The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-05-13
WAS PROBABLY MlSINFORMED
Some Statistics Are In.
correct.
Oxnard Has Not Sold His Beet
Sugar Interests i'm
California.

The Financial Letter. answers
some of the statements made by Mr..
Claus Spreckels in the San Francisco
papers on Hawaiian affairs. The
Financial Letters" article is in part
as follows: Mr.. Spreckels says: "At
The present time the balance of trade
between the United States and Hawaii
is SS,000,000 per annum, and no effort
is made by the Hawaiian Government
to encourage more trading with the
United States. On the contrary, every
thing that is done tends to the encour-
|agement of trade with other countries
notably Canada, Germany and Eng
land. They have even withdrawn the
subsidy formerly paid to the Oceanic
Steamship Company, an American line
which has done more to develop the
islands than any other transportation
company"
Commenting upon this statement, it
is clearly shown by official and well
established data that from 1875 to
1896, the American net profits under
the operations of the treaty amounted
to over thirty-four million and a half
dollars. 1t is true that the Hawaiian
Government has withdrawn the sub
sidy to the Oceanic Steamship Com
pany, but for cogent reasons foreign
| TO the present issue He further
states:
ssI noficad q ctafomenf in one of tha
| local papers that our commerce with
Hawaii was a great factor in giving
employment to American vessels, and
| that the American shipping engaged
in this traffic has a valuation of $18,-
| 100000. Any one who will take the
trouble to look over the Custom
house records can learn for himself
that the value of all vessels carrying
between this port and Hawaii will not
exceed 100000
The advocates of reciprocity have
never claimed that the value of ship
ping engaged in the Hawaiian trade
is more than So, 136, 900, but it is fact
that the Oceanic Steamship Company,
of which Mr. Spreckels represents the
controlling interest, has a capital of
two and a half million dollars, of which
| 81, S12 500 has been actually paid in.
Add this to the value of the large num-
Der of Pacific Coast vessels, and ships
owned on the Atlantic Coast. which
| have participated in transportation
benefits and the aggregate will largely
exceed the figures quoted. We must
therefore infer that Mr.. Spreckels on
this point also has either been mis-
quoted or misinfOrmed
Referring to his contention that the
Watsonville and Salinas factories will
he able to supply sugar enough to meet
the demands of the Pacific coast, and
as far East as Chicago, it might be
we'll for him to inform the public when
such an event will take place, for he
must be aware that the most ardent adj
vocates of the beet sugar industry re-
gard this event to be very far distant.
| Mr.. SDrecke1s makes the further
| statement that more reffneries will be
established in California to foster the
beet sugar industry. which is presum-
ably to be brought about by the abroga-
ton of the Reciprocity Treaty. When
the fact is considered that Mr.. Spree
kels has admitted that the Sugar Trust
has now an interest in the Watson
vile factory, and that this factory is
selling its products to the Western
sugar tNtllntlN. w Which, OHe-ndll -
owned and controlled by the Trust, IS
it logical in the light of the past oper-
atoms of the same Trust that they
will encourage the erection of indepen-
dent refineries, and thus curtail their
own earnings? He speaks of the en-
Dlovment in California of additional
thousands of people, but there is every
surety that if the Trust follows the
methods which it has adopted in the
East. namely, the employment of for
eign labor in their refneries at lowest
living wages. that such class would
be of little, if any, benefit to California