Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-03
The Hawaiian Islands and Our F elbow
Citizens There.
INTERVIEW Wl3H PRESIDENT DOLE
A Tour of 25,o9o Miles Graphically
Outlined. ID.
VALUE OF THE PHILIPPINES
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
Copyrighted. 1900. hy Frank q C,,reptar

Copyrighted, 1900, by Frank G. Carpenter.
HONOLULU, January ., 1900
At the cross roads of the Pacific, 200
miles from San Francisco 3,4O0 miles from
Japan, about 1000 miles from Australia and
an almost equal distance from our new
possessions in the Philippine Islands, be-
gin this series of letters for my American
readers 1 am in the United States of the
eastern Pacific. The American flag floats
from the palace which was not long ago
occupied by King Kalaukaua, and in it
sits the president of the republic of Hawaii,
ready at any moment to give place to the
new government soon as it's exact form
has been determined by Congress- 1 am
in the city of Honolulu, the capital of the
islands, one of the most beautiful cities
of Its size on the globe. Its wide avenues
are lined with palm-shaded gardens fenced
with hedges of oleanders and other beauti-
full flowers. Its velvety lawns are at their
greenest now, in the heart of midwinter.
and the soft ozonic airs of the semi-tropics
are ever washing it clean. Behind me rises
the Punch Bowl, an extinct crater, large
enough to hold the drink of all the gods of
all the nations, and not far below it are the
vast plantations which is annually
raised enough sugar to sweeten the punch
of all humanity.
CircIfng the Pacific.
But before 1 write more about Honolulu
as / see it in passing. let me give you the
outline of the tour which I am making
in the interests of this paper 1t will COM
prise more than $4,000 miles of out of the
way travel through the countries and
islands of the Pacific ocean. including ia
pan. China, Malacca. the Dutch East In
dies, the Philippines, Australia, New Zea-
land, the Samoas and the Fills. 1t will be
a circle Of the Pacific ending after another
visit to these islands at San Francisco,
where 1t began. 1 shall spend some months
in each of the above countries describing
the present conditions. investigating the
chances for American trade, and picturing
in pen and camera the wonderful changes
which are going on in the far east.
l want to describe Japan under the new
treaties. by which Americans can now 90
business in any part of the empire: to
travel over China, making my way into
the interior; to look into railroads and
other undertakings which are now there
under way; to describe how the English
manage their colonies at Hong Kong and
the Straits settlerneIlts,x and to visit the
wonderful Island Of Java, colony of Hol
land. which supports more than 24,0oo.000
people on an area about large as the
state of New York. From Java may pos
sibly visit Sumatra and Borneo. and thence
make my way down to Australia, the
greatest of England's colonial possessions.
Australia is a continent in itself. and is
fast being opened up to American trade.
1t has vast cities and is a world of its own.
The Philippines in 1900.
My first field of work will be the Phil
ippine Islands. 1 shall leave tomorrow for
Japan, where l remain long enough to pre-
pare a couple of letters, and then push on
rapidly via Shanghai and Hong Kong to
Manila, so that Incan be there a month
from today. -
From Manila I expect to make expedi-
tons from island to island, as the state of
lighting will permit. = want to look into
the resources of the country. to describe
the Plantations. the mines and the forests.
and give you pictures Of the customs, hab-
its and character of the people as possible
American citizens. l go without prejudice
and with the one aim of aScertaining and.
writing the truth as 1t IS.
What the Islands Are Really Worth.
The real value of the islands and their
Americans will be another matter into
which l shall look. 1 want to tell you
how business is done. the methods of buy
ing and selling, the questions of wages and
the money to be made or lost in the vari-
Gus enterprises common to the country
Some of the islands have millions of dol
lars worth of sugar estates: others have
plantations for raising hemp; there are
pearl banks off the Island of Basilan, and
l am told rich deposits of coal and gold
exist In other places. The timber resources
are, 1t is claimed. enormous. and the
cfances for coffee raising good. The rail-
road schemes, electric light propositions
ana other matters, including the oppor-
tun1tles for the smaller capitalist and in
weston, should furnish interesting matter
Our Pacific Trade.
L have already seen some striking evil
dence OF the wonderful increase which is
taking place in our trade with the far east
All the steamers which are now going be-
tween Hawaii. China, Japan and Australia
are loaded to their fullest rapacity c,rno
to Honolulu on the China, the largest of the
racine Mail steam ships. 1t is packed with
IielSht for China, Japan and the Philip
pines TO such an extent that part of its
coal space IS f1lled with goods, and it has to
steam nuch slower in consequence. 1t was
day late on this account in coming to
Honolulu, and will probably be still later in
reaching Yokohama. 1t left on the docks
at san francisco a lot of freight which it
was not able to carry. and this is, | am
told. the case with nearly every ship which
leaves that port The passenger accom-
modations are strained to their utmost |
found the ship full. when 1 arrived at San
francisco and was only able to secure my
passage by a berth being given up at the
last moment l was told that six other
passengers were waiting for berths and
that the only safe way now is to engage
your cabin weeks in advance.
The Japanese are stretching out for their
share OF the trade. and beginning with this
month the government of the mikado will
Tor the next ten years, pay annual subsi-
dies of more than 1900 600 yen a year to the
Nippon Yusen Kaisha and the Togo Kisen
kaisha lines running to Europe, and also
between Japan and the United States.
These two lines will get more than 1900
600 yen a year from the government for
their United States ships alone. The Togo
Kisen Kaisha has THREE 6OO0-ton ships
which run from San Francisco to Hong
Kong, stopping att Honolulu, and the Jap
anese ports en- route, In conjunction with
the Pacific Mail and the Oriental and Oc-
cidental lines, that with these lines they
furnish saiings from San Francisco to
Japan every eighty days. The Japanese
ships have English officers. They are the
finest ships now ohiithe Pacific. The Nip
pom Yusen Kaisha has also steamers of
5000 tons. The Canadian Pacific ships are
large They run, as do all the Puget Sound
ships to Japan, by the northern passage,
not calling at Honolulu. The Canadian
Pacific has. h. wevef, a9line to Australia,
which calls here. IThefe is also a line to
Australia from San Francisco which calls
at Honolulu. 1t is owned by the Spreckcls.
the sugar millionaIres, and makes weekly
sailings to the Sandwich Islands.
What 1t Costs to Gross the Pacific.
AS to sailing rates, they are about the
same the djffetapf lines The naSSapo