The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-10
DRAWING
TO A CLOSE
Pearl Harbor Suit
is Nearly
Done.
VALUE REMAINS
AT $500 AN ACRE
Testimony of Bishop Estate Wit
nesses as to Wharfage on Kua.
hua island Heard.

Rapid progress was made yesterday
in the hearing of the case of the Unit
ed States VS.. Bishop Estate for the con
demnation of Pearl Harbor lands, and il
like progress is continued the case viii
probably go to the jury before the END
of the week, and possibly Thursday, il
the arguments of the attorneys are linn
tied. The respondents have nearly com
pleted their case as far as the evidence
is concerned, and the United States
may have another turn in rebuttal this
afternoon or tomorrow morning. Yes
terday's testimony dealt not only with
sugar land values, but also with har-
Dor valuations, and half a dozen wit
nesses were heard during the day on
these points.
F. Meyer, manager of Waianae Plan
tation. was the first witness on the
istand yesterday morning. He testified
that he was one of the party which
visited the disputed land at the request
of respondents. I'VE went over the en-
tire tract said this witness, land the
land saw was good cane land barring
a few spots, which I would call waste
land. The market value of the cane
land is about $500 an acre. The soil is
red, with an intermfxture of coral, and
There is also adobe soil This land is
easy of access, there are about PAP acres
of that value"
/ oil,
swer any questions as to the Honolulu
Plantation Co.'S mill and the use to
which it was to have been put.
]. F. Crawley, a chemist. was the
next witness, and testified to a chem
zeal analysis he had made of the soil.
1t was composed chiefly of red coral
soil. and adobe, he said.
Supt. Denison of the Oahu Railway
and Land Co. was the next witness
and testified to his knowledge of wharf
Kuahua Island last week. said the
witness, lin company with Mr. Dodge.
Captain Parker and Walter Dillingham;
think the island is not the best To-
cation for wharf, but il is a very good
location. For use as a railroad ter
minal its isolated position would be
an advantage, for by means of a gate
access could be shut off from the main
land, and the danger from fire, etc. les
sened."
The witness testified also as to the |
class of vessels which could enter the |
harbor in it's present condition, and
said that the island was above high |
water mark. sufficiently to make good |
Il IL
sion of the question as to capacity of
vessels coming through the channel !
when court opened in the afternoon.
w. w GOodale was the first witness !
called in the afternoon. He had just |
returned by the Coptic from the Orient |
and was anxious to get away on the !
o'clock train, so his testimony was
expedited as much as possible. Mr.. |
GoOdale is manager of Waialua Plant |
alton and prior to his departure for |
Japan had inspected the land in dis |
pute. He placed a value of $500 per
acre on the sugar land and thought |
there was about 400 acres of this ma |
ture. He had made an examination of
the soil and testified that it was COM
posed of twenty per cent disintegrated
lava, five per cent adobe and seventy |
FIVE per cent red coral soil
Captain Samuel Henry, a member of
the firm of Clark & Henry of Stockton, |
which has the contract Tor dredging |
the harbor, stated that the firm had
been notified June oath by Colonel Heu- |
er that it's bid for the dredging of Pearl !
Harbor Mas the lowest of those sub |
mitted. 1t was not until thirty days |
thereafter, however. that notification /
was received from the War Department /
of the approval and acceptance Of the |
bid. a copy of the Pacific Commercial |
Advertiser of January 18th, 1901 con- |
tanning the official call for bids for this /
work was introduced as an exhibit for |
the purposes of identification. ques-
ton as to whether the plantations were
to pay for part Of the dredging was
ruled out by the court Respondents
seek TO show that the land value was
increased when notice of the dredging
was given the public.
L. L. McCandless. a well-borer, test1-
fed that he had bored the well for ar
tesfan water on the Bishop estate land
in question and that it cost over $4,000
He estimated the value OF this well
10 the land at over $1,000 on July s.
1901.
Captain Parker was the last witness
IF the afternoon. He testified that he
had had considerable experience in
wharf and harbor improvements. and
that in his opinion Kuahua Island was
4 good place for wharf. Because of
The absence Of other witnesses an ad-
ournment was taken at this point until
10 o'clock this morning.