The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-20
PROTECTION
FOR COFFEE
A Report is Sent to
True by Jared
Smith.

The special agricultural report on
Hawaii requested by Director True of
the Bureau of Experiment Stations for
the information Of Congress viii be
forwarded by Jared Smith en- the
American Maru today. The report con-
tsins a comprehensive review OF every
agricultural crop grown in Haweii, ex-
cepting sugar. and deals particularly
with coffee which is the principal feat
ure of the report.
IT shall recommend a protective tar
lift for coffee for the benefit of the Ha-
terday. II don't suppose that the rec
ommendation will have any -,"ticular
weight with Congress, but : believe
protection of some sort is needed before
coffee can be protitably grown in Ha-
wan. These things are not protected
upon recommendations, Thought it is
taken more on a general average, and
there is no telling what may be done.
Nearly every industry viii want some
sort of a concession. and very few will
get it.
1T seems impossible for Hawaiian
planters to successfully compete with
coffee growers of South America,
though the coffee grown here is just as
good as any on the market. y ct 1 be-
lieve fully one-third of the coffee used
in the islands is imported from the
United States; go into any grocery
store and you can see from the labels
on the packages where it comes from.
have known of coffee being shipped
from here to San Francisco, made up
into packages and then sent back to
Australia. 1 shouldn't be a bit sur
prised either to learn that some of it
is sent back here and consumed.
Most of the coffee used in the Unit
ed States comes from Brazil. Nicarag-
ua, Mexico and Guatemala The most
expensive coffee is the youngest, grown
| in Bolivia This is an unusually fine
quality that grows in a small valley
j about ten miles across, and which brings
a dollar a pound 1t is sold chiefly on
| its reputation, and If Hawaiian coffee
| could get the reputation 1t might bring
| fancy prices, too. Hamakua coffee IS
| just as good as is grown anywhere, and
| If il only had n reputation TO back 1t,
would command fancy figures in the
United States.
Most of the coffee shipped from here
now is of a low grade. It comes from
| AAt"dA4 II 10 put hP ny JdPdAcSc
and Portuguese, not acquainted with the
best methods of picking and preparing It,
Most of the abandoned plantations on
| Hawaii are given over to people of these
Municipalities, who pick the coffee with
out regard to its selling quality.
! Il do not believe there is much profit
in coffee growing, for even these South
American countries; but they win con-
tinue growing it no doubt, even at a very
small profit. 1t is their money crop, and
viii not be lightly abandoned 1t is the
same way with sugar here, even if the
price fell so that the profit wassvery
slight the planters would still continue
/ it's cultivation. because it is their money
crop, and with the hope that the price
might rise again. That is what the cot
ton planters of the South did a few years
| ago, when cotton was selling for five
cents n pound 1t costs at least that
much to prepare cotton for market, but
the plantations were not abandoned, nor
did the planters fail to plant a crop
usual the next year. In my opinion, the
sugar men have too much money invest
ed in machinery and pumping equipment
| to abandon cultivation of their lands. be-
cause of a temporary fall in sugar
prices. Coffee grows at an elevation
above the sugar belt. and need not inter
| fere with the cultivation of sugar.
THE report which will be forwarded
| to Washington is for the Information of
Congress. 1t will be a separate report
by Director True, containing information
concerning all the experiment stations.
The report from here will contain very
few recommendations which have not
already been made concerning Hawaii"
Accompanying Mr.. Smiths report are
several letters written by c. S. Wight OF
the Inter-Island Steamship Company,
containing valuable information about
the coffee growing industry in Hawaii.
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