The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-11-10
HAWAII AT FRISCO.
The Midwinter Fair Considered as a
Business Proposition

BUSINESS FTOpOSltlOn.
EDITOR STAR: In my last letter, for
which you kindly made room, called
attention to the advantages offered to
Hawaii by the San Francisco Midwinter
Fair as an advertising proposition alone.
In this, with your permission, l propose
to call attention to the matter from
business standpoint, Or to make myself
clearer, to try and show tina; as bust.
ness investment alone first-c class Ha-
walian exhibit at San Francisco cannot
fail TO be remuerative, even with an
outlay as extensive as $4,000, as the
Exhibition Company proposes. l will
suppose that all of the stock of the pro-
posed company is taken, and am in
formed the greater part of it is, say by
the merchants and business men about
town, including the steamship agents;
and | will suppose the company just
makes its expenses. In that case the
stockholders would get their money
back with lot of free advertising in
the place of dividend, and future
benefits to come. Again, | will take
the very unlikely position that the
company expends every dollar Of its
capital and gets no cash return what
ever, even then | claim that it would
be money in the pockets Of the investor.
The people of the city of Chicago
subscribed five millions of dollars as a
gift to get the Worlds Fair located
there and afterwards as much more to
show their faith in the enterprise, and
what have they got for it ?? In one
sense nothing but lot of empty build
ings the majority of which must be
pulled down IN so many days after the
close of the exhibition. AS near as
can be told now the Worlds Fair will
be in debt at its close just what the
city of Chicago subscribed, and yet not
a single kick has been heard so far.
The business men of Chicago are
satisfied with their investment, which
was simply throwing away ten million
dollar sprat to catch hundred million
dollar mackerel, and have no doubt
the mackerel has already been landed
more than once. If one stops to con-
slider for a moment the enormous sums
of money spent in Chicago the last six
months and who got the benefit of it,
the wisdom of the throwing away the
sprat becomes apparent.
The State of California appropriated
$500, 900 for special exhibit at Chica-
go, and numbers of its counties voted
additional sums varying from So, 900 to
$4,000 for separate county exhibits in
the California building. All of that
money was simple donation, neither
the State nor the counties expecting
ever to receive a cent of their money
back directly. All looked upon it
simply as business investment which
would prove remunerative indirectly,
and that it has and will do so think
cannot be denied. The benefit the
State of California has received from
its munificent outlay at Chicago is in
calculabe. 1t is shown in the Mid
winter Fair itself which is the outcome
of the California exhibit. 1t will be
shown in the wonderful increase of
travel to the golden state this winter
and in the increased demand for all its
products. 1t is safe to say that the
merchants of San Francisco alone will
benefit more than the entire cost of the
State exhibit in increased sales of Cali
fornia products alone, without taking
into account the benefits accruing to
the railroads and hotels from increased
tourist traffic. No one regrets the half
million dollars paid for displaying Cali
fornia's resources at Chicago. Not
much, there is too much good hard
business sense among the people of
California. They have Simply thrown
a half million sprat to catch their mack
erel with, but they have got him hook
ed and by the time he is landed he
may prove to be as large as the Chica-
go one.
What is the matter with Hawaii
throwing away her little $4,000 sprat
for the same purpose, or rather piece
of it, for there will surely be some of
the bait saved and more than likely the
whole of it, which will then do to bait
another hook with | can only look at