The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-12-18
OUR LAND POLICY.


The land policy which ought to be
pursued in these Islands was correctly
described by Governor Dole in his in
augural address, as follows:
The land policy of the Republic of
Hawaii. whereby public lands are open
ed for settlement in small holdings
should be continued by the Territory
with such changes as experience has
shown to be necessary and carried on
q with vigor and earnestness in the hope
that many Americans may DC ted to
transfer their homes from the Main
land to Hawaii.
There are several changes which ex-
perience has shown to be at least adj
visable. one is the abandonment Of
the long lease system by which land
suitable for small homesteads is kept
in the hands of large estates. We know
of several thousand acres on the Island
of oahu. the lease Of which will expire
in few months. that have been held
by o~o estate for fifty years at rental
of THREE CENTS an acre and used
for grazing and dairying purposes. The
land would sustain about five hundred
white families on the Wahiawa plan;
yet If the public does not watch out the
estate now controlling the vast tract
may get 1t again for another half cen
fury. Better use can be made of this
land and the rest of the 10000 public
acres on oahu by peopling it with in
dustrious Americans and thus prepar-
ing the way for that Statehood which
Will never come until this Territory. in
the quality of its electorate, equals
other Territories which have become
States. There would be no trouble
about getting such Americans now il
the land resources of the Islands were
not so sedulouslys concealed from the
public eve and the operations of the
Land office kept 50 dark. Publicity as
first requisite would settle the land
question in the way to secure the
greatest good to the greatest number,
which should be the object sought by
all Governments.
We hold that in cases where there is
a choice between giving water rights
to colonies of white farmers or to land
which might attract them, and giving
such rights to new and perhaps specu-
lative sugar schemes, the farmers
should have the preference. We agree
with all that Governor Dole said in
these paragraphs:
The pressing demands of agriculture
al corporations for cheap field labor,
together with their great influence, will
continue as in the past to be an OBJ
stacle to such a development of such a
citizen population as shall safeguard
the political future of Hawaii The
two enterprises are mutually hostile.
The one is interested in men as ma
chimes; the other as factors in the de-
velopment of the State
AS the control of such corporations
gradually passes into the hands of
those who are without the restraining
influence of local and traditional asso-
cations and are not Interested in the
social growth of the Hawaiian commu-
nifty, this danger may become more
threatening than heretofore.
II should be settled beyond all ques-
tion that no moneyed interest shall be
allowed to stand in the way OF
the SETTLEMENT OF THE SMALL
PROPRIETOR.
We insist, therefore. that one hundred
white families would do Hawaii more
good than new plantation of five
times that many acres, especially
where the stock of the plantation had
been mainly placed abroad /
If the Territorial Government would
act on these lines assuming that II /
still has the right to administer its pub !
lie lands, there would be fewer threats =
from Washington of transferenCe of
control to the United States Land Blu 3,
reau. All Washington wants is to have !
vacant Island acres settled up; and
that is what the majority of the Ha- I
waiian- Americans want We prefer. |
however, to have the land business |
done at short range and without any !
wasteful quarter section methods such .
as usually obtain at the national capt.
tai.