The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-09-08

bullcarts slowly dragged small loads
of cane over the stubble fields to pic
turesque old muscovado mills, narrow
gauge cane-railroads have been put in,
and American locomotives haul trains
of ten-ton cars all day and night to
feed the ravenous centraIes. Count
ing section of the old French rail-
road, now controlled by an American
company, sixty miles of track on the
south coast are now in use for the
transportation of cane.
What seems promising in all this,
as well as in the other great agricul-
tural enterprises, back of the visible
material progress achieved, is the CO.
operation in business of Porto Ricans
with Americans. In banking ship
ping, and in several recently organized
companies to carry on local enterprises,
, the same truth is noticeable. This
at least seems plain; whatever they
may think of US in other respects, the
Porto Rican who wants to make mon
ely sees that his interests are bound
up with the American. The Porto
, Rican acknowledges, at least by deed,
that he is behind the times. When he
does that, his state of mind is en-
, lightened; when he goes ahead, and,
instead of blocking progress, helps to
! introduce and welcomes the new meth
DDS, he is Enthusiastically exhibiting
American traits.
Go up in the tobacco district of Cay
! ey. The transformation there is even
! more complete than in the sugar dis
trict. Valleys. hills, and mountains
are planted almost continuously with
tobacco. The regularly marked culti-
walton seems to be spreading with the
| rapidity of some great plague of nature
into districts where it was never known
| before. Near Caguas the Porto Ri
can-American Tobacco Company has
erected a large new factory, in addition
to the building already occupied by it
in San Juan. Before the American
occupation, and within the last three
years, most Porto Rican export to-
baeco was sent to Cuba for manufac-
ture. The reason for this was two
fold: lack of manufacturing facilities
on the island, and the very small pro-
portion of native product suitable for
wrappers. Many a cigar with Por-
to Rican filler has been sold in the
States wrapped in fine Cuban leaf, as
a Cuban product. The establishment
of new factories, which give employ
ment to all the cigar makers on the
island, has obviated one defect. The
wrappers are also coming along. A
few miles out of Cayey two hundred
acres of tobacco are being grown under
cheese cloth, a process which gives a
teaf of the finest texture.
It is reassuring to know that the ira
Pressions gained from appearances OF
the tobacco district are more than con-
firmed by facts from the office of the
Commissioner of the Interior. The
crop for the present year. in the neigh
borhood of 100000 pounds, is the most
valsable ever produced ia the history
Of Porto Rice.
COFFEE.
While speaking of the benefit to the
tobacco and sugar Industries OF Porto
Rico. one cannot ignore the coffee sit
uation. If you exploit tobacco anC
sugar to a dissatisfied person an.
: there are such in Porto Rico, plenty o
them-he VIII always come back at yol
with coffee. Prior to the American
occupation, 10000 acres were cultiva
ted for coffee: the present area, ac
cording to the records, is 122, GEO acres
Coffee between 1879 and 1898 was tn,