twenty-five years old, male citizens, must have lived three years in Hawaii, and must either own $500 worth of property or have an income of $250 a year. This was the plan proposed, but the Senate committee struck out the express property qualifications and provided, as the requirements of candidates, that they should be "qualified to vote" for senators and representatives respectively.

The position that Hawaii should occupy in the Union was long discussed in Congress. The Senate had formulated one bill and the House another, both providing for a delegate to Congress from Hawaii. This proposition met with much opposition from both political parties, and a strong feeling was apparent that the bill should contain a declaration that "nothing therein contained should be considered as implying the future admission of Hawaii as a state." Those who favored this declaration opposed the representation of Hawaii by a delegate in Congress, and when the 55th Congress expired on March 4, 1899, no legislation upon this matter had been carried through.

Early in 1900, Congress passed a bill creating the Territory of Hawaii, which bill was signed by President McKinley on the 30th of April. By this act Hawaii was given a territorial government like that of New Mexico and Arizona, with a governor appointed by the President and a delegate to Congress elected

by the people of the island. On the 4th of May the President nominated Sanford B. Dole to be governor of the territory, and the nomination was promptly confirmed by the Senate. Later Robert Wilcox,

the candidate of the native voters, was elected as the first delegate from Hawaii to the national House of Representatives.

Affairs in the islands are progressing fairly well, although, owing to the composite, heterogeneous population, great difficulties are experienced. According to the census taken in 1900, the entire population of the islands is something over 150,000. Of these about one third are of the native race; considerably more than one third are Japanese and Chinese; and the remainder is made up of Portuguese, Americans, a few English, and others. The largest city is Honolulu, with a population of about 40,000.

CHAPTER X

PORTO RICO

RESIDENT MCKINLEY, in his message to

PRE

Congress December 6, 1897, reviewed the history of the relations between the United States and the Spanish government in Cuba for the last seventy or eighty years. He alluded to the war then in progress between Spain and Cuba, and asserted that both the Spaniards and the insurgents had paid no regard to the civilized code of war. General Weyler, in command of the Spanish army, had ordered non-combatants in the agricultural regions to leave their homes and their farms and concentrate in the cities under control of the Spanish forces. This concentration policy of General Weyler caused immense suffering and gave great dissatisfaction. The result was that Weyler's resignation was demanded by the Spanish Premier, and General Blanco succeeded to the command in Cuba. This was in October, 1897. Blanco opposed concentration and allowed the reconcentrados to return from the cities and till the soil. The President in his message recommended "neutral intervention on behalf of a compromise, or on humanitarian grounds."

Soon after the message was sent to Congress, Sr. De Lome, the Spanish minister at Washington, wrote a letter containing deprecatory remarks upon President McKinley. He characterized him as “weak and catering to the rabble," and as a "low politician." This letter came into the hands of the Cuban Junta. It was published and greatly inflamed the American mind against Spain.

On January 24, 1898, the United States war ship Maine, Captain C. D. Sigsbee, was ordered to the harbor of Havana, "not," as was distinctly explained by Judge Day, the assistant Secretary of State, "as a menace to Spain, not even as a means of protecting the lives and property of Americans in Havana in the event of a popular tumult there, but simply as a token of the resumption of friendly naval relations with Spain." In acknowledgment of the friendly visit of the American battleship to Havana, the Spanish government immediately ordered the battleship Vizcaya to visit the American ports.

The Maine was destroyed by an explosion, about ten o'clock at night, February 15, 1898. The loss of life was fearful; it was a dark night and few of the crew escaped with their lives. The general belief of the citizens of our country was that the Spanish government, or Spanish officers in Cuba, were responsible for the explosion.

On April 11th, President McKinley sent a message