The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-12-20
Wilcox Bill Does
Not Meet With
Favor.
BOYD'S VIEWS
Believes Such a Law Would lniure
Sugar and Not Help Small
Farming.
IT'S ridiculous!'

II.
asked to express his opinion on the land
bill introduced in Congress by Delegate
Wilcox of Hawaii
"a land law such as was introduced
by Delegate Wilcox, patterned after the
general land laws of the United States,
will bring about exactly the conditions in
Hawaii which President Roosevelt wishes
to avoid" continued Mr.. Boyd.
Il am not opposed TO turning over these
lands to the Commissioner of the General
Land Office in Washington, but the en-
forcement Of any such law should be left
to an official in the Territory, who is &C
quainted with conditions as they exist.
1 can't understand how Wilcox could in
troduce such a bill, after the converse
ton We had just prior to his departure,
for this law will not only be injurious to
the country as a whole, but also TO the
native Hawaiians. 1t viii simply open
up the country to the land-grabbers. not
those who intend to make their homes on
the land. but who will sell out TO the
sugar plantations or try to hold them UP
for large amounts. without water rights
the greater portion of the public lands in
doubt If the American farmer VIII care
TO settle on such land, when he can get
! what he wants in the United States,
| where he can grow corn, wheat and
enough vegetables to live upon.
! IF we could only get a few Yankee
farmers to come here and settle and
take up homestead lands. il would be a
good thing for the country; but past eI-
perience has not demonstrated the sue
cess of this proposition. Or if We could
get farmers TO come down here and work
/ in harmony with the sugar planters, tho
problem might be solved. The planters
| would like nothing better than to have
white men take UP small tracts OF land
near their mills and cultivate cane upon
it.
1T has been demonstrated that small
farming is successful here. and we have
several good colonies Of such men. The
one trouble is that they have no mar
ket for the vegetables and fruits they
raise. or could raise if they found sale
for it, It's the hardest thing for these
men to get rid of the produce after IL
has been harvested. They have grown
just as fine onions on Hawaii as are i'm
ported from the States, yet they sell
way below what the imported product
brings. The reason for this IS that 1t IS
said that merchants here are working
on an exchange basis, and are shipping
pineapples and bananas to California and
| getting their products in return, acting
as agents for these outside people. Mr..
! Bucholtz grows as fine celery as Is
raised anywhere yet when he tries to
] sell il four cents IS the most II will
bring A farmer comes here from the
States and sees Bucholtz's fine farm. and
| takes up a homestead probably as near
! as he can get He builds q house for q
! few thousand dollars, then clears the
land, at cost of from fifty 10 sixty dol
! lars an acre. His crop Is planted and
. l,oh al :
you think for moment he could Dor
row money on the expected crop 10 pro-
| vide his family with necessaries until
/ II IL marketed? I think not; bankers
here are not willing to lend money on
! farm mortgages. In the States IT is a
regular business and a certain invest
ment, but it is entirely different in Ha-
wall.
| There IS another reason for laying the
authority with a local cOmnissioner-the
great distance Hawaii is from Washing
! ton. In case of disputes the rich man
only viii be able to take his case be-
/ fore the Bureau at Washington, while
| the poor man would be compelled to sub
NIT, because of his inability to do this.
The division of lands into three classes
! should not be made arbitrary, but ii
should be with a view to conditions now
existing, and by Il man acquainted with
| the land.
There are large tracts Of land which
.
would not be taken up. except for spec
ulatiye purposes. a large area OF sugar
J land would be of no benefit without
water and n small farmer could not uti.-
/ lie il unless he had means Of securing
! n water supply. This would be imposs--
| bic under the general United States land
system and such tracts could only be
used by men with capital enough 70 de-
veIop the water supply. The biz does
not prevent those plantations from secLr-
ing lands that are willing to pay tOr II,
for under this act the land IS given out
right to the homesteadcr, and he can
easily dispose of it to the company will
! ing to pay his price. In many cases
spectators would get control or H. ana
hold up the plantations for what they
could. The clause in the organic act
limiting the holdings OF one corporation
10 one thousand acres, may be evaded by
having individual stockholders put sec
tons OF plantations in their names. In
this way the very end which the Ia"
seeks 10 accomplish would be overthrow
And what could be done with the thou
sands of acres OF lava rock, and the
mountain lands which get no water? The
law would simply mean that thousands
OF acres which are now under ci4t-Nt--
ton in cane would have 20 be abandoned,
and the government lose the revenue no" .
derived from these lands
The question IS q serious one and the .
uncertainty OF land legislation - already F.
causing trouble on the plantations WAleh .
have government leased lands lI-tC cuL- .
tivation. on Maui, where l visited laSl
week one result Is already apparent IN .
the lnyyfllinEness OF the plantation man .
ayers TO make permanent improvements.
They do not feel Ike going ahead ana
e1pendinE large sums for pumping ma
chinery. when in q few years they may
lose the government leased 4Al!d ~" IL
..--be Harnoa plantation on Mani will