The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-10-24
-OWRIE INPORTOR RICO
CONTINUED from page one.O

two or three men there to do what one
would do here. one feature about
their work is that laborer will do only
one thing. If he is a cane loader, he
will do nothing else than load cane.
If his work Is to hoe cane he will do
nothing else than hoe cane.
The best type of the Porto Rican 1
saw were what are known as the hill
people They live up in the mountains,
raise coffee, bananas, corn and a few
things like that, and during the cane
cutting season come down and cut cane
by contract. They will only come down
during the cane cutting season, as at
other periods of the year they cannot
stand the climate any more than the
whites can.
Mr.. Lowrie's plantation has a har-
Dor of its own as big or bigger than
Honolulu harbor and while | was there
two steamers arrived, each of about D.
500 tons to load sugar and molasses.
They make but one grade of sugar so
that there is a great deal of mOlasses
made. These steamers bring down
barrels which are filed with molasses
and shipped to New York. What Is not
thought worth shipping is made into
rum or is drained off into the sea.
THE sugar is put up in 300 pound
sacks like coffee sacks and are not
/
changed soon.
There is plenty of land available to
| make Mr.. LOwrie's plantation and size
| almost what he chooses to develop it TO-
a $4,000 ton plantation or bigger. There
| is in various parts of the island sugar
| lands enough to raise an annual cror
of 10000 tons or perhaps more. There
| is good deal of developing going on
1t seems now to be largely in the direc-
| ton of improved mills.
! But the great element in the situa-
| ton there that cannot be overlooked, is
| labor. Development cannot go very
| tar ahead of the labor, and as la
! Dor conditions are there now too rapid
! development cannot be expected. You
! can't reconstruct the people who must
| furnish the laborers all at once, The
| Porto RiCans haven't as many wants
| as other people, and therefore do not
| feel the need of laboring as regularly
nor are they as efficient man for man
as others, though in this respect, thinl
| there is likely to be as much improve
| ment as in any other.
| While | think there is going to bt
| great development of sugar in Porto
| Rico and while there are great oppor
| tunities there, l do not believe tina
Porto Rico will ever be a formidable
! competitor of Hawaii, at least for {
great many years.
Porto Rico is a beautiful country anC
| with climate not unlike ours, though
considerably warmer. They have tn
northeast trade winds, and it IS Away
cool and pleasant at night. 1t range,
from 80 to 90 every day l was there
think. The Lowrie's live in noun
tain, several hundred feet above Sc;
leel and like the country very much.
The government of Porto Rico /
| n Il tod IN -
consists of "A Governor Mr.. Hunt
Minister of the Interior, Gen. Elliott
superintendent of Public Works, a
Suerle, and Treasurer appointed b.
the President. These together with
| legislature composed of an upper hous
appointed by the president and q lowe
house elected by the people under
qualified franchise, comprise the gov
eminent for the whole island. 1t /
highly centralized. But some of tn
things il has done are shown by. tn
fact that under the last year of SPANS
rule, there were no schools but paro
Chial pay schools and these cOntaine
%, 265 pupils while last year under Anne
rican rule there We're over 900 fire
schools with 50,704 pupils. Most of tn
teachers are American with Spanis
speaking assistants. Instruction is i
English and Spanish. The younger pu
pills learn to speak English quite readil
but after children get fourteen or fiftee
years old they do not learn il readily
Spain in 400 years built 2S4 miles {
road while Uncle Sam in four years ha
built 140 mikes. The great mil tary roa
is a magnificent one, as smooth as
sidewalk, and kept in excellent repai
Under Spain, Porto Rico paid 81, OOO, OF
5 a year for the maintenance of the mill
tary establishment, and out of this thi
: military road was maintained
From what | saw l think it will b
. a long time before the methods of cult
Walton employed in Hawaii will b
1 practised in Porto Rico if they ever ar
if conditions will permit them to b.
But at the same time there will b
much Improvement in sugar productio
there"