The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-07-04
THG GIN Or IHE PACIFIC.

4
raer, common labo-srs or clerks. There
are rsore eookkeepers and copyists in
Honolulu today than can find employ
yrserv The Chinese o. whom there
f5.fsA and Japanese. n ao- have not ogliy
ruined the white labor market. but trey
have 10 e large extent swallowed up the
srsau businesses. The natives, eco. also
compete IN the labor market. AS con1-
mon wc-kmen Chinese and japanese get
ram SI@S0 10 SIS a month and board
themselves. The Portuguese and Hawaii
ans receive ax high a. SIS for the same
work White transfers Eet about - a
uaonth and board. uookkeepers on the
plantations receive from 500 TO sl.s
month, and overseers about the same.
Almost all the mechanical trades are sup
Piled by the Chinese and Japanese The
japanese do . great deal OF carpenter
work. receiving therefor from s. 80 TO "a
day. There are Japanese shoeaakers and
faslors. and there are Chinese plumb ers
and carpenters. In the retail stores shs
Chinese and Japanese compete together
for the business. and am told that fhs
iay..nEse are now giving the Chinese
very hard race. for the reason that the
Chinese import their goods direct from
England and American. and the japanese
get only samples. and then send these
samples on To Japan. 10 he copied there
for The Hawaiian trade. The Japanese OK
Honolulu srs not nearly 20 reliable busl-
ness men as tire Chinese They take many
risks. and frequently gn into bankruptcy.
There are. / am told about , ma, Japs in
Honolulu, and more than three Einies that
many Chinese. Japanese women as well
as men. have been imported in large num-
beers 10 work on the plantations Such
innportations are on the contract labor
system. the contract usually being made
for three years.
Big Money in sugar.
The big money that has been made in
Hawaii in tho past has been from sugar.
and II is in sugar / find that the big
money is being made today. Il takes an
enormous amount OF capital. however. TO
run plantation. and OF the sixty differ
cut plantations in the islands there is not
one that is capitalized at less than soc 600,
and the money invested IN most Of them
runs into the millions Spreckels has no
longer monopoly OF the sugar business.
lie began TO sell out mis- plantations some
time ago. and then all of a sudden stopped
selling He now controls only enc planta-
ton in the islands and has a small amount
of stock in several others. He is oppos-
ing annexation. and one reason for his
opposition. ii is claimed. is that he Will
lose the refining of the Hawaiian sugar
ii the islands become part of the United
States. The sales of his plantations have
had something to do with his family
quarrels in which he has been fighting
his sons.
The sugar plantations are owned almost
altogether by Americans. They are CAPT
taiized at about 81, o19n Some of them
have paid quite large dividends, the aver
age for the past year having been about
u per cent. / am told that some ulanta-
tons have made double this. The fiuctua-
tons. however. in the prices of sugar
have been so great that the business is
quite precarious. It is managed on strict
business principles. every means which
unlimited money can furnish being used
to reduce the cost. Take. for Instance.
4 the Eva plantation. which made 1860
tons OF sugar last year, and is now pay
ing big dividends. This plantation has
canitai 81 81 00n $50 and about 100 stock
j holders. Il made no money sor years and
was spending vast amounts right along.
The plantation is eighteen miles from
Honolulu. and il comprises 500 acres.
Every foot OF it's cane has to be watered
throughout the year by artesian wells.
II uses enormous pumping machinery.
{ which is imported from America. Its
first pumps came from New York and IL
has just now put In others made by
Frazer & Chalmers. OF Chicago, at cost
of about S50.ooo In another plantation
near the Eva they are putting in machin-
cry built by the Worthington Pump Com
pany. of New York. and I am told that
this plantation alone viii spend some
thing like sSo.0so on its extensions this
year.
learn that there is little andcveloped
sugar land left in the islands Such new
plantations as are made VIII have 70 he
irrigated by means OF artesisn wells and
the cost is 50 great that il Will require n
very large capital. The last three plan-
tations which have been established have
cost respectively $75o.no0. s. 10000 ard
s. ooo There Is no room in sugar Tor
the small capitalist. and all OF the plan
tatiors are now managed by stock com
panies. II takes sixteen months to grow
the crop. and only three crops can b.
made in four years. Fertilizers 10 the
amount % STlao19 were used on the cane
there last year. and more than half OF
This fertillzing matter was imported.
The Grano Fields of Hawaii.
Much Of the remainder OF the fertilizer
% me from the guano fields OF the Sand
wien Islands. II the country is annexed
Uncle Sam Will add 10 his population an
enormous colony Of birds. On LAWSON ISL
aud which is far TO the westward. there
are thousands and thousands OF sea zuIiS
TheN cover ihc island walking rs ii were
over the beds Of guano made by them
selves ana their ancestors. These birds
are so thick that you have 20 kick then,
aside As You walk about the island rhsv
are exceedingly tame. and BY law 10
shooting is allowed there. There are sew
cral eVerseerS and they have 10 build ij,-
t.e paNng fences around their cottages IN
Keep the birds from crawling uron the
pofches snd going into the houses The
Young su3ls are said - Ne good for eat
ing snd 7 am told inas when the over
Heers or lahorers want birds on toast for
breakfast they 40 oHt with "a club ard
hnocA over couple and bring them in 10
the cook.
Fortunes in Cenec Raising
The Hawaiians here A. Washington sav
thar the best chance FOR me iarge ~
small investor iR Hawaii 9uat noyv e s.,
oofree lands There is large amour, ~
seea lands II the islands They lie fy~t
above The sugar oelt AZ az attitude %
from I 80 - 2.@N feet above tire sea Civ
lH& the planter the finesf climate ia "a,
worid. Good lands can D. bought On the
market for - ar acre. bat she govern
n'r9f. ~Alsh IS Fery anxious to have
small Investors IS selling lis government
fa1d- 70 6ones;saasrs fer from SO - 81
aa acre. Fsc1y 8eres make a good -sised
plantation taF one man % attend 10. The
work - more ike orcnarsIinr than farm
i0s The trees have "a he carefully
trimmed ard taken care e They begin
- ceAr about tho third wear and tn
fourth year produce . good crop Thsn
toe plantation forms ga irtcpanaert Nv
IFS Tor ire remainder Of mans sfs ard
good Inheritance fer RS children. II
tsEeS sorge LABOR. however % make xs.eh
a p}satatioa. ard a mar should have ~
tazEr s. p erR4f q q