The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-02-20
SETTLERS
INVITE
SETTLERS
A Great Truth in
Developing a
Country.

for a man who wants to engage in
horticulture on the scale that man
of moderate means does on the main
land of the United States" said j. w.
| White of the State of Washington, to
an Advertiser man yesterday. Mr..
White reached this city on the steamer
Miowera, from Victoria, having coIue
all that way to see for himself, and
since then base been looking over the
situation in the immediate vicinity CT
Honolulu, with some favor SO far as
his own impressions of the dormant
possibilities of the country are con-
| cerned, but with not a great lot OF
encouragement from some persons who
seem to have qualified themselves for
admission into the ancient ami not
honorable confraternity of knockers"
Luckily. in this cage, they had to Go
with a man of more than ordinary in
| teIIigence, and of more than ordinary
perseverance,, too, as is shown in MS
having cone so far to see for hlTnsef
Mr. White has recognized that there
are malcontents here, as elsewhere, era
has further recognized that 1T Is not
malcontents who build up a country
II am a subscriber to tire Chicago
Inter-Ocean," the gentleman went on,
and some time ago / read an article n
that paper, written from Honolulu,
which awakened my interest in the
country, and in its possibilities for the
growing of certain kinds of fruit that
cannot be so successfully raised else
where, if a man could get hold or lana
on which to grow them in any feasible
f,, he hl1c
of horticulture-well long enough TO
know something about it, I have made
a study of it, in Washington, and have
made a success Still, 1 would better
myself if L could.
Let me say. at the start, that 1 do
not altogether like the lease system.
A man likes to feel that he owns his
own land. And / am told here that
fruits do not do as well as they should,
nor as well as they have done in the
past. There must be a reason for that.
The soil is here, and the climate. The
country has not gone backward in
either of these things. And yet the
Chinese vegetable gardens, say, do
not seem to be as flourishing as they
are in the neighborhood of Seattle.
am told, moreover, that the taro does
not root as large here as it used to.
ANOmS a pant DC5AAA W ASNAA -
given locality, the man who knows
his business begins to look for the dis
ease. some insect pest, generally. that
is troubling that particular plant. Your
Chinese gardener does not, because he
does not understand such things, but
my experience has been that plants do
we'll when freed of their insect enemies,
and 1 have spent lot of time and
thought at home combating these
pests. The result has been that have
made something of a success at fruit
4 aising.
IF there is trouble here, the thing to
do is to find out what it is and fight
it inteIligently. Then, with a market
for your produce, there is no reason
why a small farmer and horticulturist
should not do we'll here. 1 have only
made a study of a small part of the
Island of Oahu, as yet. 1t had been my
intention, originally, to go to Hawaii.
but 1 think 1 shall stay on this Island
for a time-at least until 1 get an
understanding of conditions as to land
and as to horticultural possibilities. 1t
seems to me that one of the needs is
for a fleet of small and fast steamers
to the Sound ports. The next most
important thing, after it has been
demonstrated that small farming can
be successfully carried on here, is to
secure your market. Now bananas are
worth from $3.50 to $3.50 a bunch in
Seattle. They are shipped in there by
train from San Francisco, and come.
for the most part, from Central Amer
lea. This trade could all be won by
a superior article from the Islands. if
they had some small and fast boats
to carry the fruit to the northern mar
ket. The market is there, waiting
Cocoanuts are quoted in Seattle at IS
cents per dozen, jobbers price. and they
also come by rail from San Francisco.
All this trade could be done with the
Islands direct, and there are other
markets that your steamer connections
would give. You could get the Sound
produce in return, and get it cheaper
than you get it now. Evey producer
is also consumer, you know
II shall look into the possibilities of
the country in the way of profitable
production of many things that can be
grown in the tropics. and will look
especially into the matter of securing
land for small farming. If home-seek-
ers are to come here they must be able
to find homes"
In that last sentence Mr.. White has
stated the whole position. The land is
here for home-seekers. When a man
has come as far as he has come, there
must be intelligent direction in the
matter of pointing out where the land
is to be found. Vague and glittering
generalities will not do for the actual
settler He knows what he wants. and
he comes to seek it If we have the
thing sought. it must be the business
Of somebody TO point it out, and not of
everybody-for that is nobody And
where one man finds a home. others
will follow. They must. In the matter
of settlement of region. nothing draws
settlers so fast as settlers