The mirror., 1922-12-14

Hawaiians themselves have withdrawn
from leadership.
We do not own the Hawaiian Islands by
right of conquest but rather by right of
assimilation. 1t is true of course that we
should never have had them if the early
settlers had not helped the Hawaiian kings
TO play the game of independence. The
French wanted the islands; and the British
once actually took possession of them, but
their excuse for doing it was peculiarly un-
sound, and Washington protested to Lon
don. The result was that the overzealous
British officer was reprimanded, and the
British flag was lowered and was replaced
with the royal Hawaiian standard. Those
early Americans were keeping the islands
for the native kings, but they realized
that, if ever the end of the little kingdom
should come, the United States could not
afford to have another great power en-
sconed so near our Pacific Coast.
When the end came, as it was certain to
come sooner or later and Hawaii sought
admission to the Union, it had something
to offer. Industry begun by American en-
terprise had grown by leaps and bounds.
Hawaii came as petitioner to Washing
ton, but it came with its hands full; it
was unable longer to support itself, yet
curiously enough was ready and willing
to help support the mother country. At
first Washington hesitated. On the one
hand there was great outcry about i'm
perialism,-empire building was new to us
then,--and On the other hand, even though
the natives themselves were knocking at
the door, people talked of the rights of the
natives. But the Spanish War and
Deweys exploits in the Philippines re-
veaed the absolute necessity of our pos
sessing Hawaii; after those events Wash
ington hesitated no longer, and in 1898
Hawaii became our newest territory.
As territory Hawaii, like Alaska,
might be called an active partner in the
American Union, whereas the possessions,
like the Philippines, Porto Rico and the
Virgin Islands, are silent or passive part
ners. The possessions are governed from
Washington except as Washington volun-
tariy gives them rights of self-govern
ment; the territories have the constitu-
tional right of self-government and may
at any time seek full statehood. The
-
officials are appointed by the President but
the governor must be resident of the
islands. The elective legislature, the lower
house of which is made up largely of ma
tive Hawaiians, enacts the laws, levies the
taxes and conducts the finances of the ter
rtory. In no state on the mainland is the
business of government more completely
American in theory and in operation than
in Hawaii, and that is so in spite of the
enormous alien population. 1t might even
be said that because of the large number
of aliens American standards are upheld
more rigidly in Hawaii than elsewhere.
Education, by the way, is compulsory in
Hawaii as in other parts of the United
States, and the children of the islands get
the same kind of schooling as our own
children get.
Why we need Hawaii as part of our
empire is simple enough. First of all we
must have it for our national protection
for us it is natural defensive base. 1t
can never be important to US as an often
sive base, because it is so much nearer the
American mainland than to any other