The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-04-19


Aul som. other Incidental Matter
wH. He.HH.l,n. for many reasons,
which Hr. HIurHuuu. TO r,.to. OF ace
0.muH -hur tH.a object is evident TO all
Who ar. concerned Iu Hawaii u is Oft
pn "a convent, q method OF solving "a
problem GO eliminate hopeless attempts
OF Its solution.
Tho United States Public Land System.
This s.stom was adapted for immense
HruHs OF land. much Of which was OF
little or no value when the system was
lnaupuratnd. IT'S object was to obtain
settlers and not 90 secure pcCunidry
benefits. IL was perhaps not such a
vastoful system at the outset as IT be-
came In recent years But II Is utterly
TuuuliCahlo TO the small area OF public
lend I'm Hawaii Moreover the treaty Of
annexation provides that the income Of
and proceeds from Juc public land here
Shall be used for the benefit OF the people
% Hawaii for public purposes. and not
for individuals. The pubic lands OF Ia-
wal arc subject TO the trust thus impos-
cd upon them by the terms OF the trea-
ty, and ought to be so used as to bring
the largest income which consistently
with public interests can be obtained
from them.
The great diversity in the value of
these lands Is an insuperable obstacle to
placing thCm all under a system which
allows settlers to secure squatters' IT,
ties. The grand rush in recent years
J for the Oklahoma lands, when opened
! for settlements, a rush which had to be
held in check by United States troops,
shows the great difficulty Of securing any
appIoa OF fairness. even when the
area of land is susceptible Of being so
placed under guard until the hour and
the day when the lands could be staked
out and appropriated by settlers. To I'M
dertake anything of the sort in the wide
ly separated pieces Of land here, situated
as they are on different Islands. often
including almost inaccessible ravines and
cliffs. covering large tracts of rocky or
volcanic land, with now and then high
ly cultivated, rich parcels of great value
would present a problem impossible to
solve, If there were an effort TO secure
n fair chance to all alike.
Inducements for Small Purchasers.
If giving land to settlers Is out of the
question, can inducements be held out to
small purchasers, by Offering desirable
lots OF moderate area at auction, on con-
dition that purchaser shall reside upon
and improve the lots, and giving them
credit for the purchase money, perhaps
also exempting the lots from taxation
for term of years or from sale by the
Sheriff in satisfaction of judgment
debts? Or by leasing the parcels on
similar conditions, giving the lessee the
right to purchase? Something of this
kind of experiment has been in operation
In Hawaii for years, with varying sue
cess. 1t is probably worth longer test.
perhaps simplifying the conditions now
attached to such transactions.
Prohibiting Corporations From Acquiring
Large Holdings of Land.
This 10 w iG done nv the Npwlnn1S
amendment in the Organic Act. But so
much of the land In Hawaii is now held
by large proprietors, whether inCorporat-
ed or not, that the area for small hold
inEs is not extensive. Moreover. the
amendment, in making 1000 acres the
limit of land to be acquired. does not
limit land-holdinEs to such an extent as
to leave much to divide among small pro-
prietors.
Placing Upon Large Land-holders Such
Heavy Taxation as VIII Compel
Them to Sell Their Land to Small
Holders
If the United States Constitution would
permit this thing to be done, would 1t be
WISE and would 1t accomplish the in
tended object? Portions of the Western
States have not yet recovered from the
granger legislation craze The grangers
found that they cOul4 kill the goose
which lays the golden eggs. The sand
lots or Dennis Kearncy agitation in Cal
ifOrnia drove capital away from the
state, so that for years enterprise was
seriously weakened 1t requires enor-
nous capital to develop the resources of
a country, in agricultural enterprises, as
Hawaii has recently learned to its cost,
as well as I'm manufacturing and other
industrlal enterprises Vet to he develop
cd hc'c. Capital is to be invited and
welcomed here. e we know what Is for
the general welfare, and not inundated
ard scared away. | have heard 1t said,
and not by illiteratc persons urly, that
We have too many rich men In Hawaii.
! wish We had more. Their presence
does not annoy me. / do not think they
are apt to be as cheerful acquaiutaUces
oI oompan,pnable friends as ure people
of moderate means, as many Bohom.aus
| have known. Often they are suck
un." I suppose, and especially # they
started poor. Those are the hardest to
stand, the newly rich. But | Am Jar
from cuvy.ng them and their acCunlla-
tons here are not made-I canrot speak
with knowledge of such places as Cali
fornIa, which has long been in III habit
OF calling itself throttlod by the South
orn Pacific railroad system-by any un-
fair dealings with people of small means.
They had the nerve. or sagacty or
luck-ofton as much the luT-cr MS either
OF the former-to buy or sell or hold in
a way which brought wealth. How Oft
en- one sees or feels that IL one hQA conc
or had not done this or that thing, he
would have been frightfully rich. But
what is the sense or use N growl2g
gbout it?
when Agassiz discovered the possihit-
ties OF copper In the Calumet and HacClI
mines near Lake Superior, he obtained
the wealth which enabled him % give
million dollars to Harvard University.
He and his associates In that great Ell
tcrprise became very rich. TO he adj
vantage OF his own and coming genera
tons.
The Rel telephone Investments made
10y few far-secing, or do you please 70
consider them, bold spirits In the east
rolled mp FOR the investors vast profits
no small part Of which has gone 20 The
nr' fling OF humanity, as well as for L.,r
comfort NJ the investors,
'nlr and D, sirabe AS a wisely grldu-
...t progressive income tax IS, 10
mot wish to see anything aEgrrssl,e
VIII. NIl cause capital 10 keen away or
500 a." lFum our midst We want n