Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-09-28
FLINT TALKS Of HAWAII.
CONVINCED UNCLE SAM ua
MADE GOOD INVESTMENT
Gives Good Advice to Men Looking for
Fortunes Without Work---Good
Showing Made by Ha-
waits Offices.

ley II. Flint last night, speaking OF
the annexation of Hawaii to the Unit
ed States.
Mr.. Flint, who Is the United States
Postofiice Inspector for the District Of
Southern California, was sent to Hone
lulu in June to superintend the estab-
lishment Of the United States postal
system In the Islands, and he returned
yesterday. He was there three months
and in that time got eighty-one post
Offices In working order. He was much
pleased with the way business open,d
and with our new territorial acquisi-
ton in general, and he declares that
the Hawaiian Isles will be very valu
able part of the public domain.
THAT is shown by the way the post
Office business started" said Mr.. Flint.
Almost invariably a postal system in
colony or newly acquired territory
Is a source of deficit; but the Hawaiian
Offices have paid from the start. have
deposited in the United States sub
treasury at San Francisco s17,500, the
surplus revenue Of the Honolulu pos
tai system for two months and seven
teen days. don't believe anything
like that was ever heard of in the his
tory of post Office administration.
There is a big deficit every month In
Porto Rico and the Philippines"
JAPs BEST CUSTOMERS.
who are the best patrons Of the
postoffice over there?'
The Japs. They are the most pro-
life letter writers. They fairly swarm
in the postofiices. Even the smallest
country Offices have to employ Japan
ese clerks, else they couldn't handle
the mail. The japanese are very thrls-
ty and are great buyers of money Or
ders too. Porto Rico did a money or
der business of but $4,000 in the first
ninety days, while Hawaii did a money
order business OF sS356 In the first six
weeks"
| One of Mr.. Flint's duties was to APP
point all postmasters and see that they
gave adequate bonds. Previous to the
coming of Uncle Sam they were paid
from s. to S125 a month; but now they
are generally paid according to the
stamps cancelled 1t was not an easy
matter to get postmasters. Men were
not so eager for the job as they are IN
this part of the country. They would
try 1t awhile and then resign, and In
some instances the postofflce patrons
of community had to club some citi-
zen into taking the Office.
The Honolulu postoffice is a cosmo-
politan affair. 1t employs Americans
japanese Chinese. Portuguese and Ha-
waiian clerks and assistants, and has a
separate delivery window for each OF
these people, making five postoffices In
one.
"They are, most of them, becoming
good Americans" said Mr.. Flint. "They
appreciate United States institutions
and will make an American common
wealth. Judge Estee Is kept busy ma
tuarlizing them"
AS TO TRADE AND CHANCES.
Asked about business conditions ovti
there, Mr.. Flint said: Business II
remarkably good. Prices OF all kinds
Of merchandise are very high and thu
lprofits of dealers who are well estab
lished must be big. | have on pail
of shoes which cost me $3.50 over there
! woul dnot advise anybody to go ther'
seeking an opening, however. didn'
see any openings. A laboring man ha
no business to go there. He must com
pete with Chinese labor IN all branches
: Nearly all the small stores are run b!
: Cinnamon. The grocers, tailors, etc,
are Cinnamon. They are better elias
of Chinese than we have here-bette
, physically and intellectually. Labo
\ Is paid good wages at present, but tn
J high cost of living makes up for tn
greater wages and more, too. A ma
cant begin to live there on the none
which keeps him in comfort In South
ern California.
"Some Of the big sugar plantation
pay large dividends, while others ar
, losers. The successful ones are nearl
all close corporations, and II you &
into the other you take quite risl
| saw many poor devil go broke |
Honolulu from specializing in suga
shares. Young Americans go there q,
pecting to make fortune from fe
S thousand dollars, buy floating suga
stock, can't keep up the assessment
and are frozen out / know a Los Al
geles young man who dropped $500
few weeks before came away,
was all he had.
!, WATER SHORTAGE.
81 heard as much talk about watt
as | hear In Southern California. NJ
merous well dlggers from Californi
are working there, On the rainy sid
n OF the island the plantations are o
right as to water, but on the dry sit