The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-04
BIC PLANS FOR
PEARL HARBOR
Continued From Page One.)

an opportunity to say what 50
nifcance it had in the development oT
Pearl Harbor naval station.
Colonel Denny said: q regard this
as the greatest honor of my life. /
never felt more 1attered than when
I received the invitation from the Com
mercial Club or more so when asked
TO make an address. 1t is an absolute
truth that this is nv maiden effort and
the only speech / have attempted so
far except one before my college
fraternity, which never gave me sec
ond chance.
~ feel today as ii the beautiful
Honolulu. There. hospitality grows on
trees. and you need only shake bush
to get tons of it, and l find it the same
here.
"reminiscences.
az have been identified with Ha-
wall before, sentimentally, but not
practically. l would like to tell you
a little story Years ago an event
stirred this country when there was
change of governments from a kingdom
to a provisional government. These
States five of their distinguished citI-
zens to confer with the United States
authorities with a view to the anneXa-
ton Of the Islands or the establishment
thereover of a protectorate. l think
their names were Mr. Thurston, Mr.
Wilder, Mr.. Castle. Mr.. Marsden and
Mr.. Carter. By a series of accidents
or chance | was then attached to the
New York Tribune as its army ana
navy correspondent in Washington.
"When the annexation commissioners
arrived in San Francisco, you may re-
member that their reception was an
enthusiastic one. The Tribune received
a dispatch that the commissioners had
arrived and they telegraphed me stat
ing the object of their mission and
what they hoped to accomplish. The
owner of the Tribune then was White
law Reid, and the managing editor
man named Nicholson. The managing
editor wired me over its special wire
to interview the President, Mr.. Harri-
son, and find out his attitude toward
the annexation of Hawaii The regular
correspondent was capable fellow but
given too much to conviviality at the
most inopportune times, and this was
one of them. / did not know what to
do, for it was a delicate thing for me
to handle, especially under the restric-
tions governing me then. However, L
saw the President s secretary, Major
Halford. I told Halford the Tribune
would probably be the leader in the
work for annexation, and that the
paper wanted to know the President $
attitude so as to take up the matter
editorially. We had long talk and
then Halford said: IF / were editor
of a great New York Journal / should
go upon the principle that the greater
includes the lesser. / should assume
the President is TO favor annexation.
If. subsequently, he did not favor an
nexation, it would be easy to turn about
and say he did not approve of annexa-
ton, and say he was quite right in his
decision.
''With great deal of timidity 1
wrote the despatch out that night and
sent it on to New York If any one
here recalls The Tribune of that day
he will remember that the second day
after the commissioners arrived in San
Francisco the President was committed
to the annexation policy I think the
senate cut some ice, of course.
~ did remember that there were
some splendid energetic men and fine
women out here who believed they
ought to be an Independent nation. Peo-
pie who have their own government,
want their own government. [ don t
think / fully considered the rights of
the former government in my enthu-
siasm about America. I suppose those
people had lots of rights, out day after
day | sent on those dispatches to New
York about annexation and I was,
truthfully, in earnest as I say. That is
why | say | had a sentimental interest
in Hawaii long ago. | sincerely hope
my work was wise. I don t want you
gentlemen to forget what / have said
about my personal performances. They
seem to me to be such as to entitle me
some day to a marble bust in some
niche, for my services in behalf of your
great Territory. Applause and laugh
ter.