The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-04
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS
INFORMATION AS TO BUSINESS MAT
TIERS AND MONEY-MAKING.
How the Islands Have Been Modern.
fzcd-The Cost of Living and the
Opportunities offered.


Copyrighted. 1897, by Frank G. Carpenter)
WASHINGTON, July Il have spent
some time at the Hawaiian legation this
week gathering practical up-to-date infor
nation as to the islands which it is now
r,~7posed to annex TO the United States. If
the annexation treaty is confirmed in the
Senate a large emigration to Hawaii will
Immediately follow, and thousands of
Americans will want to know just what
this new territory is and what possible
chances there are for them to make money
ont Of it. This is what I have tried to as
certain. Minister Hatch and Mr. Thurston
have put all their resources at my dis
posal They have answered my questions
and have introduced ne to sugar planters
and others who have just come from Homo
lulu and from whom I have the best of
news information. [ have also had access
TO the large collection of new photographs
lust received by the Hawaiian minister,
some Of which lie before me as I write.
These photographs show how fast the ISL
ands have been modernized. There are
dozens Of residences in Honolulu which
have cost SO 900 and upward. The city has
magnificent stone buildings, churches
which would be a credit to Washington,
and a Masonic Temple which would COM
pare favorably with any Masonic building
in the United States. The city contains
about thirty thousand people, and in pro-
portion TO it's size it is one of the rich cities
of the world. All Of the houses have large
Yards and gardens about them, and many
Of them are shaded by palm trees Homo
lulu lies right under the mountains the
edge Of the sea. it is only six miles from
the government house TO the summit of the
mountains at the back of the town. These
mountains are three thousand feet high,
and are covered with woods to their tops
The government building, if annexation
comes, viii belong to the United States. 1t
IS a magnificent structure, and was for
mery the palace of the King. There are
numerous telegraph wires in Honolulu.
The town has more telephones in proper
ton to its size than any other city of the
world. Every house has a telephone, and
there are telephone connections to almost
every settlement on the islands of Oahu,
Kauai and Hawaii On the island of Maui
the telephone is being put up, and in a
short time every one of the larger islands
will have its telephone connections.
SCHOOLS AND POLICEMEN.
There is no place in the world where
in the Sandwich islands. Those of Hon
olulu have magnificent buildings. The High
School is held in a palace which was built
for the Princess Ruth, the sister of the last
King of the Kamehameha line. She gave
it TO her daughter, Mrs. Bishop, who left
it to her husband, Charles r. Bishop
Charles r. Bishop is the vice president OF
the Bank of California at San Francisco
and he is. l am told its largest stOckhold-
er. He sold the building a short time ago
to the government for $50 Co., and it is now
used for High School. The building is
surrounded by five acres of beautiful gar
dens, and it is in the very heart of the
city. The government has established free
schools all over the islands. Every neigh
borhood which has forty children has a
schoohOuse and a teacher, and there is no
place in the United States where the boys
put in so many school days in the year.
School is held for nine months, and the
hours are from to 2. School attendance
is compulsory and the law in this respect
IS enforced everywhere. In each school dis
trict there are one or two school policemen,
who come into the schoolhouse every morn
ing and poll the school. If a boy or girl
is absent record is made of it, and if no
good excuse is given, the next day the po-
hceman calls upon the scholars family.
If the offense is repeated the heads of the
family are called before the Police Court
and fined SO. Such boys as play truant a
certain number of times are taken from
the schools and put in the government re-
form schools where they are taught during
the remainder Of their minority These
laws extend to all classes of the people
The children of the Japanese and Chinese
q re- elIr
those Of the Portuguese. The result is that
all of the children of the Hawaiian islands
over certain age can read and write, and
the grade Of education is a very high one.
The majority of teachers are Americans,
who receive all the way from $500 to 81, 400
year as salaries. The school furniture
comes from the United States, as do also
the doors and windows and other lumber
OF which the schoolhouses are built. The
lime for the houses is imported from Cal
ifOrnia.
Honolulu has a public library containing
fifteen thousand volumes Its Y. NJ. @ A
has splendid gymnasium and reading
room and there are free public Libraries
IN several other towns on the islands.
Honolulu has several large hotels. The
biggest one charges So a day. Some of the
others charge 81. The expense of living is
oearer than in the United States II costs
am told, fully so per cent more to keen
mouse IT, the Sandwich islands than it does
III Washington. You have Japanese and
Chmese for servants. but you cannot get
along without a number of them. Every-
'n!"S You eat, with the exception of vege-
tables and meat. is imported, and almost
everything you wear comes from the
United States. At the legation to-day I got
the Honolulu prices of the more common
aIllcies. hams cost from 16 TO 80 cents a
pound bacon, from is to 20 cents. and
cheese from 20 to 50 cents a pound Flour
COSTS 500 hundred weight and eggs from
- 10 o9 cents a dozen. On the other hand
1fesh meat is quite cheap You can GET
eood porterhouse steaks for from 6 To IL
cents "a pound; corn beef will cox Won ?
cents Il pound, potatoes cents a bound
ana lee about l cent pound You can hire
cook for from s. 10 Sc a week. and
nurse VIII cost you from IS to $12 month.
Inc steamship rates in going to the island
are not high The round trip costs Sl25
ana you have several good lines by which
&c make the trip. The Oceanic line sails
l"!ee a month from San Francisco. The
racine Mail and the Q. and O. steamships
stop there on their way to Japan. and there
- Canadian line which will take you
from Victoria to Honolulu once a month.
NO PLACE FOR POOR MEN.
Inc eight largest of the Sandwich islands