The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-08
M kINLEY IS THE ISSUE.


States For more than fifty years such
Blaine and Harrison have favored the an
nexatton OF these Islands, because Dy
would easily assiInilate and because com
merc1ally and Strateg7cally, they are OF
They applied for annexation under the
Harrison administration and treaty was
negotiated and sent to the senate, but the
the treaty and haul down our flag, which
was already flying When President Me-
Kinley came into office the Republic Of
Hawaii renewed its request to be annexed
70 the United states. and. responding 70
try annexation was contaminated II
f5a ABOUT as naturally As the aeq1glSl-
mia, and belongs with us quite as properly;
and how. has Hawaii been governed?
Not arbitrarily not tyrannicallys not
like a dependency of an empire, having
no rights the ruler was bound TO respect,
United States, and has been given precise
~ the same government in effect, II not
enjoy Nobody in Hawaii Is conscious of
any imperialistic exercise of power or
concerned They are all rejoicing that they
are under our flag and in the enjoyment
undo all that and haul down our nag
again2 II so, for what purpose? Except
only to restore m9 GT9Rhy
What are the facts as to Cuba. Most
reluctantly the president consented to go
to war with Spain to secure the independ-
ence of the people of that island The war
we. liked; we had possession with an army
and navy flushed with victory. and irresist-
ible but they were there only to protect
and help the Weak-nOt for empire.
we gave a pledge to the Cubans and the
whole world that as soon as the Islands
leave the Cubans to government OF their
own selection Already under our guild
ance and with 1 our help b0 muniS Say 66 ox
established and are in operation through
out all that country, and an eIecuon mas
been ordered to choose delegates to frame
a constitution and establish an lndepend-
ent republican government, which this
country will not only recognize out IN
every way strengthen and support. In
both spirit and letter our promise VIII be
and enjoy the independence for which they
have struggled so long and SO brayely-
Surely this does not look like land-grab-
rather thai the president is. in a safe.
wish of the american people and promote
the highest good Of the Cubans
PORTO RICO
Porto Rico was acquired in response 10
the universal sentiment of the whole
American people, and of that people as
quit the western hemisphere, and Porto
IF f the tre " Ie The peope OF
Th tterV have a different system of jurispru-
dence. they are acquainted only with the
civil law, their codes of procedure are I'M
like ours They do not know what tree
strangers to trial by jury, and the writ OF
habeas corpus. and never heard OF the
Not more than ten to fifteen per cent of
the population can either read or write;
Although their island is fertile, we found
them in utter poverty and despair. Not
hundreds or thousands, but tens Of thous-
without work and without food and starv-
ing They had no system of education
an1 T4 fSe eovernm ne when we ac-
quired Louisiana and Florida. and other
l nreasiW stipuated that the territory
should become part of the United states
and that the inhabitantS should pc Moor
porated into the union, but IN the case OF
Porto Rico and the Philippines, 1t was
not 50 stipulated. but on the contrary, Il
was provided that the civil ana polI1cai
status of the inhabitants should be deter
mined By the congress OF c tne nlte of
the fact that the people of these islands
were not yet fitted to govern themselves
fore legislated for Porto Rico unrestrain-
ed by treaty stipulations- Much mas Deen
said in criticism OF that IegisiaIon- AL
such criticisms are unwarranted-
The government we gave Porto Rico, IN
the most generous and least burdensome
government that has ever been provided
since the beginning of the republic More
generous by far than we gave TO Louis
that government the people of Porto Rico
are now entering upon a career OF pros
perity and happiness greater than they
have ever known. It is true that the
president appoints their governor ana
thsIF 596g PqS e ne mexico ' and Arzona
and has done so for every other territory
we have ever had II Is true , .nat tn 1.s
the assembly, but for all the earlier ter
ritories he appointed both houses; ana ~
has been only in late years and under
Republican rule that the people of our
present territories have been allowed to
elect their legislative assemblies. and this
privilege has been allowed them because
they are of our own race and civilization;
equally as well qualified as the people OF
the states to discharge that duty
ouired to pay full tariff duty on all i'm
portations from countries other than the
ritory We have ever acquired have been
required to do the same th1ng--Vltn TINS |
are allowed to keep the duties so collected |
and use them for the support OF their own |
every other neutrality-suspicious. Florida, l
Washington, Oregon-have been turned I
over TO the national government at WASH
ington for the support of the whole ma l
ton 1t is true that duties equal to 10 per
cent of the rates prescribed by law are
tween the United States and Porto Rico, /
but it is also true that every cent SO cpl
lected goes not into the treasury OF tns
United States, but into the treasury OF
Porto Rico for the support OF the Porto
Rican government and this provision con-
tinues in force only two years until /
system of taxing property similar TO our
own may be devised and put into opera
ton until which time there was no other
way for the Porto Ricans to raise SUM-
Gent revenue to support their government
II is also true that while the people or
every other territory are required 10 pay /
internal revenue taxes the same as the
people of the United States, the people OF
Porto Rico have been exempted from that
burden. All these provisions are unprece-
dented in the history of our legislation,
and all these exceptions to the rule that
has heretofore prevailed in legisl2ting for
territories have been made that we might
relieve the people OF Porto
TRico in the hour Of their weakness, their
poverty and their despair. from the bur-
dens of directly taxing their own property
for the support of their government, and
at the same time give them a system OF
reven11e that would enable them to meet