The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-03-05
.HAMOA WILL
QUIT BUSINESS
THE PLANTATION WILL ABAN-
DON IT'S LAND AND
DISINCORPORATE.
WILL BE NEARLY A TOTAL LOSS
TO STOCKHOLDERS.
Hard Natural Conditions, High Raise
in Rent and Low Price of Sugar XIII
the Plantations.

III Rent ana Low Price OF sugar tNll
the Plantations
Hamoa plantation, on the Island of
Maui, is going out of business and the
Investment is a dead loss The p1esens
crop and the machinery and other pro-
perty of the corporation will be sold,
and then the company will disincOrpOr-
ate, with little for the stockholders 1t
is a close corporation, with practically
all of the stock in the hands of several
large investors, so that there will be no
general losses.
HamOa plantation never paid even
with sugar at AZ cents a pound. The
heavy fall in the price of sugar, a still
heavier rise in the rent demanded by
the government for the lands leased
by the plantation, labor troubles and
natural conditions that make it inn
possible to work the plantation by ma
Chinery, combined to make it apparent
to the managers that Hamoa would
never pay, and they have decided to
abandon the proposition altogether.
out of the plantation of several thou
sand acres only about 700 could be
planted in cane, and the 700 acres are
in patches, some Of which it was even
necessary to work with a pick The
land is rocky and the soil weedy, and
I
Cessfully.
Hamoa plantation was incorporated
with a capital stock of $l75,OOO in 1850
shares. All but 10 shares are held by
G.. Brewer and Company, H. p. Bald
{ win, George N. Wilcox and A. s. Will
cox of Hawaii, and WelCh and Com
pany of San Francisco. They have
tried to run the plantation for over five
years, and have come to the conclusion
that it is too small, too unfayoTably
located and too rocky land, to ever be
a successful sugar plantation. At pres
ent prices for sugar the plantation runs
behind over $4,000 a year and the
agents have little hope of a rise.
George H. Robertson, manager Of
Brewer and Company, expresses the
opinion that sugar will not be worth
| over 3h or 3% cents for some years.
One of HamOa's government land
| leases has already expired and others
are about to expire. The government
| has asked four or five times the former
| price for a renewal and this was too
| much for an already unsuccessful con-
! cern. The stockholders, it is stated
will get less than ten cents on the dol
| lar.
Under present circumstances it is
! impossible to conduct the plantation
| successfully" said Manager Robertson
! this morning. THE natural conditions
I
| plantation, 1t is very rocky and ]
never saw any other land with so many
weeds. The workable land is in patches
here and there, and much of it cannot
be worked with a plOw. We have to
| employ men with a pick and shovel
and this is too expensive a business.
THE company never has made any
money We have fought for five or six
years now, to make it a success, and
| ho IN "a III
present conditions it is no use trying
any longer. Even when sugar was
| high the concern did not pay. The
stock has never been offered in the
open market and the loss falls upon a
| few investors.
- do not expect to see sugar sell
ing for over 315 or 81 cents a pound
for some years, and there is certainly
no chance for HamOa at such prices
We produce about 1,70O tons of sugar
in a crop. At S55 a ton net which is
about the rate we get this brings $685.
500. The cost of running the planta-
ton is at least 100000 a year, so that
there is no chance for us to make any
money.
I'VE are advertising our machinery
etc, for sale, and when everything is
closed up, the company will disincor-
pOrate."
The land at HamOa, says Robert.
son, is splendid land for hOmesteading
and he thinks it would be a good idea
for the government to open it. 81 have
Travelled over the Islands pretty thor
oughly," said Robertson, "and I dom
think there is better climate anywhere
in the group than at HamOa. 1t is
simply splendid. These patches of good
land could be successfully worked by
small holders and might be an aid tc
! the diversified industries we hear so
much of. Since we decided to leave the
place have been thinking of suggest
! ing to the Governor that the land be
| opened to homesteaders. They would
| have an ideal place there, but a sugar
| plantation is under insuperable difficult
ties. This land might be opened for
small farmers without interfering with
| the interests of any plantation, while
other tracts so offered might be a de-
! sirable part of sugar plantation.
There is a good government road
| and HamOa landing is one of the best
/ i'm the Islands and these conditions,
with the splendid climate, make Ha-
mOa the very place for homesteads."
HamOa Is at the extreme eastern end
/ of Maui.