The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-04-10
ARGUMENTS MADE
Why the Reciprocity
Treaty Should Continue.
The Situation as Viewed Through
Other EyeS-a San Fran
cisco Plea.

lsupport Of the reciprocity treaty:
The report of the Hon. S. NJ Damon,
the Hawaiian Minister of Finance,
published in our last issue, has no
doubt been read with interest by those
of our commercial and financial circles
engaged in the trade between the coast
and the Islands. Following upon the
subject, it may be well to analyze the
points that those who favor the abro-
CATION of the treaty have made in their
arguments.
From the data that has been learned
upon the question, the contentious
used are SO specious and utterly at va
rance with the actual state of affairs,
in connection with the operations of
the reciprocity treaty as to excite at
tention and prove that those who favor
the abrogation have either been will
fully misled by persons supplying the
information, or that they could not
have consulted statistics bearing upon
the subject
| They claim that when the treaty
was first adopted the carrying trade
was encouraged and many American
| bottoms engaged in it. At present the
great proportion of the Hawaiian sugar
| crop is carried direct to New York by
sailing vessels built in England, and
! in many cases by vessels flying the
| English flag, though recently a num-
| Der have been given Hawaiian regis
| tiers. This, the opponents of the re-
| ciprocity treaty assert, gives to the
| trust all the advantage of free sugar
| irasmuch as the Hawaiian crop fig
| ures as an item in the raw supply"
1t will require very little effort on
our part TO show how utterly absurd,
and how far from the truth are these
statements.
Since the reciprocity treaty with Ha
waii was put in force some twenty
years ago. the sums invested in sugar
and coffee plantations. in banks. water
and electric light works, and number
Of other commercial enterprises in the
Islands, amount to many millions of
dollars. and these sums have been in
vested in the main by citizens of the
State of California.
THE CARRYING FLEET.
The building of vessels suitable for
tIAt tIdII DclNteH the ISldIlUS anu the
Pacific coast has progressed as the
trade expanded, until today we find
as fine a fleet of ships of their class
as are owned by any nation in the
world. Had it not been for the exist
ence of the Reciprocity treaty these
vessels would not have been aflOat and
the moneys earned by shipwrights and
builders for their construction would
have been diverted into other chan
nels far less productive, and body of
men now employed as sailors on these
vessels would have been obliged TO
seek employment elsewhere.
The natural laws that govern all
commercial matters have caused the
carriage of a large quantity of sugar
! produced on the Islands TO Atlantic
| ports during the past year or two. It
| is stated that this sugar has been car
ried in vessels built in England car
rying the British flag. and also upon
/ vessels under the Hawaiian ensign.
! During the past season at least 90 per
| cent of the vessels that took sugar
| from the Islands to Atlantic ports were
American owned. For the present sea-
| son eight American ships and three
| foreign ships are loaded and loading
| One of these ships is owned by resi-
| dents OF the Islands, but flies the Ger
| man flag. the others being British.
| Ii is perfectly true that a number of
vessels are built in England and other
! European countries and sail under the
! Hawaiian flag. but perhaps it is not
| known that fifteen-siXteenths of these
vessels are owned by citizens of the
! United States. They were obliged 20
| invest their money in these ships and
| place them under the Hawaiian flag
| because these very same opponents of
| the treaty. and their friends. would not
| allow vessels to be built in foreign
Yards. for those Americans who did
not wish to be made TO pay double the
| cost Of construction in the ship yards
| of this country. and who rather than
| place these vessels under the flag of
| some small Central American republic
! chose that of a nation allied 10 this
/ country by the closest ties and rela-
! tiOns.
| The product of these Islands. first
rate sugar produced by the investment
of capital supplied by citizens of the
| United States. is transported to At
| Iantic ports upon American owned yes
| sells when available. sold to American
| citizens for the purpose of refining.
! enters into competition with the mil
! lions of tons of beet sugar dumped
| into the United States from German
and French factories. but in no wise
completes with the cane sugar produced
| in the Southern States of the Union
| and these offenses constitute reasons
why. in the opinion of the opponents
| of the reciprocity treaty. the same
| should be abrOgated.
Considering the point that the con-
] tinuance of the treaty viii be inimical
10 the beet sugar interest of the United
! States. it is we'll known that the re-
fineries of beet sugars are at the pres
| ent time in course of erection al Sa-
Iinas in Los Angeles county. and in
! both Western and Eastern States. es-
| adjustments that will cost many mill
lions of dollars. and if the owners of
these large refneries had the least
fear that the Hawaiian sugar would in
j terfere with their business il is EerN