{"1": {"fulltext": "ANXEXATiON OF THE IIAWAIIAX ISLAXDS.\\nI speak for the best anJ highest interests of the American people, and\\nnot for speculators. I speak for the laboring poor. I speak only what all\\nthe fathers of our freedom have told us to believe and act upon.\\nSPEECH\\nOF\\nHON. ADOLPH MEYER,\\nOF LOUISIANA,\\nHOUvSK OF REPRESENTATIVES,\\nWl UNKSDAY, JUMi 15, 1898.\\nWASIIIXOTOM.\\n1S98.", "height": "3687", "width": "2236", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "68483", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "s r E E c u\\nOK\\nHON. AiH)Lrn meyeu.\\nTbc House having under cor.siilcration the joint resolution (H. Res. 2^9)\\nto provide for annexiug the Hawaiian Ishiuds to the United States-\\nMr. ]\\\\IEYEIl of Louisiana said:\\nJlr. Speaker: I have weighed carefully the arguments pre-\\nsented in the different reports by committees of Coni^ress favor-\\ning annexation of the Hawaiian Lslands to the United ytate? and\\nespecially the report of the House Connnittce on Foreign AtYairs.\\nIt seems to me that everything that could be said for annexation\\nhas been presented in these reports and also in the able and in-\\ngenious speech of the chairman of the committee. But, sir, I do\\nnot find in these enough to satisfy my judgment or to remove the\\nstrong and valid obiections to the measure. Test these arguments\\nand appeals by the logic of facts, and they fall to the ground.\\nHAWAII NOT KSSENTIAL AS A COALING STATION.\\n-The most plausible of all the pleas for annexation is the claim\\nthat these islands would be necessary as a coaling station in this\\nwar now raging and for the future. Why, sir, this argument\\nwas fully and completelv demolished by the speech of the gentle-\\nman from Arkansas [Mr. Dixsmore] on Saturday. He demon-\\nstrated bv figures and authority that could not be denied that the\\nroute to Yokohama, Hongkong, and Manila, by the way of the\\nAleutian Islands, of Alaska, which is our own territory, is !^00 miles\\nnearer than by the way of Honolulu, that there is abundance of\\nanchorage there, and that it is open there all the year.\\nHero you have your coaling station already provided to your\\nhand. We have not improved it for this purpose, but then, after\\nhaving for a number of years the right to perfect your coaling\\nstation at Pearl Harbor in the Sandwich Islands, you have demon-\\nstrated by your neglect that you did not deem the matter to be of\\nany serious importance; and yet you have had, long ago, the opin-\\nion of military and naval experts as to the adoption of Pearl Har-\\nbor as a naval station.\\nTHE USEFUL rOLLIi:K.\\nSir, there is a coaling station which we can use whenever we\\nwill, which we are now about to use for the monitors Monfcrcy\\nand Munadnock, and which all modern ships of war can use\\nat will. It is the collier, the vessel specially adapted to carry\\ncoal. There is hardly a day in the Pacific when it can not be\\nsafely employed. You carry your coaling station with you. So,\\nsir, there is no occasion for haste, none for hysterics, nor for a\\ndeparture from our old and honorid policies. We have a right to a\\ncoaling station at Pearl Harbor. We may improve it if we choose,\\nand well have we paid for it in giving the freedom of our ports to\\nHawaiian products. But, sir, I rejoice to think that we are not\\n\u00c2\u00bbtt j 3", "height": "3676", "width": "2116", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "(li lioiKlciit nil Hawaii I lr coal. As for it Leing used as a base of\\n(.jx rations au ainst the Unitfjil Stales, 1 regard the idea as prepos-\\ntiroii-*. Wliat powir would do so? What power could do so?\\nIt is r.rged by the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee\\ntliat llawiiii has violated lier neutrality in our favor in this way,\\nand that after the war is over, or before, she will be amenable by\\ntlieir disple.isure. To wliich one, pray? Not Spain, for we will\\nBeltle up all |nfstion.s with Spain ere wo finish the war. Who\\nthen is to jtunish Hawaii? Germany or France? Does any sano\\nni:in suppose tliat on HUeh a pretense or for such a reason as this\\nCicrmany or France would singly risk a war with the United\\nStates?\\nlIAWAir IN NO DAXfiKll FKOM FOREIGN POWEns.\\nIs there any man in our midst so ignorant of conditions to-day\\nin Euroi)o as to imagine Germany and France combining to chas-\\ntise Hawaii and thrreby jirovoking a war with the United States?\\nIs Sedan forgottt-n? Is the capture and conquest of Alsace and\\nLorraine forgott^-n, or even forgiven? All this argument is based\\nin the wildest and emptiest of chimeras and an utter ignorance of\\nthe relations, the jealosies, and the hates and rivalries of Euro-\\npean States. In order to combine, nations must have a common\\ninterest.\\nUNMERITED ASSAULTS ON THE SPEAKER HEBUKED.\\nThe absence of any really valid arguments for annexation has\\ndriven its friends in other quarters than the House to violent and\\ngross assaults upon those who differ with them. Individual gen-\\ntlemen are bitterlj and rancorously assailed because they decline\\nto become partisans of this measure. They are even called traitors\\nand disloyal. One of the most conspicuous victims of this species\\nof assault is the Speaker of the House. Justly regarded as one of\\nthe ablest men of his ]iarty, its favorite repeatedly for one of the\\nhighest offices of our Govorninent, the memory of his great serv-\\nices to his party and of his leadership has not availed to protect\\nhim in this House and his motives from being aspersed. And yet\\nhis only crhne in the matter is that God having given him an intel-\\nlect to weigh public questions, he has refused to jump at the crack\\nof somebody s whip. I am not his defender. He does not need my\\nhelp. I mention the fact merely to show the utter lack of fairness\\nami wisdom on the part of those most active in favor of annexa-\\ntion, and their lack of fair and valid arguments. [Applause.]\\nBut this is not all. We are told, sir, that the sugar trust is\\nmaking the o])position to Hawaiian annexation. Sir, I speak for\\na population both white and black who are engaged in the pro-\\nduction of cane sugar. We have no cause to love the sugar trusts.\\nTiiey arc our competitors in the market. We grow and refine\\nAnn-rican sugars under many disadvantages growing out of a\\nfluctuating and often unfair, inadequate revenue duty on raw\\nBugars. The sugar trust reaches out its hand to Cuba, Demcrara,\\nHawaii, the East, South, and the West for cheap raw sugars. It\\nwants them duty free, if possible, and if not duty free, thea as\\nchoaj) as possible.\\nSo. therefore, their interests and ours conflict. Does any man\\nBuppost that this trust which wants cheap sugars to refine from\\nthe West Indies, South America, and the East Indies would not\\nwolcouio the introduction of clioap raw sugar from Hawaii?\\nTheir interest is all that way. I have not seen their hand in this\\nfight, but if itdoes exert an inlluence itwillbequietlyand steadily", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "exerted in favor of annoxation. for by annexation the Hawaiian\\nproduct would be onlj grist to tiieir mill.\\nIt is suggested, I know, in the committee report that sugar\\nwould, in case of annexation, be refined on the Hawaiian Islands,\\nand would come into comiietition with the refined sugar of the\\ntrust. Such an idea as this would not be entertained by anyone\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0who had ever made a study of this subject. The refineries of\\ntlie sugar trust, with their advantages of ample capital, skilled\\nlabor, established markets, and machinery of distribution, have\\nnothing to fear from the petty, feeble competition of the Hawaiian\\nrefineries. There is no strife there. The sugar trust will get tlio\\nraw sugars of Hawaii, if they want them at all, and will do the\\nrefining if it suits them to do so.\\nMr. bULZER. Will the gentleman from Loui.^iana allow me a\\nquestion^\\nMr. MEYER of Louisiana. Certainly.\\nMr. SULZER. I would like to ask the gentleman if the repre-\\nsentative of the sugar trust is not now in Washington doing every-\\nthing he can to defeat the Hawaiian annexation?\\nMr. MEYER of Louisiana. No representative of the sugar\\ntrust is in Washington, to my knowledge. If there be one here, I\\nhave not met or beard of him.\\nMr. GAINES. Who is the representative; what is his name?\\nMr. SULZER. Oxnard.\\nMr. GAINES. Where is his head(iuarters?\\nMr. SULZER. I do not know: but it is published in the paper,\\nin the Public Intelligencer, that you have on your desk, and it says\\nit will be a hard figlit to pass it in the Senate.\\nMr. MEYER of Louisiana. I know that Mr. Oxnard. whom the\\ngentleman names, is a representative of a large beet-sugar indus-\\ntry and establishment in Nebraska, and also that be is interested\\nin a very large agricultural and industrial plant in tlie State of Loui-\\nsiana, which grows and manufactures cane sugar. Beyond that I\\nknow nothing of his connections or business affiliations.\\nMr. SULZER. Does that influence the Louisiana delegation?\\nMr. MEYER of Louisiana. Speaking as far as I can for other\\nmembers of the Louisiana delegation. I may safely say that they\\nare influenced only so far as any member of the House can honor-\\nably be influenced bv what he considers to be the interests of his\\nconstituents and theState he represonts:and speaking for myself,\\nI would say that if the State of Louisiana did not grow a .single\\nstalk of sugar cane or i)roduce one pound of sugar, I woiild still\\nmaintain the position I do, because of the general principle in-\\nvolved in this resolution and the dangerous results that, in my\\njudgment, would follow its enactment into law.\\nMr. GAINES. Does the gentleman from New York mean to\\nimpute to me that because this paper was lying on my desk, which\\ncame in my morning mail, that my vote or position on this (pies-\\ntion was affected by it?\\nMr. SULZER. Not at all. I .say it is .so charged m the paper,\\nthat the representative of the sugar trust is here and\\nMr. GAINES. If he is here trying to control legislation, ho\\nought to be kicked out of town; and if he comes about me trying\\nto control my vote, I will do it.\\nThe SPEAKER i)ro tempore (Mr. D.u.ZErj,). Does the gentle-\\nman from Louisiana vielil to the gcnth man from Tennessee?\\nMr. MEYER of Louisiana. 1 can not. for my time is brief.\\n3185", "height": "3676", "width": "2116", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "Since the gentleman from Now York h s injected the name of\\nMr. Oxnard into this debate, I want to say I know he is opposed\\nto the annoxiition resolution as a representative of the beet-sugar\\ngrowers of tiiis country and Ijecause their interests would be se-\\nriously and adversely alTccled. I believe always in fostering the\\nindustries of this country to the exclusion of those of other coun-\\ntries, and any proj ct which would injure the progress of our\\nagricultural intt-rest-^, be it in relation to sugar or any other, can\\nnot secure my advocacy.\\nTIIK IlKAI. KKillT UETWEKN TIIK AMERICAN SUGAU FARMERS AND THE\\nBUUAH TUL ST.\\nNo, sir; the fif, ht is not there. There is no fight between the\\nsugar trust and the Hawaiian sugar planters, who are clamorous\\nfor obtaining annexation and the American market. The real\\nlight is between the cane-sugar growers of Louisiana and the beet-\\nsugar growers of Nebraska, California, Colorado, and other States,\\nwho are interested in i)reserving the present status of affairs on\\nthe one hand, and, on the other hand, the enormous aggregation\\nof capital and skill known as the sugar trust, with their nat\\\\iral\\nallies in Hawaii and other tropical countries.\\nAnd right here permit me to read a protest which fortifies my\\nposition very clearly:\\nIn the name of the farmers of America \u00e2\u0096\u00a0we respectfully appeal to the honor-\\nalile Senate and House of Representatives in Congi-ess assembled:\\nFirst. We solemnly protest apainst hasty consideration in Congress of the\\ntreaty of annexation with Hawaii.\\nSecond. We most urgently request that this subject be treated with the\\ndeliberation its vital importance deserves, thus affording the people of the\\nUnited States sufficient time to inform the honorable Congress of their\\nviews.\\nThird. The farmers of this country oppose annexation. The sentiment\\namong them against it is well-nigh unanimous. Their opposition is ba.sed\\nupon the hifchest patriotism and most disinterested motives\u00e2\u0080\u0094 the national\\nwelfare, political .justice.\\nFourth. In addition to these reasons for its defeat, the farmers recognize\\nthat annexation would seriously interfere with the otherwise promising de-\\nvelopmcntof our domestic beet-.sugar and cane-sugar industry. Already the\\nbare possibility of annexation has called a halt to numerous sugar-factory\\nenterprises, which had promised a home market to farmers for a new and\\nproruublo crop. Defeat aimexation and you remove the last obstacle in the\\nway of enabling American agriculture, cai)ital, and labor to produce the\\n$lui.(Kii,()(H) worth of sugar annu.ally imported heretofore.\\nThat the above truthtuUy and moderately expresses the earnest desires of\\nthe farmers of this nation will in due course be respectfully demonstrated to\\nth\u00c2\u00ab comiik to satisfactii)n of the honorable Congress.\\niJono thi.s i:ith day of December, in the year of our Lord 1897, and of the\\nIndepL-ndenco of the United States the one hundred and twenty-flrst, and in\\nth\u00c2\u00ab- nrst year of the era of our independence of foreign sugar.\\nResr octfully submitted.\\n_ The Ameuican Sugar Growers Society.\\nBy Its ofilcorB:\\nR. M. alle:^.\\nPrcsidei\\\\t. Ames. Xrbi:\\n(Also president Nebraska Boot-Sugar Growers A.ssociation.)\\nC. A. FARWELL,\\nyirfPicsklcnt, \\\\i ir (Jrleimx, La.\\n(Also prc8ldcnt American Cano Growers Association of the United States.)\\nHERBERT MYRICK,\\nTrensurn; r; Lafui/ettc J Uice, Xew York City.\\n(Ai\u00c2\u00bbo prcHldent Oranfro Jndd Comimnv, and editor Ameri -an Agriculturist\\nof Ni-w Vork; ()ran\u00c2\u00bbro Jndd Farmer, of Chicago, and the Xew England\\nHumoHtead, of Siirliigllold.;\\nB. W. SNOW.\\nl^KA -J Srcrildiu, MnrqMettf IUtil,iin j, Chicaqo. Til.\\n(Statistician Orange Judd Farmer.)\\n3IK", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "Why, sir, sboiikl Louisiana, why should the visintj growth of\\ntho beet-sugar industry in this country, be saerilicoil in order to\\nswell the profits of a few planters in Hawaii? There are 5U0.O00\\npeople in Louisiana dependent on tho sugar industry. The\\nlaborers are all blacks, 40O.()ii0 at least. You pretended to bo\\ntheir friends when you gavo them suffrage. Now you give them\\na stone, and your heart goes out to a horde of Asiatics, Japanese,\\nChinese, and others working under contracts\u00e2\u0080\u0094 a state of quasi\\nslavery. The man and brother must go to the wall while you\\ncultivate your new friends and find fresh materials wherewith\\nto construct the temple of freedom. rAi)planse.\\nAlas, sir, it is not a temple of freedom you seek to construct.\\nYou would not take Asiatics for that purpose. Your real scheme\\nis to build an empire on the ruins of your old republic, of wliich\\nyou appear to be ashamed, and if you are to have an empire\u00e2\u0080\u0094 a\\ncolonial system\u00e2\u0080\u0094 you can not have a better start than a dependency\\ncomposed of Asiatics and contract laborers.\\nItELATIONS OF THK ISLANDS TO THE I MTF-D STATKS.\\nThe relations of these islands to the United States have been a\\ntopic of interest to our statesmen for over seventy years. We\\nhave had several treaties of reciprocity with Hawaii, one of which\\nis now in operation. We have had several treaties providing for\\nannexation, one of which is now ptnding in the United States\\nSenate. This treaty has been before the Senate a number of\\nmonths and, report says, has been fully debated in executive ses-\\nsion. It has not been confirmed, and it has not been finally re-\\njected. It is reported that its friends are afraid to bring the\\ntreaty to a vote for fear that it will be rejected.\\nAnd thus, practically, the treaty project fails. That much, at\\nleast, we know, and now the friends of annexation have still an-\\nother plan. It is to pass a joint resolution providing for annexa-\\ntion. This question is now before us. It may seem to some like\\na small matter\u00e2\u0080\u0094 the annexation of G,000 or 7,000 square miles of\\nterritory in all; and so to some persons at the time of o\\\\ir Revolu-\\ntion in ITT.j a penny tax on tea seemed a very small matter; but it\\ninvolved principles which led our fathers to combat the mightiest\\npower in the world and evoked forces that will live forever. And\\nso to-day this annexation of 7,000 square miles of territory\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\nthese little islands of the far Pacific\u00e2\u0080\u0094 involves policies and conse-\\nquences which may change the whole character of our Govern-\\nment. The present war with Spain may be prosecuted to a glo-\\nrious conclusion, glorious for our arms, and far more glorious for\\ntho cause of humanity, for which we have prosecuted tho war;\\nand yet it may be that by wise councils this war may be so ter-\\nminated and closed as to involve no serious change in our Gov-\\nernment and general policy as a nation. But, sir, I apprehend\\nthat the annexation of Hawaii may involve consequences far more\\nvast than the war with Sixain. It will be a new departure. This\\nfact can not be denied by any truthful and well-informed student\\nof our history. We are treading on new and dangerous ground.\\nOCR OWN- PEOPLE S IXTEKEST SHOULD nV. THE PRIME COXSIDKR ATION.\\nMr. Speaker, I would not attempt to decry the ability of the ad-\\nvocates of annexation in and out of Congress. They have been\\ninsistent, earnest, laborious, ingenious. plausil)ie in presenting\\ntheir case, and for the most part I concede freely their patriotism\\nand honesty of purpose. The i eport of the accomplished chairman\\n3 IS.-,", "height": "3588", "width": "2101", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "8\\nof the Committee on Foreifjn Affairs is a proof of what I have said,\\nand I re{,Tet to be compelled to differ from its conclusions. The\\nndvtxatf\u00c2\u00ab of annexation have made the most of their case, but not-\\nvjthstandiiifj their reports, arguments, ard the great mass of an-\\nnexation literature they have presented, their case can not stand\\nthe tfst of common sense and fair logic. Of course vre must study\\nthe interests of uur own jieoplc as a paramount object. If we an-\\nnex Hawaii, it must bo done not on merely sentimental reasons,\\nbecause 8 jnje four or five thousand Americans have gone there to\\nreside and make money, but for the substantial reason that the\\nBtej) is necessary to the 70,000,000 of this country as a military or\\nnaval necessity, or is advantageous to us commercially, and will\\nentail no corresiwnding evils. Don Quixote has no place in this\\nbusiness.\\nI believe, sir, that this project would be very much weaker but\\nfor the suggestion put forth tliat this annexation is important to\\nns right now in carrying on the war with Spain. It is also pre-\\ntended that Hawaii, by allowing our war vessels to coal there, is\\nincurring great danger from some European power. Therefore it\\nis sai l we must annex her immediately. Both these propositions\\nare flimsy pretenses. I deny them both. From what European\\nEower is Hawaii in danger? What power is going to assail her\\necause forsooth she in some small way favors the United States?\\nSpain, indeed, might and would do so, but she has not a single\\nwar vessel of any importance in the Pacific Ocean or even in\\nAsiatic waters. She is not able to spare one ship to send to tha\\nPhiliiipine Islands. Our own fleet is in possession at Manila. Will\\nany European power venture to affront the United States by at-\\ntacks upon Hawaii for alleged violation of neutrality? Of course\\nthat wotild involve a war with this country just as sttrelj as if\\nHawaii were already formally annexed to us. Is Germany or\\nFrance hunting for a quarrel with us? There is no sign of it\\nnone whatever.\\nNOT XEEBED FOR XAVAI^ OPERATION S.\\nBut how does Hawaii help our naval operations in the Philippine\\nIslands? How is she necessary to our success? Commodore Dewey\\ndid his work without help from Hawaii or any foreign power. It is\\ntrue that we are sending him reenforcements of troops and sup-\\nplies. There may be some little convenience in our ships stopping\\nat Hawaii for additional coal, but this is really not necessary.\\nThe shijis and the troops would go to Dewey just as surely as if\\nthe islands did not exist. Commercial instincts will secure him\\ncoal from citizens of neutral nations just as long as he is able to\\npay for it. The truth is that the reenforcement of Commodore\\nl)\u00e2\u0082\u00acwcy is a mere matter of time and administration. Soon it will\\nbe im fait accompli. He will be master of the situation, able to\\noccupy the city of Manila and the Island of Luzon and capture\\nthe .Sjianish forces long before an annexation resolution can pass\\nthe two Houses of Congress.\\nTlie capture of Manila and the destruction of the Spanish fleet\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2was a k lorions feat of arms, and we are all proud and glad of it;\\nbut if these Philippine Islands had not been assailed by Commo-\\ndore Doweyonr operations in the Antilles would have gone on all\\nthe sjime. It is tliere that conclusions are to be finally tried be-\\ntween ihe I nited States and Spain. The con iuest of Cuba and\\nPu\u00c2\u00abTto Iciro liyour arms is essential. Hawaii is wholly unessen-\\ntial to our operations in the Atlantic or in the Pacific. I repeat,\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0MK,", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "sir, that Hawaiian annexation has nothing to do with the case.\\nThe scheme of annexation was started lonj?, long ago and defended\\nfor reasons and from motives which have nothing to do with our\\npresent war with Sixain. Sir, I protest against any attempt to\\nuse and jxn-vert the patriotic feelings of our people at this timo\\nand their desire to free C uha into an argument for annexing the\\nHawaiian Islands. If it be true, as some friends of annexation\\npretend, that Japan and this or that European nation have fixe l\\na greedy eve upon these islands, then tliis step of annexation, if it\\nhad any effect at all, would only tend to array new enemies\\nagainst us. [Api)lause.]\\nGROAYTII AM) DKVKI.Or.MEXT OF OLIl (DlNTllV A SOLltCK OF I KIIii:.\\nSir, I take pride in the growth and development of this country.\\nI take pride in the fact that wo have made great acquisitions of\\nterritory and that Democratic Administrations and bonthern\\nstatesmen have had the leading part in promoting them. Well do\\nI recall the fact that Thomas Jeffei-son, a Democratic President,\\nacquired the vast Louisiana Territory, out of which many States,\\nincluding my own State, have been carved and grown into splendid\\ncommunities. I remember also that New England, which now\\nseems to favor Hawaiian annexation, Avas largely hostile to tho\\nacquisition of Louisiana, and that some of her politicians threat-\\nened disunion on that occasion as a mode of resistance. The\\nalternative to the Democratic policy of that day was the barrier\\nof a great European colony, a new France or a Dominion of Eng-\\nland interposed as an obstacle to our frontier progress and to the\\nfreedom of the Mississippi River. I remember in our history the\\nexpedition of Lewis and Clarke, which secured our title to Oregon.\\nI remember the acquisition of Florida, the acquisition of Texas,\\nCalifornia, New Mexico\u00e2\u0080\u0094 all the work of Democratic Administra-\\ntions. I can not pause to dwell upon the effects and consequences\\nof these grand ac(iuisitions of territory upon our national growth\\nand present rank as one of the great powers of the world. But,\\nsir, these acquisitions were promoted by wise statesmen, who\\ncould compute cost and consequences. It was not the mere vul-\\ngar love of conquest. Look through all these grand acquisitions\\nof territory, so potent as steps in our history and progress, and\\nyou find two attendant facts\u00e2\u0080\u0094 perhaps I ought to say principles.\\nOne was that the territory was coterminous with our own. An-\\nother fact was that the existing population was so small that it\\nwould be an easy matter to till these territories up with our own\\npeople. Westward the star of empire took its way. As the\\nAmerican people pushed forward their emigration tho savage\\ngave wav; they carried men of their own blood and race, their\\nown institutions, the schoolhouse, the church, the free press, the\\ntrial by jury, representative government\u00e2\u0080\u0094 all the muniments of\\nliberty.\\nThe acquisition of the Louisiana Territory gave ns homes for\\nour enterprising people, and ultimately communities as States\\nwell fitted to enter our system of States, fitted to augment, ex-\\npand, and strengthen the Union. These States have not proved\\na weight or a burden or an expense or a curse to ns. They have\\nbeen an added glory and safeguard to the Republic. The same is\\ntrue of all our acquisitions save one. These lands arc full of\\nAmericans\u00e2\u0080\u0094 forceful, free, energetic, intelligent, libert3--lovmg.\\nThey speak our tongue. They think like the people of the old", "height": "3588", "width": "2101", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "10\\nthirteen States and like the people wlio have populated the North-\\nwest Territory K^iven by ir.: inia to the Union. It is barely nec-\\nessiiry for nie to glance at these facts, for all in my hearing are\\nfamiliar with tliem.\\nI have spoken of one exception. There ^Yas just one acquisition\\nmade bya statesman, andan ableman, Mr. Seward, which restson\\ndifferent Kronnds. There is far less to be said for the acquisition\\nof Alaska than any other of our Democratic acquisitions. The\\ncountry, indeed, is large. It cost us only $7,000,000; but while we\\nare not burdened there witli a large alien population, it has no soil\\nfitted fur agriculture or for homes. It may have some advantages\\nlicsides a precarious seal industry and a gold production; but it is\\nnot coterminous and it adds nothing to the strength of the Re-\\npublic. It is doubtful wliether Mr. Seward would ever have\\nentertained the project at all but for the idea that some day the\\nDominion of Canada would enter our Union and that it might be\\nwell to have Alaska for a geograjdiical ert ectupon the map. The\\nacijuisif ion may be more beneticial in the future, but as it is not\\ncoterminous it would be a soui-ce of weakness but for the grow-\\ning good feeling between Great Britain and the United States,\\nTHE TIIUE LINE OF STATESMANSHIP.\\nI thiidv that I ought here to recall the fact that at the time when\\nMexico lay at our mercy, when in 1848 we could have taken that\\nwhole country, and some of our politicians actually proposed to do\\n.so, we 8topi)ed .short at the true line of statesmanship. Our\\nancestors had the great and admirable wisdom of moderation.\\nThe traditions of Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, the wise\\nconn.sels of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, had then a spell and a\\nliowiT for the American mind. We took from Mexico only those\\nnorthern provinces of New Mexico and California which lay in\\nthe natural i)athway of our progress and which by reason of a\\nvery scanty Mexican population were capable of being filled up by\\nAmericans, as they have been. They were easily assimilated to\\nour own .system, California especially. How wise this policj has\\nproved! We left to Mexico all those portions of her country\\nwhich were well populated by her own people.\\n.Monr.HATlOX ANI .JISTICE SUOVI.D DOMINATE.\\nWe did not seek to incorporate them. A small strip, compara-\\ntively unsettled, known later as the Gadsden purchase, was\\naciiuireil subsequently by treaty in order to promote the construc-\\ntion of the Pacific railway. But we took in no large element of\\nl)oj)ulationspeaking a different language and cherishingessentially\\ndifffn Ut institutions from our own. I admire this moderation,\\ntliis spirit of justice and statesmanship that dominated in that\\nhour. The Hejaiblic of Mexico has great resources. After many\\ntrials and sad hours 1 rejoice to think that she is rapidlv pro-\\ngressing and is )ia] pily prosperous under the conduct of a gi eat\\nu!id wonderful man, who deserves to rank among the foremost\\nHtat4 Hnun of the ilay and as a benefactor to a people who are our\\nneighboi-s and friends. With them wo have largo and growing\\ntriide relations from which both countries are deriving profit, and\\nwhich in the future will yield initold and only half-imagined\\nIx-n-fits to both nations. Will any uian be so foolish or wicked\\nas to asHprt that it would be bettor to have incorporated Mexico as\\na provin( e or a dei)endency?\\n31Hj", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "11\\nThis hasty review of the past, and I make it brieflj- becanse it\\nis only necessary to allude to it, throws a Lroail light upon our\\npresent situation and our dnty at thi.s lime. The present propo-\\nsition is different from any we have ever had in the past. Even\\nthe case of Mexico in 1S48 was widely different. Mexico was not\\ndensely populated. Her productions and resources were very\\ngreat. Her future was beyond question. She was capable of sup-\\nplying a very large product of sugar. She was then and is now\\ncapable of supplying the whole world with cotTee of a quality\\nequal to the best. Her capacities of production and her varieties\\nof soil and climate in many respects made her a far more desirable\\nacquisitiun than Hawaii, even if Hawaii were equally near and\\nhad an equal area. Mexico is a hundredfold richer.\\nHAWAII S LIJIITUl) DOMAIN.\\nBut. leaving out the case of Mexico, compare the acquisition of\\nHiiwaii with the territorial acijuisitions of the past. Compare\\nthe grand acciuisitions of virgin lands, of grand areas of prairies,\\nand forests of unoccupied lands with the pitiful area and meager\\nopportimities of these little islands, thrown up by some volcanic\\naction in the I acific Ocean. Seven thousand square miles all told,\\nsurrounded by water and 2, 200 miles away! A country hardly a\\nfifth the size of Ohio, largely mountainous and uninhabitable,\\nwith no vacant or unoccupied lands, no opportunities for homes\\nfor our people, and already filled up full and running over and\\nwith Kanakas and Asiatics. Am I wrong as to this? 1 read from\\nthe report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs the following facts\\nand figures:\\nThe census of 1. shows the population to be ]n0.020.\\nIn round numbers the different nationalities are represented as follows:\\nNative Hawaiians 31,000\\nJapanese 34,40(J\\nPortuguese L). KO\\nChinese Zl. lO\\nPart Hawaiian and part foreign\\nblood 8,400\\nAmericans 3,000\\nBritish 3.200\\nGermans 1,400\\nNorwegians and French 47!)\\nAll other nationalities 1,055\\nThe percentage of Americans and Europeans by birth or descent\\nis here stated at 22, but this includes the Portuguese. I can not\\nregard these as homogeneous. The European population are not\\nunited, small as they are, but are discordant, and only o,000 out of\\n78,000 of those of foreign parentage or descent are Americans.\\nThe great bulk are Asiatics; yet Americans have had ample op-\\nportunities to settle there. They have not been interfered with\\nnor oppressed. Why are there so few of them in Hawaii? I can\\nonly suppose that the Americans do not care to go there for lack\\nof the opportunities that they have in their own country. The\\nislands seem to attract the overcrowded populations of Asia, the\\nclass of people who can live and work in a hot climate for a few\\ncents a day a;id in a low scale of life.\\nWhat are we to do with these Asiatics or with the Portuguese?\\nYou can not well ship them back to their own countries. Are\\nyou going to shut down on all Japanese immigration, or are you\\ngoing to throw over them all the a^gis of American citizenship?\\nDo you propose to admit as a State a country with an over-\\nwhelming laoportion of Asiatics and Polynesians and only ;3 per\\ncent of Americans? Do you propose to shut Hawaii out as a\\nState of the Union and keep her as a dependency? What advan-\\ntage are you to derive from assimiing this burden? With every\\n3485", "height": "3588", "width": "2101", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "12\\nnflvantiiKe to bo derived from reciprocity treaties the total esti-\\nmated area of land under cano cultivation is only 67,S49 acres.\\nThe flugar exports liave reached 292,08:5,589 pounds. But for the\\nriyht to export sugar froelv and duty free to the United States,\\nand till American duties on all other foreign sugar\u00e2\u0080\u0094 a great boom\\nfur .sonifbodv s benefit and a great loss to our own revenue\u00e2\u0080\u0094 these\\nislands would have to face a far different state of affairs.\\nA fiil.OM.VI. SVSTKM INCONSISTKNT WITH OUK GOVEUNME.NTAI. SV.STE.Nf.\\nDisguise it as vou may by ingenious phrases or specious pleas of\\nmilitary necessity, wo are confronted with the grave question,\\nHliall Wf enter u]ion a colonial system such as that of England,\\nsuch as that which has been the curse and disgrace of Spain, such\\nas that which burdens France and threatens to involve Germany\\nand Italv in war with other powers\u00e2\u0080\u0094 I might say a system that\\nthreatens to involve all Europe in war? Under this seeking oiit\\nfor colonies Africa has been partitioned, divided up, and now these\\ngreat countries are riuarreling over the spoils. With monarchical\\ngovernments or governments only nominally republican, but really\\ndespotic or monarchical, this system of colonies, however burden-\\nsome, however tending to conflicts, may be pursued without a\\nbhock to their systems of government.\\nBut with us the case is different. Our whole sj stem is founded\\non the right of the people- all the people\u00e2\u0080\u0094 to participate in the\\nGovernment. If we annex Hawaii, we must soon admit the\\ncountrv as a State of the Union, with only 3 per cent of the popu-\\nlation Americans, or we must keep the islands as a dependency\u00e2\u0080\u0094\\na sort of proconsulate where we can maintain rich men s sons in\\noffice and grandeur, or provide for needy and profligate politi-\\ncians, such as those who for long years after the war scourged,\\nrobbed, and desolated the Southern States. At present there is\\nno party bold enough to advocate the idea of admitting Hawaii as\\na State of the Union, whatever design they may propose in their\\nhearts. Thev do not propose to make the Kanakas and Asiatics\\nthe e(iuals in political power with New York, Ohio. Pennsylvania,\\nIllinois. No: The plan is to have and keep Hawaii as a colony\\nor dependencj\\nNO COXCEALMENTS SHOULD BE MADE.\\nNow, sir. if this be the design, let it be frankly and honorably\\navowed. Let us have no fraud or deception practiced upon the\\nIMjople. Let all be plain sailing. If we are to change our entire\\nsystem and i)olicy as a confederated republic and go in for a grand,\\ncolonial, and imperial system, let the issue be fairly propounded.\\nLet the people see what they are to give up and what they are to\\ngain by it. Above all, let us consider that it is the first step that\\ncosts. We can not stop with these petty islands of Hawaii. To\\ndo so would be a national humiliation. If Ave are to run a race\\nfor the ac(iuisition of colonies with the European governments\\nfor colonies with a poi)ulat,ion alien in race, language, religion,\\neverything\u00e2\u0080\u0094 let us not do things on a small scale. We must not\\ntail behind Italy. France, Germany, countries inferior to us in\\nwealth and population. Sir, I warn you that you can not ever\\nenter on siich a policy as this and stop short at Hawaii. You can\\nnot stop. Still less can you go backward in your tracks.\\nI have made no reference to the great (4overnment of Russia.\\nAmbitious as her rulers may be, ready and anxious for acquisi-\\ntions, and a groat military power as she is, Russia seeks only con-\\n;;jN.-,", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0012.jp2"}, "13": {"fulltext": "13\\ntigiions acquisitions\u00e2\u0080\u0094 countries adjoining her own. These she\\nconquers or annexes, populates tlieni. if there be room, and at any\\nrate governs them by a strong hand. She seems to have a won-\\nderful faculty in assimilating foreit^n countries that shcconciuers,\\nas remarkable, indeed, as the Roman Empire of old, and so far\\nthere is no sign of decay. But Russia is a monarchy\u00e2\u0080\u0094 a grand\\nEmpire with a gigantic army. Her system of government is not\\na representative one like ours. She has no free institutions. 13ut\\nwith all this she acciuires no colonies. The only colony she ever\\nhad\u00e2\u0080\u0094 1 mean Alaska\u00e2\u0080\u0094 she sold to this country long ago. It was a\\nwise act for her to do.\\nABANnONM::NT OK OI.O SYSTEM r.WVlSK.\\nSo the question presses on us. Shall we abandon our old system\\nand adopt the colonial system, with all its conseciuences? Is it a\\nnecessity for us at this time? Is it wise? Is it calculated to pro-\\nmote liberty and free institutions, or does it tend to consolidation\\nand empire? Would an empire, great though it might be, prove\\nbetter for our people than the free institutions which have made\\nus the first of the nations in wealth and progress?\\nIf this (luestion can be fairly put and considered by the Ameri-\\ncan people. I shall not fear the response. I admit that men s\\nminds are disturbed by the excitement of the war with Spain, but\\nthere is reason and method enough left to guide our i)eople to a\\nsafe conclusion. We can carry on a war with Spain. I hope, with\\nsuccess and yet not surrender our system of free government.\\nNO OTHER POWER WILL INTERl-EHE.\\nOne of the arguments usually urged in favor of annexing Ha-\\nwaii is that if we do not take these islands at once, some other\\npower will do so. There is no warrant for this assertion. There\\nis no power on the globe that does not know that the Hawaiian\\nIslands are forbidden fruit. They know that this country would\\nnot permit it. They each and all know that there is nothing in\\nthese islands to compensate the cost of a war with the United\\nStates, even if it should be successful. There have indeed been\\nperiods in the remote past when European powers have interfered\\nwith the independence of the Hawaiian Islands, but that time has\\nlong since gone by. The European powers now fullv recognize\\nthe fact that the United States would regard this as a hostile act.\\nThey have had ample notice. Their position is apparent in the\\ndocuments of this report. It is summed up well at page 81 by\\nLord Paluierston, speaking nearly half a century ago. He said\\nthat the British Government desired the Hawaiian people to pre-\\nserve national independence. If they were unable to do so. he\\nrecommended receiving a protectorate government under the\\nUnited States or by becoming an integral part of that nation.\\nThis attitude of England has been repeatedly and most frankly\\nstated. The paramoimt influence of the United States and her\\nmoral right to control the destinies of the islands has been steadily\\nrecognized. It is a fixed policy and will not be varied by England.\\nNo other Eurojiean power has proposed a different policy. Japan\\ndisavows any idea of annexation. Her interests are those of peace\\nwith this country. Japan and the United States have in common\\na great paramount interest in Asia in enlarged trade and free in-\\ntercourse for all nations. Japan is not going to quarrel with the\\nUnited States or to pursue an aggressive policy in respect to Ha-\\nwaii. In a word, the United States are free in respect to Hawaii\\n3185", "height": "3588", "width": "2101", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0013.jp2"}, "14": {"fulltext": "14\\nfrom all foreign complications. This effort to provoke our people\\nto resentment of fancied wrongs, ami then to annexation, in order\\nto show what we can do if we will, has no adequate foundation or\\n.iustification. It is a mere trick in the game of men who have a\\npvofit to make hy annexation. It is a cheap, transparent device,\\nand should not influence us for a single moment.\\nI come now to the i)oint that those islands may be made the\\nbasis of an attack upon the Pacific coast. We have already a\\nright to establish a coaling station at Pearl Harbor. We have not\\nimproved upon our right which exists by and under our reciproc-\\nity treaty with Ha wan. Of course we can improve this harbor at\\nany time we please and fortify it if we desire to do i^o. I admit the\\nadvantage of coaling stations at Hawaii, at the Philippine Islands,\\nand on the Asiatic coast. We ought to seek such a concession\\nfrom Cliina, and probably it could be readily obtained. China\\nhas made such concessions to less friendly nations than our own.\\nBut the fact stands that up to this time nothing has been done.\\nISIr. Speaker. I (juestion the assertion that any power can make\\nthe Hawaiian Islands with success a base of hostile operations\\nagainst our Western coast. England does not need it for this pur-\\npose. She has her own base at PJsquimalt. She has British Co-\\nlumbia and Vancouver Island. The other countries are so remote\\nfrom our Pacific shores that it seems to me idle to suppose that\\nFrance. Germany, Russia, or Japan can direct naval or military\\noperations against our Western coast. Gentlemen who make this\\nargument appear to me to forget that our Navy is being rapidly\\ndeveloped and that the Pacific coast States are about to become\\nthe dominant force on the Pacific coast. That they can be success-\\nfully assailed by any other power than Great Britain seems in the\\nhighest degree improbable. Of coiirse if England has the power\\nto strike us. we have the power to strike back. We can strike at\\nlier by land and water. I do not fear such a confiict, and I am\\nglad to believe that such a confiict is not likely to occur. With\\nthe growing friendship and community of interests of the two\\nnations there remains only a rivalry of commerce and of friendly\\noffices. I recognize the necessity of building up a strong navy on\\nthe Pacific coast, one worthy of the country and able to defend our\\ninterests: but this does not require the annexation of Hawaii.\\nIndeed, it renders annexation a matter of wholly secondary and\\nminor importance.\\nSir, I object to any policy of alarm and sensation. We are\\ngrowing faster than any country in the world in wealth and pop-\\nulation. Shall we lose our heads and our even balance because\\nwe are involved in a brief war with a Aveak power that is bank-\\nrupt and has only one-fourth of our population? This subject of\\nannexation jjresents wholly different considerations and has noth-\\ning properly to do with the Spanish war.\\nI have already consumed more time than I had designed, but\\nwithout going into detail or ancient history I have endeavored to\\npresent fairly some of the issues involved in the issue of annexa-\\ntion. I have not dwelt upon the commercial aspects of the ques-\\ntion. We have a commerce with Hawaii which, while not large,\\nis valuable. But these islands produce nothing of importance\\nthat we can not produce at hoine. Their chief product is sugar.\\nWith cheap Asiatic or contract labor these islands are able to pro-\\nduce a good deal of sugar, and this entered free in our ports reduces\\nour revenues and creates a formidable competition to the growing\\na485", "height": "3619", "width": "1976", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0014.jp2"}, "15": {"fulltext": "15\\nbeet iuaustry on the Pacific coast. This, sir, ought not to be.\\nWith an adequate and steady duty on sugar, wo can produce\\nfrom the cane and the beet all the sugar this country can re iuire.\\nThe question to be considered i^. Shall these great and growing\\nindustries of our own people be broken down m order to swell the\\nprofits of adventurers and speculators? t\\nIf this one factor were removed from the problem. I am conh-\\ndent that we should hear much less of annexation than we have\\ndone for some years past. The fever fur annexation is not pure\\nsentiment. It is not a Platonic love. It means settlements, money\\nfor a certain class of interests, and is essentially a manage de\\nconvenance. It has pressed and maintained the reciprocity\\ntreaty There is mischief enough in that arrangement without\\nadopting a colonial and imperial system which is to change the\\nwhole spirit and principle of our American representative Cxov-\\nernment. [Applause. 1\\nI deny that von can have a colonial system, with inferior and\\nmongrel races and mongrel governments, and standing armies to\\nhold and defend them, without giving up your grand American\\nsystem of free government with limited powers btate rights,\\nl6cal self-governinent, and individual freedom. This proposition\\nis self-evident. It requires no argument and no elucidation.\\nTake this first fatal step and you can not recall it Much ot\\nerror we have corrected. Much that may hereafter be you can\\ncorrect. But when this step shall be taken, you are irrevocably\\npledged to a svsteni of colonies and empire. There are no toot-\\nsteps backwaixl. You may have grandeur. Will you retain\\nliberty?\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2WE SHOULD DEVELOP DEMOCRATIC PniNX IPEES.\\nIs there nothing better? Is there nothing to point the aspira-\\ntions of our people? I think there is. i do not desire weakness\\nas a people. 1 rejoice in our strength and growth. e are strong\\nenough to pursue a grand and a glorious destiny. We can be\\neasily the first power of the world if to ourselves only we bo true.\\nThere are two things I would suggest, one a foreign policy, the\\nother domestic. I have time only to glance brierly at both, in\\nrespect to our domestic policy, what is better to develop our hap-\\npiness and liberty and growth than the cardinal policies of the\\nDemocratic party-a respect for the rights of the people and the\\nStates, the union of the States, a reverence f or the i ederai Consti-\\ntution an avoidance and hatred of class legislation, low taxation,\\nno monopolies, no bounties to individuals or to classes, no ettort to\\nenrich any man at the expense of his neighbor; order, peace, and\\niustice The doctrines of Jefferson and the fathers, of the most\\neminent statesmen of the present generation these will injure no\\nman. but will benefit, bless, and advance the Republic. Lndei\\nthis system there is no limit to our growth we can then dety all our\\nenemies; we can open a hope for all our people; we can eclipse the\\nglories of any empire of the past or the present; wecaii cominand\\npeace and appal aiiv country that would dare be a wrongdoer jit our\\nexpense. In all this grand chart ot progress there are no blood\\nstains, no tears of orphan or widow, no standing armies, no do9m\\nfor the poorer the humble man aspiring to earn his bread and Jive\\nin the fear of God. [Applause.] \u00e2\u0080\u009ef r^vmVn\\nThus living and moving we shall have the respect of foieign\\npowers. We shall be strong and we shall not want for f riends. W o", "height": "3588", "width": "2101", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0015.jp2"}, "16": {"fulltext": "LiBKHKY UK CUNUKtbb\\n013 744 823 3\\nIG\\nmay not join in tlie vulgar scramble for foreign territory or pai--\\nlake in the partition of .Spain or Asia, but we are free to seek for-\\neign markets, and we may say to foreign nations frankly and firmly\\ntluit we will not allow their schemes of comiuest or ambition to\\nsliut ns ont from markets that are fairly ours. We may say that\\nthe vast and growing trade of China belongs as fairly to us as to\\nother countries, and that while we do not covet one foot of her\\nsoil we will not allow ourselves to be excluded from its commerce.\\nWe may not light to have colonies, dependencies, and subjects,\\nbut we may talce a start ior free access to markets that are ours\\nfairly by our position and growth on the Pacific Ocean. In such\\na contest we shall have the cooperation of at least one great and\\npowerful nation. We stand only for what is just and right.\\nI shall not follow out this line of thought, but I submit it as a\\ncounter project to the miserable game of grab and incorporation\\nof Asiatics and Malays into a free representative republic, which,\\nif it is to remain great and honored, free and happy, must be a\\nwhite man s government. I prefer the republican government of\\nour fathers to this scheme of empire and of greed which is sought\\nto be fastened on us l)y false pretense and appeals to our fears. I\\nspeak for the best and highest interests of the American people and\\nnot for speculators. I speak for the laboring poor; I speak only\\nwhat all tlie fathers of our freedom have told us to believe and\\nact upon. I ask you solemnly to listen to their coitnse .s and to\\nfollow their footsteps. [Prolonged applause.]\\n3iS5", "height": "3702", "width": "2153", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00meye_0016.jp2"}}