The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-06
HAWAII AND STATEHOOD.

The folly of establishing a territorial
government with practically universal
suffrage among people unframed to the
exercise of political power has been con-
clusively illustrated in Hawaii by the do
ings of incompetent legislators and mis-
chief-making demagogues. The expert
ment has resulted in conditions which
il is evident cannot permanently be en-
dured, and many schemes are being ex-
plotted for superseding the present es-
Establishment. One of these is for annex
ing the Islands to the State of Califor-
mia. We are surprised to see in a recent
dispatch from our San Francisco cores
pondent, that so able and original man
as DR.. David Starr Jordan has lately an
nounced his adhesion to this plan.
Such a solution of the difficulty would
be case of jumping out of the frying
pan into the fire. If a people are incom-
petent to exercise the limited powers of
self-government in local affairs permitted
them by Congress in an organized terri
tory. IL is impossible TO suppose them
capable of exercising the practically un-
limited powers of self-government and
the right of participant in the rule of
the whole country possessed by citizens
of sovereign State. DR.. Jordan has
hitherto been known as the opponent of
to believe that he now has fully consid-
cred the reasonable objection to TagaI
Moro, kanaka and West Indian partisan
ship in the settlement of American queS-
tons, and is really ready to take the first
step toward comforting statehood upon
these outside islands, which could only
result in the admission of the entire out
fit just as soon as the politicians of any
party could arrange to use their votes
in national convention and campaign
1t is the first step that counts. Either
we are going to have all these peoples
in their ignorance and unfitness for
American citizenship introduced into our
electorate. and made Instruments of IN
scrupulous men to rule us, or we are GO
ing once and for all to establish the prin-
ciple that the union of the States is an
American union and a continental union,
and that its character is not to be
changed by the Incorporation into our
citizenship of every semi-civilized or bar
harous tribe which may chance at any
time to come under our sovereignty. Only
by drawing the line now in fixing the
status of our first extra continental pos
sessions and saying that the United
States shall be confined to the continent.
can any effective resistance be made to
the pressure of selfish interests for the
lowering of our standard and the admis-
sion Of less and less fit people to partci-
patton in our government. The towards
of politics. of course, hesitate to meet
this question of the proper treatment of
dependencies in a straightforward fash
ion, being afraid of the misrepresenta-
ton of opponents deluging the ignorant
with catchwords. But it is the duty of
thoughtful patriots to face this issue
squarely, concede nothing to self-seekers,
overcome prejudice, and establish while
there is yet time the safe rule for the
preservation of American institutions.
Evidently a mistake has already been
made in giving Hawaii territorial or
ganization and encouraging it ultimately
to expect admission as a State In view
of what the Kanakas are perfectly well
known 10 be. the idea of magnifying that
mistake by making the Islands State or
part of a State is grotesque.-New York
Tribune.