The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-10-21
KONA STOCKHOLDERS
GIVE Up
HOPE
WHAT THEY HAVE PUT INTO THE
PLANTATION is GONE FOREVER
PROPOSAL TO MAKE WAY FOR
ANYONE WHO CAN SAVE 1T.

A specla. meeting of the Kona Sugar
Company has been called for next
Thursday afternon, at which very rad
ical action is proposed. This action Is
stated in the call for, the meeting to
consider the advisabilty of pettioning
the court to order the sale of all the
property of the company.
This means, in nom technical lam
guage that the proposition is based on
the belief that there will never be any
thing saved out of the planta ton for
the stockholders, that their hopes are
gone forever, and that the only thing
left is to sell the property so that some
one can get it clear of its incubus Of
debt, make a plantation out of it. and
so reduce the disastrous effects of the
failure to a minimum.
1t is said that as the plantation is
being operated now only few tons Of
sugar per day are being taken off. The
concern is running behind in operating
expenses. Growing cane is being neg
lected so as to jeopardize the pros
poets for future crops.
Some of the stockholders take the
view that if the plantation cal. be
freed from all the debts except those
incurred during the receivership. there
is opportunity for the creation OF
prosperous plantation which will give
employment to numbers of EOpula-
ton already settled in the vicinity OF
the plantation, and will preserve inter-
ests that have been created on the
faith of the continuation of the plan
tatiOn. If the plantation can be freed
from its debts it may be conducted
proftably to it's owners, whoever they
may be, and thus aid in the general
prosperity of the sugar industry and OF
the islands. These stockholders take
the view that the property will sell for
NNaNW
after; that if it Will not sell for enough
now to pay the obligations incurred
! during the reCeVership it never viii;
| and that therefore it Is better to sell
now to pay the obligation incurred
/ be larger, or when the inability to get
money to carry on the work on the
| plantation, perhaps leads to disturb
ances among the laborers and general
disaster to the plantation.
The proposal therefore is to sell the
/ plantation for whatever can be secur-
ed for 1t, thus wiping out the present
/ Indebtedness, leaving the property un-
inCumbered so that money invested in
it in the future will go to the develop
ment of the plantation and not to an
effort to lift a mountain of debt
If this proposed action Of the stock
holders is taken it will mean that the
stockholders give up all hope of ever
realizing anything from the money they
have put in it, as most of them are con-
vinced il is; that they will pocket their
loss and get out of the way of the bond
holders or anyone else who is willing
and able to advance the money neces-
sary to save the property from total
destruction as a sugar plantation.
This proposed action, if taken, VIII
put 1t up to the bondhOlders to say
wheth they will put up the money to
buy the property, or to advance it to
carry on the plantation under the re-
ceivership.
This meeting has been called after
consultations between various interests
on reports made by EX-Judge Humph-
reys who visited the property recently
as the legal adviser of 5. NJ. Damon,
the largest bond-holder, and of II. F..
Conant, who was recently appointed
manager of the plantation by the
stockholders.
Mr. Conant, who is an experienced
plantation manager, reports most raw
orably on the possibilities of the plan
tation if it could once get rid of its IN
! Continued on page fiTe.)