The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-07-28
MUCH CRY, LITTLE wool.

An election crytin England some
years ago was three acres and cow
This carried considerable weight with
it, and votes rolled up in good shape.
1t is not necessaryrt6 say that the
three acres and the COW did not ma
terialze and that the offspring of
the COW was the calf who voted under
the belief that the election cry was
anything more than a cry. Delegate
Wilcox seems to think that his own
cOuntrymen can be caught by a similar
device. But like everything the Dele
gate does he sets TO work to exagger-
ate. He is not satisfied with any three
acres and cow" he wants forty
acres, and this is the basis of some of
his arguments on Kauai only make
him delegate and he. vii wipe out the
Kappa and Kealia Plantations, and hav-
ing got rid of these he will promptly
divide the plantation lands among his
supporters, and every man shall have
forty acres. no .l,t.. ...., ......-... b..
This is a specious argument to the
ears Of the ignorant voter, but all vot-
ers, even the followers of Wilcox him
self, are not ignorant, and they know
ne is promising what he cannot carry
out. Moreover they know. that were
his scheme to be carried out and the
lands of Kealia and Kapaa to be turn
ed from sugar to pasture, they would
not support anything like the popula-
ton that they do now, and that the
value as property would sink to what
it was in 1870 and the. years before
that.
In 1870 there were few houses be-
tween Lihue and Hanalei. The Kealia
ranch property then owned by Mr..
Krun was on its last legs. There were
a few kuleanas occupied and more that
had been abandoned There was then
no sale for cattle, the demand through
out the Islands being small, as comnar
ed with what it is now. So small in
deed was the demand that Kauai cattle
were not killed for beef at all, but were
boiled down for the tallow. There had
been an outlet for sailed beef, when
there had been a big whaling business,
out by 1870 that mad gone.
one must look at WilcoX's proposal
Of doing away with Kealia and Kappa
from serious side. If his policy of
doing away with those plantations
could be carried cut, which fortunately
we may feel satisfied is unlikely, the
policy would not Stop at Kealia and
Kappa but would be extended to the
other Islands, and to other plantations.
In point of fact the Delegates war cry
means nothing more nor less than the
destruction of our staple industry. He
would willingly lead and there are fools
who would follow in such a crusade
being totally oblivious of the fact that
injuring our staple industry would be
more fatal to themselves than to those
most deeply engaged in that industry.
Ruin sugar or destroy the hope of SUI
gar proving remuneratve, and you will
at once drive away capital and para
lyze every other industry ,asmall or
large. n. l,.su.,y
Here IS one of the distinct issues of
the campaign. Wilcoxism plainly comes
forward and says away with our main
industry. What do we care whether
sugar is successful or not We make
nothing out of the industry and there
are those who are short sighted enough
TO believe him. Our trade with the
mainland, export and import, amounts
to $46,OOO,O00, and probably more,
for exact figures are at present
hf .. ID
wanting. Upon what does that de-
pend? Upon sugar and upon moth
ing else Curtail and destroy our
sugar plantations and What would
be left? Nothing. The source of our
prosperity is spelt in five letters, "su-
gar" Divide I(ealia and Kapaa into
forty acre tracts and VIII they produce
the value of 5000 tons of sugar? They
would not produce a'tithe of it. Where
there is wealth and prosperity today,
there would be poverty and shlftless-
ness in place of it were Delegate Will
cOx's scheme carried out
On what does the shipping which
comes to the various ports Of the ISL
ands depend? Upon the sugar indus
try. Upon what do the ipter-island
vessels depend? Upon, sugar. Upon
what do the iron works depend?' Upon
sugar The Hawaiian skilled laborer
depends upon sugar. The Hawaiian
unskilled laborer depends upon sugar
The merchant depends Upon sugar
The retail dealer depends upon sugar
Depress the value Of sugar, and every
branch of industry throughout the ISL
ands feels it, One might 80 on emu
meratinS the many branches affected
by the prosperity or failure of sugar
and the summing up would be the
same. The whole fabric Of our pros
perity depends upon sugar and upon
nothing else.