The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-05-06

a ynhr ff OBJ. twenty years closing
[ with the last century aud rsparcd tbe
people ~ the Territory 60 expect the
best Of an good things. The ngurcs
showing the excess cd eNports. the in-
ports ~ coin and the resulting trade
balance have just been complied from
the reports ~ the Custom House. from
lssO down 10 the taking over Of the rev
cnue system by The United states Gov
crnment on June l4th 1900 by Thomas
G. Thrum. The showing Is VI an ag-
grcEate Of ts9.165. .26G43, as the balance
~ trade for The two decades.
The accompanying table shows more
than It's FIRST reauuR indicates. There
has been In the financial history Of the
islands a recurrence OF periods OF great
prosperity and those In which the
credit balance was quite low, owing 10
eulargements. machinery and the drafts
upon the outgoing sugar exchange for
comforts and luNuries. While these
are clearly marked in the return show
ing the trade credit, there has been lit
tie done in the way OF investment out
side the Islands TO take up the bal
ance.
The two periods OF the greatest
wealth have been followed by periods
of depression, one due to causes outside
the Territory and the other to demands
for the payment for investments. Thus
i'm the first decade covered by the re-
port. the era Of the greatest prosperity
came about 1883 and 1883, when, as one
Of the kamaainas put 1t the other day.
everybody had more money than he
needed" Then 1t was that sugar men
here began TO make investments
abroad, for the croaker In the land
then howled as now. Better not have
all ones eggs in the one basket" There
was a purchasing OF ranches. OF city
property even Of street railroads and
Of banks abroad. The aggregate which
went into American investments in that
time must have been in the neighbor-
hood of 1000 900. coupled as it was with
minor investments for several years
prior thereto.
or all that sum. the same authority
says there was not a single success
made but most people who bought
have been willing to sell on the basis of
50 cents on the dollar ever since. This
includes. Of course. only those men who
have remained here, for there have
been others who went from here to
take their homes on the mainland, who
have prospered just as well there as
they did here. But OF the ranches and
town lois. the vineyards and the or
chards. owned by the monied men here.
| there has not been recorded a single
instance where the profit was as great
as II might have been with the invest
| ment OF the money at home.
With this statement as to the amount
OF capital taken out of the country di-
rectly. leaving out Of consideration the
amounts paid out for the use of Ger
man and English money, and the divi-
| dends paid to citizens of those nation
| alities. as well to American non-res-
| ident owners of shares in the planta-
! tiOns for these could not even be es-
timatcd with accuracy, there has been
practically the whole of the profits OF
| the twenty years put back into the
country in the form of Improvements
In the plantations themselves, or OF the
cities OF the group of islands.
In this connection II must not be
overlooked that there IL factor of ex-
pense which must be counted, hut
which cannot be put down with any
approach OF accuracy. Into this must
enter the amounts paid out as COM
missions for the business done for Ha-
wall abroad, then would enter the ques-
ton OF freights on the imports. of IT.
self large item; again the insurance
features, all three. marine, fire and
life, being great sums when 1t is taken
into consideration that there Is almost
complete protection carried by the own
ers OF property, and vast sums in per-
sonal insurance. While these sums
would be found to be large ones II II
was possible to have them segregated
49,. -
munity for the past two decades, there
Is another factor almost as great, the
expenditures by Hawaiians in their
tours of the world. This amount has
been variously estimated by business
; men, but one banker has put 1t al
above s7j0,000' annually, saying that he
has issued letters of credit for sums
which seem enormous to single trav.
elers
The expense OF the mainland homes
OF sugar men must not be considered G
minute item. either, for this would ac.
count for n few millions of the total o.
the investments OF the period whic,
showed the greatest prosperity. Their
to these are added by those who con
slider the entire situation, certain
other amounts covering investments II
shipping enterprises, sugar refinerie
and affairs having "A more or less clos
relation to the main industry Of III,
islands. All of these would account FOL
a sum which II placed by a rougl
guess, which is the only way any OF th'
business men seen would attempt I,
touch II, would be $50. 900 000 and woult
leave $50 600 10 be accounted for IL
the increase of the value OF Islam,
properties, This is easily done an,
more, for In the opinion OF such men a
c. NJ. Cooke and b. T.. Dillingham;
though there Is an absolute absence o
statistics from which to draw facts 10
the support of the belief. there ha
been invested in the Territory in tn
twenty-five years past, not less thar
sl0O, 100000, How To get at the figure
is. OF course, a question which Ia har,
OF settlement, and OF a dozen person
: who have been in business for the scor
OF years, there was not one who woul,
hazard even a rough guess. In 1885,