The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1900-12-25
THRESHING OLD STRAW.

ne bOStOn fteTdlu, always eager 10
discredit the annexationist policy in
and towards these Islands. says:
Gorham ID. Gilman. ex-Hawaiian
Consul. has written a letter, which we
have printed. in which he says that the
recent election in Hawaii was a victory
for ethe worst element among the Ha-
waifanst against the better" that the
party which threw the majority vote
took as its political cry Hawaii for the
Hawaiians," and Kill the snakes and
cockroaches." meaning the foreigners.
He thinks. however. that the question
OF annexation. or President McKinley's
policy toward the islands, was not an
issue. but that down with foreign
rule" was. 1t seems to us that this is
drawing a pretty attenuated line be-
tween the questions involved When We
annexed Hawaii we We're told that we
did so at the request Of It's people, these
being represented by it's government,
now that the first test comes, 1t is dis
covered that those who acted as the
governing class in Hawaii did not rep
resent the sentiment of It's people. If
the vote OF the latter on the 9Th OF No
venaber implies anything, 1t means
that considerable majority were, and
are. opposed to a union with the United
States. and that, -if a referendum vote
had been taken. limited to those who
were sufficiently educated to read or
write. a limitation similar to that
which is in use in this State, annexa-
tion would have been Overwhelmingly
defeated. 1t is fair to suppose that. as
an accomplished fact. the union of Ha-
wall with this country is looked upon
with some degree of favor, or, at least,
with acquiescence, by quite a number
who would have voted against 1t IL the
chance had been offered to them three
or four years ago. In this instance 1t
\ seems to us tolerably clear that we
ha>ye annexed an unwilling people, and
haveNdeprived them by so doing of their
right 6Q political independence. The
only excus& that can be urged in our
behalf is thal>,a dominant capitalistic
class, representing, we admit, a high
degree of intelligence. were determined
that annexation SHOULD take place, be-
cause 1t was for the lir social and finan-
cial interests that the union should be
brought about. and. Sthey. with the au-
thority that they had at their COM
uand. and with thel easy acquiescence
of the Government at Washington. sue
ceeded in accomplishing their purpose.
When we annexed Hawaii we were
told that we did 10 at the request of its
DeOnle a a 1r,iolaad d;no ,+o.o~...
! The anti-annexationists quoted that
story from the air, and then undertook
to prove 1t away. No one In authority
here ever pretended that the revolu-
ton of 1893 was a movement of the
native Hawaiian masses; on the con-
trary, Che truth that the property
owning and business minority had
star I'd and carried on the revolution
to- Get stable government, was never
cdDcealed. At the time annexation took
snect the United States government
y did not ask "the people" anything
about their wishes. 1t simply, at the
suggestion Of the minority in control
here. took possession of the Islands as
strategetic measure of the Spanish
war. That was a better excuse than
the Herald suggests, and it was about
the only one used. We might add that
1t had plenty Of American precedent
running down fom the time the Mass
achusetts people displaced the local
aborigines through the various stages
OF Louisiana. Texan and Californian
annexation.