The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-07-24

mum, besides liberal amounts from
biennial appropriations. North HilO
on the contrary, with absolutely no
road, not even one that could by cour-
tesy be dubbed a COW path, finds itself
in the quandary of trying to spread
$500 of annual road tax moneys
over IS miles, and Puma with its
40 miles has discovered that 800 or
$500 of an annual road fund do not
cover much ground. The lands of
Puma are much the same as those OF
the two Konas; most barren and desc
late tracts adjOin such as are consld-
cred by coffee men the most fertile ana
desirable. Within the last two years
there have been made 90 entries for
homesteads, aggregating about l3O0
acres, and the sales of Government
and private lands to bona fide lnVes-
tors have been considerable. The res
idents of Puma and the newcomers
who have recently taken up lana,
were led to expect that the construc-
ton of a road of some kind or other, a
carriage road not being demanded,
was intended by the Government. Ii
this be now denied, the investments
of these pioneers will prove a total
loss.
Elsewhere over the island, people of
moderate means, Portuguese and
others whose ambition aspired to
something higher than to remain
mere contract laborers, have invested
their small savings i'm homestead
holdings. They took up these hold
ings in good faith, cleared, cultivated
and improved them, started to raise
produce for market and in the majority
of cases have had to eat it up to keep
from starving. There were no roads.
Mr.. Dole with Mr.. Thurston and
Smith never anticipated such an out
come when they evolved the Home
stead Act of 1884, for the doctrine of
roads was as paramount in their
minds as the one of homesteads. Has
the Government kept faith with the
homesteader and small farmer?
The one way of cutting the Gordlan
knot is to satisfy all, matter which
In this case is easy of accomplish
ment. When the Volcano road Is
| completed, those 100 or more prison
ers should be allotted to work where
most necessary and important first,
minor imprOvem entS to come SUISSE
quently. The improvement of the
road through the HilO district be-
tween Hilo and Papaikou can well
afford to be relegated to the future so
far as prisoners are concerned. But
| few sections between those termInI
require actual reconstruction, and
what is required can we'll be worked
| with the road tax moneys. But from
Papaikou on to Laupahoehoe means
| the construction of an almost
| entirely new graded road, for the
| simple reason that none now exists,
only few scattered sections here and
| there.
With this 100 prisoners more than
| one road could be begun upon. The
expense would be no greater as the
| gangs would be less in numbers, and
! there are enough empty houses scat
| tered through Middle and North Hiio
to convert into temporary jails. The
assignment to any one district where
road work is to be undertaken of pris-
| oners from that district would fur
ther lessen the danger of any escap-
| ing.
! The political factor mentioned by
| your correspondent in his submission
I of the Puma road question should be
of small moment in the consideration
of the subject. Broad and liberal
craftsmanship does not PROFOUND
| questions as to "who killed the BEAR"
| but seeks to disarm political antago-
nism by working for the interests of
| the masses through development of
| the country's resources. And these
| can only be developed by good roads.
a. b. I.OEBENSTEIN.
HilO, july Is, 1894.