The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1893-01-24
Proposed Coffee Advertising at
the Worlds Fair.

man who talked of anything out
side of sugar as a national indus
try was politely deemed fool. To
day, even the planters have been
forced to acknowledge the folly of
that narrow-minded exclusiveness,
and admit the necessity of putting
our eggs into more than one bas-
ket." In fact, it has even been con-
coded by some that unless other
industries can be rapidly fostered,
outside of sugar, the whole country
will "go to the dogs" and there
upon studies have been made of
the possibilities of our lands. Thus
far, these studies seem to point out
to coffee as the best or most pro-
missing substitute for, or partner to
the sugar industry, and no public
spirited man can have remained
Indifferent to the efforts made of
late to develop a. large coffee in
dustry. The resources of these ISL
ands in regard to coffee are not yet
fully known, but they seem to be
practically unlimited, and the
lately constituted Bureau of In
formation" has begun some work
of great economical value, by try
ing to ascertain at least the area of
land that could be dedicated right
away to coffee growing, outside of
the enormous tracts of Government
and Crown Lands now locked up
by long leases in the hands of
few wealthy but not very patriotic
sugar or cattle corporations.
But what is pre-eminently need
ed to foster good and immediate
start to coffee growing in this
country is capital, and especially
foreign capital, and, in my estima-
ton, no better move could be made
in the way of calling the attention
of foreign capital to the coffee pos
sibilities of the archipelago than
the one I understand to have been
started by our towns man Mr..
Mellis, under the patronage of a
few liberal-minded citizens.
The idea of establishing a coffee
booth on the grounds of the next
Worlds Fair at Chicago, so as to
familiarize the visitors from all
parts with the idea of Hawaiian
coffee culture, by allowing them to
taste the genuine beverage, is GER
tainly an excellent one, even if
viewed only in the light of ma
5ional advertisement, and there is no
reason to suppose that it would not
be also a profitable speculation for
The men who advance the necessary
capital. Here, l must remark -
IN pessant,-that the terms die
;ated by the Worlds Fair Commits
'ioners, of 80 per cent. of the gross
.eceipts, for the mere privilege of |
establishing the coffee booth, are
,utrageously leonine; they may be
iairly stigmatized as far more ex-
ortionate than anything smart
fankeeism is generally credited
With. Evidently the Worlds Fair
Commissioners have considered |
Ir. Mellis' proposal in the light of
greedy speculation or of a des-
,erate effort of an over-stocked
;offee grower to get rid of his crop,
instead of seeing it, as we do here,
IS national effort (which may
urn out to be a great sacrifce) for
national advertisement to foster
n industry not yet born, and |
hink that, had they realized our
rue position they would not have
cen so rapacious..
However, the important point
1 the matter, is not in the mere
lcto the cost of the proposed coffee
hop, but in this, that "cafe"
CRYING well made coffee from the
enuine Kona bean, accompanied
y a distribution of the raw or
pasted bean, and a display of we'll
elected views of the Islands, to-
ether with documents giving in
on the country and the {
disabilities of this special culture {
ould be a powerful adjunct to the
ilauea Cyclorama, to bring this '
cup to the attention of the uni &
,rse and popularize our excellent l
flee, thereby inducing foreign j
vestments. If, further than that, i
z clever management, the men P
ho lend their money to facilitate
is wholesome advertising can be Il
warded by profit, it will be the )
I'll earned recompense of a patri- $
ic duty and nobody will be- 1
Judge it. I
Therefore, at the risk of being a
lied crank-for such has been t.
y lot in this country nearly every 1