The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-09-22

BATCHELDER IS
OPTIMISTIC
Thinks That We Are Trying to Do
a Wholesale Business on a
Retail Capital.
(Hilo Tribune.)

HILO, Sept. 19.-L A Thurston of
tives of E. H. Rollins & Sons of Bos-
ton, Mass, arrived in Hilo Monday
night. Tuesday morning they left by
carriage over the Hamakua road and
will return to Honolulu by boat from
the other end of the island. The trio
of Investigators accompanying Mr..
Thurston were Messrs. Batchelder,
Taylor and Corbett of san Francisco
and Denver. Their object in visiting
the Islands at this time is to look into
the merits of Hawaiian industries from
the investors standpoint. They have
been visiting the fields and plantations
and taking a careful survey of the ma
terial conditions of the numerous Ha-
waiian concerns which offer their stocks
and securities in the markets of the
United States.
e. H. Rollins & Sons first became in
terested in Hawaiian enterprises in the
Rapid Transit street car lines in Ho-
nolulu. This firm took Rapid Transit
securities and by it's faith in Honolulu,
made this splendid street railway sys-
tenn a possibility at the capital. These
representatives came to the Islands
this trip primarily for the purpose of
looking into the merits of proposed ex-
tensions of the Rapid Transit. They
have found the proposed extensions
feasible from their point of view and
are pleased with the results of their
first dip into Hawaiian business.
The successes of their first expert
ment led them to look further for op-
portunities in Hawaii and they have
therefore made this exhaustive tour of
the big island with Mr.. Thurston as a
pilot.
Mr.. Thurston said to Tribune re-
porter Monday evening: I'VE are max
ing this tour of Hawaii in order that
the gentlemen who accompany me may
see for themselves what Hawaiian in
dustries are. We have gone well around
this island and will complete the cir
cult tomorrow and next day. I do
not know what impressions have been
made on the gentlemen who are with
me. They are forming their own con-
clusions and whatever they are you
must find out from them.
''All I can say is that the cane in the
fields where we have gone is in a first
class condition and that 1 myself have
been greatly pleased with the appear
ance of things all around your island"
When asked about conditions on the
mainland, Mr.. Thurston reiterated the
statements made by others who have
lately returned from the Coast. He
said business in all lines on the Coast
was in the full tide of an era of great
proTnerity.
BATCHELDER'S VIEWS.
George A. Batchelder, San Francisco
manager for E. II. Rollins 6, Sons of
Boston, and superintendent of the Oak
land Electric Railway System, spoke
frankly and openly regarding his i'm
pressions of the Islands and gave clear
cut ideas of what he considered nee
essary for their continued prosperity.
You are trying to do wholesale
business on a retailers capital" said
he "All you need to make a complete
success is the aid of outside capital.
You have undertaken to do too much
with merely home capital. l have
looked over some of your greatest plan
tations and Investigated some of your
biggest enterprises. They are in splen-
did physical condition and show that
they were projected by master minds.
The planning was well done. The man
agerial skill in developing these plans
has been of the highest order.
But you have not been able to bring
into this expansion enough local capi-
tai to bring these later ventures to COM
plete development without the newt
able stringency in local financial circles.
Continued on Page Sd