The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-11-29
THE LAND WORTHLESS
DIR. McGREW TESTIFIES ABOUT
PEARL HARBOR.
Bishop Estate Lands are Useless-Ths
Doctor is Very Pessimistic About
Sugar Land Values. 4

DIR. ]. S. McGrew was the first witt
ness called this morning in the Bishop
estate Pearl Harbor land case in Judge
Estees court McGrew proved to be
quite pessimist when it came to sulAF =
values and the prices of sugar lands,
and he had quite a lively time with w.
A. Kinney under ross-examination.
Under direct examination by j. j.
Dunno for the government McGreW
stated that he had lived here SO years,
and had visited Pearl Harbor about
twice a week. He was familiar witH
the land involved in the suit, and hae
made another visit to it to make somq
examinations, after being subpoenaed
as a witness in the case. He remarked
that he didn't know who had subpoen-
aed him, nor why he had been so sent
for McGrew said he was among the
early visitors to Pearl Harbor, having
gone there many years ago with Ads
miral Bennett, General Scofield, and
other officials and surveyors.
THE piece mauka of the railroad is
mostly lava rock, with very little soil, =
said the witness. Il don't value it at
all. don't know that it would be of
any value except that the United States
wants it. There may be four or five
acres that would raise some cane, but
don't put any value on the rest
OiuGI the circumstances, L WOulu
say it is worth $5 an acre. You couldn't
get that, but for the purposes of the
government"
McGrew's attention was next direct
ed to the piece at the other side of the
tract. This he thought no better Of.
Some of it was very rocky. some of the
higher bits were good cane land, but
salty. Cane that had been planted look
ed bad. 1t was salty. The doctor didn't
n o.
could be raised on the land generally
speaking, and it was worth IS an acre,
under the circumstances" The good
cane land was worth $50 an acre.
In cross-eXamining Kinney tried hard
to make the Witness place an estimate
on good cane land in general, but Dr.
McGrew refused to express his view as
to other pieces than those involved, 81
have said that this cane land is worth
$50" he said, land l shant give you
any other values / don't propose to be
valuing other peoples land. You can
talk to me for week, but l won't do
it,"
Kinney finally got an estimate of $50
an acre as a fair value for good cane
land, however. He then asked the doc
tor if he knew of any sales of cane land
within the last five years. for $50 an
acre.
The doctor replied that he didn't
know of any, and proceeded to explain
why his ideas of value were so low.
| Before annexation you could have got
land for nothing, he said. But after
annexation there was a boom and
prices went up"
You mean that annexation, in your
opinion, brought stability to the ISL
ands, and was a benefit to the agricul-
| tural industrieS?' asked Judge Estee.
DIR. McGrew replied that this was his
! idea, but qualified it by saying that he
didn't mean that annexation brought
stability to land values. Everybody
rushed in and bought lands, and lands
not worth 10 cents an acres became
worth thousands" said the doctor, sud-
denly adding 80 they say" and thereby
raising a general laugh. The statement
was ordered stricken out. Il don't
think there is going to be any more
| boom IN sugar" volunteered the doctor.
There are too many new possessions
now. Sugar is down, and l don't think
it will ever come up. Everything is
going down with it,"
George c. Boardman was called after
DR.. McGrew. He also placed the value
of the land at about IS an acre. Under
cross examination he said it might bC
worth $20 or $25, with the water from
privileges.
The governments strong card was
played when Tax Collector Pratt tool
the stand. He had with him records Of
assessments of the land in dispute. The
price claimed in the pleadings is abou
$500 per acre, but Pratt's testimony in,
dicated an assessment upon a valuation
of about three dollars. The alleged rea.
son for this,-that the land was under
a long lease and brought in scarcely
any revenue and was assessed under
| the Hawaiian law of eight times the
annual revenue,-had not been gone in,
| to when court adjourned at noon. Judge
Estee and Kinney were discussing the
relevancy of evidence to show such q
state of affairs when court took a re-
| cess.
The records of Pratt's office show tha
in 1898, 4,3l6 acres of Pearl Harbor land
including, ii is stated. the pieces invol
we'd in the Bishop estate suit, were as
sessed at $11 ,696. Since then until thi!
year the return has been $12, ,496, for tht
4,316 acres. This year the assessor rails
ed it $4,000, and an appeal was made. /
was found that the return had not beer
| sworn to as required by law and Prat
therefore refused to allow an appeal
He advised the Bishop estate to hold {
conference with the deputy assessor
who made the figure and endeavor {,
reach an agreement, and the result wal
an agreement upon $4,000 as the tax
alton value of the land.
GET THE BEST.