The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-12-25
T0URIsTs INVITED.
Comm1ittee FornasA in Honolufa -
Encourage Visitors to the Ss'-55 sssi
Hawaiian Islands. .Ss.s

-sgzzsssS
Hawaii wants tourists and small
farmers, and is beginning an active.
campaign to get them. For a long time
citizens of the island territory have been
casting envious eyes at Los Angeles,
with her tens of thousands of visitors
every season, and at other attractive re-.
sorts where the travelling, vacation
taking American goes and spends his
money, and citizens of Honolulu have
now formed tourist committee which
proposes to thoroughly advertise the
attractions of the islands, says the
Washington Star.
The, enterprise is largely the result
of the fearful depression through which
Hawaii has passed and is still passing.
When annexation was complete and
Uncle Sam began to take million dol
lars year from the islands in customs
duties, and at the same time the price
of sugar went down, Hawaii felt a
Tightening of purse strings and general
drop in values and in business activity
which would have been too much for
community less self-confident. The
lesson taught was that the islands must
cease to depend on a single industry,
and must supplement sugar with other
products. Hence the starting of cam
paign for tourists and for small farm
ers.
The tourists committee has organ
lied and opened splendid headquarters
n HNn011,1,1 r1yha oil Of nc
are displayed and where visitors are
entertained and given information Of
all sorts. The committee is now pre-
pairing literature with which it pro-
poses to supply hotels and trains all
over the United States. It will also adj
vertise in the magazines, and from now
! on every American may expect to see
showed in front of him at all times no
tfces calling his attention to the fact
that the Hawaiian islands are still in
business, with the most equable climate
in the world, first-class hotels, wonder
full tropical scenery, volcano which
has been accommodatingly spectacular
and harmless for so long that the mind
of man runneth not to the contrary, and
| all sorts Of historic and other attrac-
| lions:
The small farmer business is sub
| ject Of much discussion and no little
sarcasm. There are those who declare
that there is nothing that small farm
er can raise in Hawaii with profit. The
interisland steamer rates are so high
that the California produce shuts out
| vegetables raised in the islands from
the Honolulu market unless the stuff is
raised on the island of Oahu, where
some earnest efforts are being made.
On the other hand, it is claimed that
! Hawaii ought to take the American
market away from the Bluef1elds ba-
mana, for bananas grow with extraor-
binary rapidity all over Hawaii. Pine
apples also flourish and it is contended
that Hawaii should supply a large part
of the american market. Experiments
are being made in a scientific way with
tobacco, sisal production has already
become successful, though it has the
drawback of being crop for which the
! producer must wait seven years, and a
lot of other tropical products are re-
ceiving attention. The latest plan is
to start a plantation of rubber trees.
The land question is in the way of
the American farmer who wants to set
tie in Hawaii, however. The islands
are ready for the tourist, but the farmer
cannot come in very large numbers
until there is, more land available.
There are, however, number Of tracts
of extensive area which the govern
ment wants to open up. But it would
be folly to attempt settling some of
them until there are improved roads
and methods of transportation. At a
great many points around the islands
the landings at which island steamers
come and go are owned by the planta-
lions for and by which they were made,
and the overland roads to an open port
are far from good. It is for remedying
some OF these matters that Hawaii is
floating a loan OF about $2,25O,OOO.