pollsd in the county of Albany. A
wholesome tinorousress has been created
and it will not entirely disappear because
the Senate of the Fifty sixty Congress
will contain different kind of majority,
uncontrolled by the revolutionary eie-
ments which have held sway in that body
for number of years.
ANTI-IMPERIALIST LEAGUE.
(Boston Transcript
Among the sheets of signatures received
back by the Anti 1mpertalist League is
one from jefferson County, West Vir-
GINA, so crowded in double columns on
both the front side and the back that
there is no room for another signature.
The response is general from all parts of
the country, and nearly five hundred
patches of names have, been received at
the Washington headquarters already.
The names include some OF the most dis
fingIished citizens from every region, as
may be seen as the eye travels own the
list From Florida to San Francisco the
response has been instant and hearty. A
writer from Indiana favors popular vote
on the question of allowing the Filtpinos
10 govern themselves. Such men as Pro-
fessor Edward Y. BIncks of the Andover
Theological Seminary, offer to help circu-
late bv their own hands the anti imperial
list petition. A letter from Chicago asks
for blanks for circulation and adds eight
names to whom blanks may be lent, in
Guiding Professor Frederick Starr of
Chicago University, Professor j. j.
fessor Melville b. Anderson of Stanford
University, and Professor Henry r..
Bourne of Western Reserve University.
There ars letters Offering service from
Charleston, s. g.. from Chicago lawyers,
and from Nashville, Tenn.
THE POWER OF MAINE.
(Boston Herald.)
A prominent Republican OF this state
recently made the statement that, for all
practical purposes of legislation the SEN
ators and representatives from the state
of Maine had more actual power at Wash
ington than not only the senators and
Representatives from all of the other
New England states combined, but those
of New York, Pennsylvania and New
Jersey thrown in. This may be some
what extreme statement, when 1t is taken
into account that Maine has only four
representatives, while the rest of New
England has twenty three, New York
thirty -four, New jersey eight, and Penn
sylyania thirty representatives But it
serves to emphasivze the fact that, size
and number considered in some way or
another, this detached section of old
Massachusetts,, the state in the northeast,
has more actual and potential congress
ional force than any other commonwealth.
1t is not that its delegates work with
greater harmony, for Senators Frye and
mem bers of the lower house have often
found their views on questions of legisla-
ton distinctly divergent. The chief
ground for this pre-eminence is that
Maine has sent men of considerable abil-
ity to Congress, and, when there, has
maintained them session after session,
until, by length of service and experience,
they have become leaders whom their
less trained associates are glad to follow.
They have in this way secured some OF
the most important committee positions.
and have thus been able to dictate action,
not only in their own lines Of committee
work, but also In the way OF reciprocal
ton in other departments of the public