The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1894-07-24

Il
Papaikou, which is how at the era OF
fairly good road for wagons, and
continue the good road through the
districts north of here, with every
mile of road built opening new coun-
try for trade or settlement and bene-
fitting the thickly settled portion of
the district first.
With the other sentiments ex-
pressed in your letter agree, and the
changes made L am sure you would
yourself have made, had you written
less hastily. Yours truly,
WIN. w. GooDALE,
Papaikou, Hawaii, july Is, 1891.
Mr.. EDIToR:-Your paper under the
heading (which road" and the views
expressed by several correspondents
in other portions of its columns as to
whether the prisoners now at work on
the Volcano Road shall or shall not be
employed on the Hilo Road to Hama
kua, In place of employing them to
bui d some passable road to Puma,
opens up subject of Importance, not
alone TO the residents of the Hilo dis
trict, but to those of all the other dis
tricts of this island as we'll.
The original intent of the petition
as understood by the writer and others
who signed it, was for the employ
ment of prisoners on the road
through the middle and north
Hilo districts, a section over which
there is most miserable road.
But to obtain the signatures of those
living south of Papaikou and in the
town of HilO it became necessary to
enlarge its scope, and the wording
was altered in consequence to include
all the district.
Now, all feel the Importance and ne
cessity of having good roads through
the country, as much so n the bust
ness and commercial interests in
volved as for the part they play in
opening up to settlement the large,
valuable and desirable tracts of Gov
eminent lands now lying undeveloped
or uncalled for. But these conditions
exist not alone in the HilO district,
but in the other districts of Hawaii as
well. 1t is to the interest of the Hilo
to be able to fill the orders
OF the consumer or purchaser from
Puma, as much so as those from Haka-
lau, or LaupahoehOe, or Hamakua,
and the logic of the situation demands
that he approve of road building in
both directions, or if there are other
centers from which he may expect
business to help make the latter acces-
sible.
More so, in view of the fact that DUR
ing the last ten years there have been
expended on the section lying between
the Wailuku river and the Hakalau
gulch, distance of 141 miles, the dis
trict road taxes of about $1,000 per an
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 COW path, finds itself
IN the quandary of trying to spread |
$500 of annual road tax moneys
over 16 miles, and Puma with its
10 miles has discovered that $500 or |
1900 of an annual road fund do not |
cover much ground. The lands of |
Puma are much the same as those of !
,he two Konas; most barren and Desc
ate tracts adjoin such as are consid- |
ere by coffee men the most fertile and |
desirable. Within the last two years
here have been made % entries for
lomesteads, aggregating about 1900
lcres, and the sales of Government
md private lands to bona fide inves-
ors have been considerable. The res
dents of Puma and the newcomers |
Who have recently taken up land, |
we're led to expect that the cOnstruc-
ion of road of some kind or other, a
arriage road not being demanded, |
vas intended by the Government. If |
his be now denied, the investments
# these pioneers will prove a total
oss.
Elsewhere over the island, people of
moderate means, Portuguese and
theirs whose ambition aspired to
omething higher than to remain
mere contract laborers, have invested
heir small savings in homestead
holdings. They took up these hold
ngs in good faith, cleared, cultivated
nd improved them, started to raise
roduce for market and in the majority
I cases have had to eat it up to keep
rom starving. There were no roads.
Jr. Dole with Mr.. Thurston and
mith never anticipated such an out
ONE when they evolved the Home
tead Act OF 1884, for the doctrine of
Dads was as paramount in their
Minds as the one of homesteads. Has
he Government kept faith with the
omesteader and small farmer?
The one way of cutting the Gordian
not is to satisfy all, a matter which
4 this case is easy of accomplish
lent. When the Volcano road is
those 100 or more prison
RS should be allotted to work where
lost necessary and important first,
linor Improvements to come subse-
uently. The improvement of the
bad through the HiIo district be-
veen Hilo and Papaikou can we'll
ford to be relegated to the future so
" as prisoners are concerned. But
w sections between those termini
equire actual reconstruction, and
hat is required can well be worked
18th the road tax moneys. But from
apaikou on to Laupahoehoe means ,
lie construction of an almost
1tirely new graded road, for the
nipple reason that none now exists, {
My few scattered sections here and ,
lere.
With this 100 prisoners more than
ne road could be begun upon. The
Ipense would be no greater as the