Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-04-28
HAWAIIAN FACTS.
OFFICIAL INFORMATION ABOUT
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
The Treasury Department Gives Ont
Some Interesting Statistics
Commerce and Industries
or the Islands.

States which Is interesting at the present
moment. 1t states that there is no reli.
able information showing the discovery
of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands,
prior to Captain Cooks visit there in
177S, when he gave the islands the name
of "Sandwich" in honor OF Earl Sand
wich, the First Lord of the Admiralty.
The next year Captain Cook was killed
in one of the harbors OF Hawaii. Al
that time each OF the islands had an in-
dependent Government with its own
ruler, but Kamehalneha I. brought sill ot
these islands under his sway between
1884 and 1919, and being man Of un-
usual Intelligence and great strength Of
character, he established a commerce
with feet of twenty vessels Of from
twenty-five to fifty tons each, which he
caused to be built after the model OF
European vessels. His son, his successor,
Kamehameha H., abolished idolatry in
1919, and in 1929 missionaries went to
the islands. From that time the social
aud commercial conditions have steadily
improved, various lines Of industries
being established aud the islands and
their commerce greatly developed.
The islands in this group number
thirteen, eight Of which are inhabited.
Their total area is about six thousand
square miles, or about the size OF the
States of Connecticut and Rhode Island
put together, Hawaii, the largest Of the
islands in the group, having an area OF
about four thousand square milea, and Of
itself nearly the size of Connecticut. The
five uninhabitel islan1s are very small,
having less than sixty square miles each
The islands, as is we'll understood, are
OF volcanic origin, high, steep, and
mountainous, with many lofty peaks,
rising in some instances TO the height Of
from 10, 900 to 13, $50 feet, their slopes
covered with verdue and forests. The
climate, although the islands are situated
within the tropics, is temperate ex.
tremely equable and salubrious, having
neither extreme heat nor extreme cold,
the temperature ranging from ffty-three
to ninety degIees. The principal pro-
ductions are coffee, sugar, cotton, rice,
cocoa, oranges, bananas aud sweet pota-
toes. On the uplands wheat aud other
cereals are produced; on the mountain
slopes is abundant pastures for large
Aocks which flourish in this mild climate.
The population is estimated at one
hundred thousand, which is consldera-
blv more than that of Idaho or Wyon-
iur or Nevada, all OF which are now
States in the Union. OF this number
one half are native Hawaiians, fifteen
thousand are Chinese ani nearly as many
Japanese, over eight thousand Por'u'
puese. two thousand Americans, four
teen hundred British, au1 seven hun
dred Germans. In other words one'halt
the population are native, one'tourth
Chinese and japanese, and the other
fourth are representatives OF the
Caucasian race. Curiously, the native
population has decreased rapidly since
the foreign element entered the islands.
In 1923 the native population was nearly
one hundred and fifty thousand and is
now but fifty thousand.
There is more OF civilization aud the
methods of civilized life among the
representatives than is generally
supposed. Over II, 900 children are in
attendance upon the public schools, oil
which number over eight thousand are
Hawaiians. English is taught in most
of the schools, and there is growing
tendency to abandon the native language.
There are about one hundred and seven
ty.five schools Of which nearly all are
under the control of the Government.
That the people are prosperous as we'll
as fairly intelligent is shown By the fact
that they have deposited in the postal
savings banks which the Government has
established nearly million dollars. The
Government is complete one in all its
chara acteristics, having its Custom House,
Postofflce Department, Interior Depart
ment, Finance Department, Judiciary
Department, Postal Savings Bank system,
etc. The largest industry is the pro.
duction Of sugar, there being between
seventy aud eighty-6ve sugar plantations
valued at thirty-four million dollars, of
which Americans own about two-thirds.
TIE exports Of sugar have steadily in
creased until they aggregated, in 1891,
275, ,000,0 900 pounds. In addition to
this, there was exported about five
million pounds Of rice, all of which with
other exports, such as coffee and fruits,
made up a total value Of domestic eK.
ports Of over ten million dollars. San
Francisco is the nearest port to be
reached from Hawaii, the distance being
2100 miles. Yokohama, Japan, is 800
miles away; Auckland, New Zealand,
1000; Sidney, Australia, 41O0 and Hong
Kong, China, 1900 miles.
1t is natural, both in view Of the fact
that ours is the nearest port and that our
people have the largest investments in
the industries of Hawaii, that her com.
mercs shosld be mostly with the United