Evening star., 1902-04-11
RELIEF BY CONGRESS
Needed by Hawaii to Relieve
'e'e' Stringency.
MR.. . THuRsroN i TALKS.
DEvELoPMENT OF THE ISLANDS
dC} EiIs
SINCE ANNEXATION.
sstsTts!
Particularly Noticeable in City Of
Honolulu Effect Of the
Bubonic Plague.
MR.. THURSTON TALKS.

Mr.. L. A. Thurston, former minister from
the republic of Hawaii to the United States,
who ACCOMPANIED Governor Dole of Hawaii
to Washington talked entertainingly to a
Star reporter this afternoon of the condi-
tions In the new possessions in the Pacific. !,
Since annexation there has been an
enormous development of the resources of
the islands," he said. There have been
new enterprises, such as railroads and
street railways. foundries and machine
shops. an expansion of old sugar plantations
and the establishment of new ones, involv-
Ing altogether an expenditure of more than
$40 O,0O0.. This has all been done since
1898
"A large amount of the capital has come
from the United States, although the bulk
of 1t has been invested by and through
local residents of the islands.
The chief need in Hawaii today. as in
any undeveloped country, is capital, as the
opportunities of profitable development are
greater than the available capital. The
rapid development indicated has been
people were trying to do more business
than the capital available justified. This
has resulted in tight money market but
| with scarcely any failures owing thereto.
THE financial situation is improving,
however, most of the new enterprises
have reached a producing stage and are
now making returns. IL it were not for the
present abnormal low price of sugar the
islands would be in an exceedingly prosper
Gus condition. AS it is they are holding
their own.
The Labor Supply.
Zone of the most serious problems the
people of Hawaii have to face is labor sup
ply. The sudden change from the contract
to the non-contract system unsettled to a
great extent the minds of the laborers and
for year or more after the organic act
became operative the laborers were in an
extremely restless condition. No
seemed to know just what to expect.
Wages went up from $3.50 and SIS a
month to $50 and SO for unskilled labor.
The situation is now much improved. The
restlessness of the laborers has disappear
ed. and many working who thought
that American institutions meant living
without working. The present wages are
$lS to %20 a month for field labOrerS. Team
sters and plowmen get about 81 a day,
while all-eiasses of skilled labor, such as
meena3sss1 meihis IL are better paid than on the
Three general railroads have been in
corpofateti Since annexa ton. One company
has constructed and has in operation forty
miles of track on the Island of Hawaii.
Two Others, with favorable prospects and
good locations through rich districts, are
seeking to finance their companies in this
country butt so far unsuccessfully. The To-
cation are so favorable that, with profitable
Artificial irrigation has received an i'm
mense impetus since annexation Pumping
machinery for 'elevatng water to irrigate
sugar oacane has been imported by the
United States during the last four years to
the value of cover S2,OOOO00 and water IS
now being rprofitably pumped for irriga
ton to- an elevation of COO feet.
''The chief item of expense is for fuel
coal costing at plantations 50 a ton. The
pumping fuel bill alone on some plantations
amounts to from $1J0,O00 to $500 600 year.
The bulk of the coal used comes from Aus
tralia. An immense saving in fuel cost Is
about to be achieved, by the Introduction of
crude Oil from California The Union OIL
Company of California has made a contract
with a number of plantations by which it
delivers oil in bulk. The company is now
having thxee tank ships built in San Fran
cisco. The oil is delivered in pipe lines in
California directly to the ship and pumped
out at the. islands. Four barrels of oil is
equivalent for fuel purposes to a ton of
COAL The contract price delivered at the
island is $1.49 per barrel, which gives
plantations oil fuel equivalent to ton of
for