The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-08-26
KATE FIELDS WASHINGTON
Interviews Minister ThurstOn on
the Hawaiian Situation.
And ELECTS Much Information Accom-
panied by the Facts and Figures.


Every glad to make your &C
quaintance, Minister Thurston.
Kate Fields Washington is great
ly interested in Hawaii and wants
furthur information on a subject of
national import. In what ratio
are the white and native popula-
ton of the islands increasing and
decreasing?"
"The white population is stead
lily increasing, now numbering, in
round numbers, twenty thousand,
of whom seven thousand are Ha-
waiians, born of foreign parentage.
The white population consists
chiefly of Americans, English,
Germans and Portuguese. For
twenty years past the native Ha-
waiians have been decreasing at
the rate of one thousand a year.
In 1870 there were fifty-four thous-
and, in 1890 there were only thirty
four thousand. Unless conditions
radically change it is simply
matter of calculation as to the
time when the race will become
practically extinct"
Chow valuable commercially are
the islands to the United States?"
"You can easily judge when I
tell you that they are, next to
Great Britain, the greatest con-
sumers of Pacific produce, stand
ing second on the list of purchasers
of material on the San Francisco
custom house records. During the
year 1891 the foreign commerce of
the islands was, in round numbers,
twenty million dollars, eighty per
cent. of which was with the United
States. Practically all of the ex-
ports of the islands come to the
United States, and all of her i'm
ports are from here except small
percentage, which comes from
Great Britain and Germany. A
unique feature of the foreign COM
merce of the islands is that it is
nearly all carried by vessels under
the American flag, which were
built and are owned on the Pacific
coast"
"There are Americans who still
doubt the strategic value of Ha-
wall"
Gail well-informed persons ac-
knowledge the islands to be the key
to the Pacific ocean, lying as they
do at the crossing of all the great
trade routes. There are only two
or three harbors in the whole coun-
try and these are easily defended.
Any country which once becomes
entrenched in the Hawaiian ISL
ands can no more be ousted from
them than can England from Glib
ralter."
"What is the taxable value of the
islands?"
"The total taxable value Of the
property of the country, together
with that owned by the government,
is about fifty million dollars. The
value of the sugar interests alone
comes to over thirty-one million
dollars, of which, in round num-
bers, twenty-three million dollars
is owned by Americans and only
thirty-nine thousand dollars by ma
tive Hawaiians. This is a fair in
dex of the relative property inter-
ests which Americans and native
Hawaiians have in the country.
The total value of the English in
terests in sugar plantations is, in
round numbers, five million dol
lars, while the Germans own only
little over $1,5O0,000. There
are corporations of businesses
other than sugar, to the amount
of, in round numbers, six mil
lion dollars, of which nearly four
million dollars is owned by Ameri-
cans"
"What are the principal pro-
ducts?"
"Sugar, rice, coffee, bananas and
pineapples. With annexation the
variety of products would be great
ly increased, as our one great mar
ket is the United States and the
existing tariff does not admit most
of our products except upon pay
ment of prohibitory duties. With
the impetus which annexation
would give there is no reason why
the products of the islands should
not be trebled within the next few
years"
"What is your total population? '
"About ninety-five thousand, of
whom twenty thousand are whites,
thirty-four thousand native Ha-
waiians, fourteen thousand Chi
nese and eighteen thousand Japan
esq.,"
"Where lies the trend of trade"
" Practically all trade is with
the United States, with the excep-