The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-01-15
TO OPPOSE WILCOX WORK FOR COURTS
SENDS BOYD TO
WASHINGTON.
The Delegates Land Act Regarded as
Utterly Unfit for Hawaii-where Did
Wilcox Get It?

Land Commissioner r. S. Boyd leaves
for Washington this afternoon as an
agent Of the Territorial government
to oppose the land act introduced in
Congress by Delegate Wilcox, and to
ask that a Congressional commission
be appointed to visit the Islands and
investigate the public lands PROPOSE
ton BOyd's trip was discussed and
decided upon in "a recent meeting of
the Executive Council, after copies Of
WilcoNs bill were received.
WilcONs land law, like his leprosy
bill, is something of a mystery to those
with whom he discussed public busi-
ness before he left for Washington. 1t
is not thought that the delegate had
any such bill when he left Honolulu.
Just before leaving he had several
meetings with the land commissioner,
in which matters were gone over, and
Wilcox was supplied with maps and
figures. mo such policy as appears
i'm the bin introduced was advocated
by Wilcox when he was with me, said
Boyd, but I understood the delegates
views to be very different He seemed
20 agree with me, and even suggested
that l visit Washington to present the
proposition, as l was familiar with it,"
The Wilcox bill, therefore was a sur
prise to the local administration and
after an examination of its provisions
Governor Dole and the land commits
siOner and other members of the exc
cutive council came to the conclusion
that it would be highly injurious to the
Territory, hence the decision to send
Boyd to Washington, to ask for a COM
mission to come here and investigate.
am instructed to go and try to
stave off the law proposed by Wilcox"
said Boyd, 'as well as to persuade
Congress to send a commission here to
investigate, 1 shall take with me all
the information available and shall
present the matter as best 1 can, re-
turning as soon as everything possible
has been done to put the matter in the
right light before Congress.
THE objections to the Wilcox bill
are many. 1t is so untitled for this
Territory that 1 am inclined to think !
he got il, as he probably got the MOlO- !
kai leprosy bill from California, from |
some one who wants his help. Wilcox |
is ambitious to do a lot for his cOnsti- |
tuents, and 1 think he has his eye es- |
pecially on appropriations. It may be |
that he is doing some trading of sup
port, to get help for some of his own
schemes.
,The classification scheme is utterly
uspis for 5he- conditions here. The idea
of putting in one class all land over
l 900 foot level, and so on, can never be
applied here without Injustice The
quality of our lands is not regulated by |
height above sea level. In many places /
at the same level, there is fine land ad- /
Joined by rocky wastes. Wilcox would |
put both in the same class. Some of |
the third class land, as defined in the /
bill and placed at $l.25 per acre, would .
turn out to be the best land in the
The whole classification sys-
-em based upon attitudes is impOssi-
Die. The only way to classify our
ands is as they are classified now, by
heir actual location and quality.
THE law in question, opening lands
would defeat our forest re-
iervatiOn idea, and thus might have
serious effect on our rainfall. Much
If the land proposed for homesteads
$ useless anyhow for such purposes,
Dut it would probably be settled on
nyhow, and denuded of forests and !.
hen abandoned.
The Territory would get nothing Z
or the lands under the Wilcox law. 1t
rovides first that the money shall be
pplied to the expenses of making the
urveys, the balance to go to the
reasury Of Hawaii. The balance would
e the other way, for the bill would
ot provide for payments enough to (
meet the expenses of the surveys.
ne american system OF opening
lnds, of surveying, pre-emptiOn, home 1
teading, etc, is not wholly applicable ,
ere. 1t is desirable that we should {
ave hOmesteads, but we have not un-
mited area for them 1 believe that
here will be successful farming here
+ several kinds that coffee, rubber
nd other things will be produced {
ut sugar is the main thing now and ]
nay remain so for years. The idea of ]
ractically giving away our lands and ]
lus depriving the government of what {
J one of It's largest sources of revenue |
very bad one, in my opinion.
Il shall work for law much similar
} the one we have now. The Hawai-
IN law was made to fit our conditions -
ere and l believe 1t is stiu very near
: the right thing. l feel absolutely q
ire that If can get Congress to send
commission here to investigate, the
'ilcox bill will be thrown out, and "a
w modelled upon our present system I
i'll be passed." 7
Delegate Wilcox has sent a number T
copies Of his bill to local government T
hcials, but that is all they have heard
ON him on the subject. Boyd will go
raight through Washington and will
main there as long as is necessary 20 +
e the proposition through.