The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-11-19
MUST CONE
Much THAT De- Hopeful Has Been De-
ycloped During the Past Year
transportation From the Fields

sion. r. Give Davies described the trial
of the hand cutting machine at the Hoe
uolulu Iron Works as shown boy IFS I'M
Ventur from Australia. Mr. Davies stat
ed that the blade which was kept jig
ging rapidly To sever the cane wac
made I'm the fashion of boiler caulking
tool and had a specially prepared chisol
edge which was extremely liable TO bel
put out of requistion by contact with
dirt or a stone and that therefore the
cutter was deemed impractcable. It
was thought that a saw like edge not
so easily injured nor requiring a keen.
easily damaged finish, might with the
same modus operandi accomplish the
desired result.
The committee appointed TO look into
the transportation matter arrived at
this juncture with the announcement Of
the postponements of the sailing of the
various steamers. VI assrs EWart ard
Walton We're condemned to take a long
ride overland if they wished to catch
their steamer. Mr.. Walton resented this
as he said that while Mr.. Ewart and
he were only two i'm number, they re-
presented important interests and
thought that If the committee wished
them to remain the boat should allow
them to do so. He wished sardoncally
to thank the manager Of the steamship
line for the privilege extended TO Mr..
EWart and himself of riding siXty-liVe
miles across country.
Mr.. Horner asked for the report Of
the transportation committee which
was read by Mr.. Lowe who said that
he was going to Tetaliate in a measure
on the Cultivation committee who had
abutted on matters that pertained TO
transportation so that he would mem
ton certain matters i'm the cultivation
department. He then alluded to a new
cultivator machine for ploughing in
grass and brush and called on Mr..
Ahrens for a description. Mr. Ahrens
replied that the machine was hard
one to explain orally, but that he would
send for and submit photographs Of the
invention.
Mr.. Lowe then continued his report
stating that he had worked i'm conjunc-
ton with j. T. NOR. G.. p. Hewitt and
j. Il. Horner and that he had compiled
certain data from the two former gem
tlemens' figures but would give verba-
tim Mr.. Horner's excellent article on
overland transportation.
"There was little to be added said
Mr.. Lowe" in innovations. Advances
had been few in the last year Methods
in use eighteen years ago were still
running on many of the larger planta-
tons. The average cost Of all handling
and transportation was about $3.50 per
ton with a maximum Of $500 and
minimum of $500 Owing TO labor trou-
bles and other causes, there were many
mills that We're capable Of handling
great deal more cane than could be
supplied under existing conditions. At
one time level plantations possessed
great advantages but now, where
scarcity of labor has brought transpor-
tation facilities into the field in lieu OF
manual labor, things were more equal
Mule labor was supplanting manual Ia
Dor to a great extent and the handling,
bundlng and transportation of cane for
loading was always a class of labor
that the hands were averse to.
Transportation was effected by
means of portable and permanent rail
roads and fumes. At OnOmed, Hawaii,
where the latter system was adopted,
the cane was made into bundles of from
sixty to eighty pounds for floating down
the fumes. Where the cane grew in out
Of the way places or on hill sides, sleds
which easily ran over the ground were
called into requisitiOn to transfer the
cane to the flume sides.
"The fumes were constructed OF
twelve foot lengths Of one 10y fourteen
planks thus making the fumes portable
and easily carried by one man to sec
ton. These bundles were sometimes
floated a distance of seven miles. The
total cost of transportation, including
the hauling and the guarding of the
cane bundles bv the flume side in the
night was so cents a ton delivered at
the mill or $3.50 per ton of sugar.
"At Kukaiau where the wire cable
was used, definite figures place the cost
at 80 to 80 cents plus q cents for cut
ting, or less cutting, for bundling hand
ling and transportation 3S cents or $500
per sugar ton. These prices probably
did not include the wear and tear of the
machinery for transportation. This in
formation was obtained from Albert
Horner.
ASIDE from these figures, manual Ia
Dor was minmized. For example one
sled, two mules and two men were able
to supplant fourteen men, or two mules
did the work of twelve men. More
plainly still, an increase of 20 per cent
in mule labor meant a decrease of 80
per cent in manual labor
From Mr.. Ewart on Kauai l[ilaueu
plantation, where permanent and port
able tracks were used and where the
cane was carried six miles on the per-
manent way, the cost was 45 cents or
4.46 per sugar ton the average loading
costing 10 cents. Mules were used on
the portable tracks at an average load
ing of 26 cents.
THE cost for handling and transpor-
tatiOn of cane by a system Of prema-
nent and portable tracks on all the
Oahu plantations has been practically
of the same proportion while the sys-
TEN is identcally that practised in
Kauai, the loading being done at an
average of 26 cents as against Mr..
Ewarts figures Of 10 cents. These fig
ures include besides the cost Of hand
ling etc, the cost Of repairs and every
item connected with the handling and
transportation of the cane / have
gathered from Mr. Ewart that where
the lands are more broken as To contour
the price ran as high as 65 cents per
cane ton or $3.50 per sugar ton. Like
Mr. Homer ! believe i'm more mule and
less manual power. We used the der
rick on The rougher lands and hauled
most of the cane with sleds cutting out
portable track work so per CenL and re-
ducing manual labor 40 per cent while
increasing the mule labor % per cent
This has reduced the cost Of loading
and transportation from 80 to 81 cents