The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-01-01


latter. on seeing group of gentlemen
reading paper to themselves, leaned
from the windows in order to hear
what it was about Thus with the aid,
and only with the aid, of the marines
the provisional government was estab
lished.
Or, to be quite fair. and to give credit
where it is due, one should add that
on this historical occasion Our marines
were assisted by the armed forces of
the revolutionists to the extent of Mr..
Oscar White with gun. The presence
of Mr.. Oscar White is mentioned by
several witnesses. One testified that he
said, Oscar, it is not prudent for you
to be here with only one gun"
The Queens marshal, from the bar
racks where his troops were assembled
to the number of six hundred sent word
to Mr.. Stevens to inquire If the United
States forces intended to recognize the
thirty gentlemen on the steps and the
belligerent Mr. White. Mr.. Stevens re-
piled that he already had recognized the
provisional government. This was only
an hour after it had announced its ex.
istence,> and is the record for rapid
recognition.
The Queen, with very proper ap
probation of the situation, surrendered,
not to the provisional government, but
to "the naval forces Of the United
States" Mr.. Cleveland, who, shortly
after this occurred, became for the sec
ond time President, endeavored to undo
the work of Mr.. Stevens and to rein
state the Queen. This act of justice,
however, was frustrated by Congress
which in this case represented the wish
es of a majority of our people-and by
the Queen herself. For, seeing that she
was so strongly supported. she demand
ed that those who had opposed her |
should be beheaded This bloodthirsti-
ness disguised every one, and Mr..
Cleveland, who in spite of much oppo
sition, had patieptly endeavored to give
her justice, withdrew his support.
In January of 1901 our Government
sent three gunboats to La Guayra to in
timidate President Castro, who had
threatened to take away concession
from the Bermudez Asphalt Company
and bestow it upon the rival Warner
Qunlan Company, of Syracuse. The
dispute was one which should have been
settled through the courts and by sur
veyor's transit, as it was entirely ques
ton of boundaries. But the Asphalt
Trust represented that a revolution had
broken out which threatened their prop
erty at Guanaco and the lives of their
employees. AT the time they asked for
the revolution was mildly
at Catupano, place as far
from the property of the AS
phalt Company as is Chicago from New
York. AS matter of fact, nothing hap
pened to the zinc sheds and mud huts
Of the Asphalt Company, and the only
result of our bullying small and friend
ly Power with Our warships was to
gain its dislike and again to see our
mobbed by overexcited pat
riots.
Fortunately, Our last and most impor-
tant act as an incubator for baby re-
pubics was without bloodshed, and our
has been established at the
most important strategic point of the
two continents, apparently to the salts
faction of all concerned.
For. what our Government repudiated
in>, Walker it has accomplished in its
own way in Panama, just as the Eng
lish Government, after Furnishing Doc
tor Jameson. took his unfinished raid
in hand and finally succeeded in over
throwing the Transvaal Republic. For
attempting to do the same thing it had
sent him to Holloway Jail. In the revo-
luton ir~Panama the naval forces of
the United States were the deciding
factor Without their backing, and
without our hasty recognition of the
new republic, after several years the rev.
olutionsts might have found themselves
fighting for their independence. 1t is
easy for the uniformed to laugh at the
revolutions in Central America; but it
should be remembered that the last real
revolution in Colombia continued for
three long years, and of those engaged
in it on both sides, ten thousand lost
their lives.