The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-06
HAWAIIAN
INVESTMENT
Eastern Business
Man Reviews
Situation.
SAYS METHODS
ARE PRIMARY
Mr.. Clifford KimbaII, Formerly of
Fayette Shaw Leather Co.,
Boston, to Locate Here.

Among the Mariposas passengers
from the Mainland, arriving Friday
night. was Mr.. Clifford KimbaIl,
prominent business man of Boston.
and formerly associated with the Fay
cite Shaw Leather Company, of tina,
city, the immense concern which has
been fighting the leather trust for SO
long, and which recently yielded and
sold out to the leather trust.
Mr.. Kimball intends locating In Ho-
nolulu. though he denies the rumor
that he has come to the Islands for
the purpose of learning the advfsabi
ity of establishing boot and shoe fac
tory to compete with the company or
gained some months ago by Mr.. Hill,
in which company local capitalists are
interested.
On Saturday morning Mr.. KimbslI
was interviewed by a representative OF
the Advertiser in regard to the COM
mercial situation in the eastern States
and the attitude of eastern capital in
regard to Hawaiian investments.
First and primarily" said he, ''the
eastern States are overcrowded the
great financial and educational centers
are in New England, and it has been
so for so long that there is very little
opportunity for the establishment OF
business, and all the professions are
overcrowded by the outpour of the col
leges. There is a vast amount of cap
ital in the eastern States seeking fair
investment, and it cannot be said that
there is any dearth of capital any
where in the east; capital is cheap
there; capitalists are seeking 'opportu-
nifty in investment all the time, but
they seem to have a natural distrust
of investing outside the old limits-the
money having been made by their
fathers right there in New England.
However, outside opportunities are be
ing. taken more notice of recently, as
witnessed by the vast amount of east
ern capital that has gone into western
oil fields, and a great deal of this, I
dare say, will never go back again,
just as the millions of capital that
went to the Klondyke, there TO be
frozen. / think that there are very
few in the east who at all appreciate
| the opportunities of investment here
in the Islands, nor or there many who
know anything about the Philippines.
By natural situation Porto Rico and
| Cuba are more closely in touch with
the eastern States, and the capitalists
look to those islands for investment by
reason of their proximity; the sugar
| industry of Hawaii, which seems
vast item in the west, is regarded as
very insignificant in the east, and
doubt not that there are many in com
mercial circles there who do not even
! know that sugar cane grows in the
| Hawaiian Islands. 1 think that as
| soon as the opportunities for invest
ment in Hawaii come before the notice
| of eastern capitalists, they will GER
| tainly be taken advantage of; this
must be soon as also with the Philip
| pine opportunities. because the search
ty Of opportunity for investment in the
east will force capitalists to widen
| their Investigations.
Heretofore, the capitalists who have
! sought investment in localities far re-
moved from the great centers, nave
been of the venturous type, and their
investment has been spasmodic and
| uncertain-I might say, not of the
| higher class. I think great opportun1
| ties, however, are opening, and east
/ ern capital is not only willing, but
anxious, to take advantage. Particu
| larly is this so with the smaller capt.
! talists, outside the great combines. The
| east is so old in commercial industries
| that there is nothing left undone that
| can be done in the way of business
| tuISulJS, ana II Is SO CROWDED tndI
| there is no room for further competl-
| ton. Thus it is that the smaller capt.
| talists must seek investment else
| where, or simply be swallowed up by
| the great associations, accepting indif-
terent returns. By the smaller capt.
! tallsts / mean those whose capital is
| rendered Insignificant in comparison
! with that of great combines and null
ti-millionaires
The present marked tendency to-
wards the formations Of trusts, and
/ trusts within trusts. is making the
matter more pronounced every day,
and the vast control exercised over all
industries by the combines, leaves no
alternative for the small capitalist ex-
lcept to seek new fields.
SO far as I am able to judge, L
think that Hawaii has great opportuEt-
ties Tor such capitalists, although al
ready perceive that the field is well
covered in many lines of business, ana
one must rather associate with than
oppose the established industries here.
Il think there is a great chance Tor
advancement in Honolulu. commercial
~ speaking. Everything is - pri-
mary here, and there is great opportu-
: nity for progress in business lines.
Ferhaps this seems more so to me,
coming, as l do, from the great, tenn
ing centers of finance and commerce
by contrast, Honolulu'S business world
: appears primary, and as | said, there
IS a great chance for advancement. :
In regard to the proposed boot and
shoe factory to be established in Ho-
hoiulu, l do not think it can succeed
II is too far from the base of supplies.
The raw material would have to be I'M
, ported, and all machinery would have
To be brought, also, from the east I
mink that factory in Honolulu would
find it very hard to compete with Bos-
ton manufacturers in the boot and shoe
business"
When asked his opinion as to the