The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-06-20
BIG SUGAR PLANTATION
The Most Productive in the World is i'm Hawaii Gull
tivation Continues All the Year Round far-
vesting is Continually Going On.
(rrom the Springfield (ohio) Farm and Fircside)

brown sugar. In this State it is sent to
California and returned to the people of
the island at a higher price than it can
be bought in the market OF San Francis
co. Not a pound of native ugar can be
purchased i nthe islands at any price 1t
is all sent in great sacks from the mill
direct to the mainland, to be put through
the refining process.
The latest mechanical device used upon
the plantation is machinery for. the un-
loading of the cars. Many of these are
pulled by mules under a long shed and
line UP on each side of a moving plat
form. From the ceiling is suspended an
arrangement, consisting of rafters, over
which runs an endless chain. The upper
part of the chain is thick with heavy
spikes. In revolving these strike the
trucks piled with cane, removing the long
heavy stalks from the car to the moving
platform, which creeps slowly up an in
cline and deposits them before a success
sion of heavy rollers, where the last drop
of juice is pressed out. leaving the refuse
Us dry as bone. The refuse is conveyed
automatically to the boilers, furnishing
the entire plantation
Upon plantations, after three grades of
sugar have been made, there is still value
IN the residual syrup, commonly called
truck. The last syrup process is to
convert the remaining fragmnts of sugar
into kind of poor rum that is very in
toxicating and works great harm to those
who drink it. Here, in stead of extracting
thousands of dollars worth of life-de-
stroying liquor from the refuse, it is
promptly consigned to less destructive
flames.
When each days work has been summed
UP $50 tons Of sugar are the result At
the close of each month this nets the
stockholders the neat sum Of 1000.
CARE FOR THE EMPLOYEES.
One of the most interesting features of
the place is the large number OF people
employed and the great number of ma
tionalities among the ninety-four skilled
workmen and the 1900 laborers-a small
village! Seventy per cent of these are
Japanese, 20 per cent Chinese and the re-
mainder Portuguese and natives. Six
hundred of these arc cultivating cane on
the profit sharing system-that is, the
company furnishes them with fuel, water
house. garden and medical service In re-
turn for this the laborer cultvates a cane
field of a given size.
After the company has prepared the
ground, planted a crop and given it the
first Irrigation the laborer takes it over
and brings it to harvesting, after which
he receives one-sixth of the sale price
from the cane. This system is followed on
number Of plantations with much salts
faction.
All other employees are furnished with
the same advantages free Of charge and
receive wage of from SIT to $40 a
month. The house Accommodations are ex-
ceedingly poor and the quarters" desti-
tute of any comfort. A camp for each
nationality has been established in most
undesirable sections of the plantation
where the men literally herd, as many
as forty occupying one room. The rooms
arevery poorly ventilated and every inch
of space is used for sleeping purposes
These are commonly called bunk
houses term that fully expresses what
they are. Bunks are built in the sides OF
the room as many as six deep, one above
the other. Into these the tired Celestial
crawls, clothes and all, too tired to care
and too sleepy to know what his sur
roundings are like. The Japanese are
more particular and refuse to be thus
herded, demanding better quarters. All
medical attendance lis furnished free of
charge to the laborer by the company.
For the whites employed about the place.
and am others who desire to take adj
vantage of it, the company has provided
regular religious services. That those of
one particular faith may not be obliged
TO violate their conscience a Roman Cath
clio Church and Protestant Church have
been built These are supplied with reg
ular preachers from the city of Honolulu
and religious opportunity is not wanting.
A fine public school has been erected.
free to all. In connection with it there is
good kindergarten system for the little
tots of all races. There are sixty in the
school and forty in the kindergarten. An
acre has been inclosed. fitted up and
planted with trees, for a play ground for
the children. In one corner of the grounds
goodly sized hall has been built in
which social gatherings are held and
dances, concerts, lectures and the like
are no small feature of these workaday
people, who find the plantation life a
world sufficiently large in which to spend
the passing days.