The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-01-17

Oahu Railroad by the statements made
by some Of the attorneys in the Sum
ner case. Why" he said yesterday tc
an Advertiser representative, "some OF
this notorious suit state that Mr. Sum
ner should have received $3.50, 900 for
his interest in the land purchased by
the railroad, and one of the lawyers in
the suit says that he secured for sum-
ner $4,000 more than would have been
received had he not taken the case up.
do not want to be mixed up in the
| affair, but so many untruthfuI ref1ec-
tions have been cast upon the Oahu
| Railway and Land Company, or those
who negotiated the business in ques-
ton, that it is only common justice to
them that the public should know the
facts.
LAS to the contract under which the
land in question was purchased by the
railroad, it was entered into under the
following circumstances:
MR.. SUMMERS OFFER.
I'm 1896 Mr.. Sumner, unsolicited by
me, offered to lease me an undivided
half interest in the land lying west of
the harbor and makai of the railroad
wharves, most of it being a mud-fat,
covered at high water.
1.-The government claimed that he
owned only a fishing right, while he
claimed to own it in fee. 1t was yield
ing an income of less than $4,000 year.
I asked him how much rent he wanted,
and he said $500 a year.
"As the property could not be made
productive without expensive filling
and improvements, which could not be
safely done until the cloud on the title
was removed, thought this was too
much, but he would not take less, and
We finally agreed on that rent for a
99-year lease, he giving Mr.. Mark Rob-
any time for 100000, he reserving for
% years the little island in the hasbor
known as Summers Island" and four
acres adjoining it. The 99-year lease
and option to buy We're later assigned
to the railroad company.
TITLE WAS CLOUDY.
81 was advised by several of the lead
ing lawyers in Honolulu that the gov
eminent claim was good, but others
thought differently. I knew that the
chances were that might lose by the
transaction, but as at that time the
railroad slips had not been made, and
both the railroad and the government
were badly in need of wharf room,
thought I could probably make some
with the government in
the course of a year or so, and get a
little more wharf room for the rail-
road.
Instead of a speedy compromise, !
however, the negotiations with the /
government came to nothing and for
seven years We have been paying Mr.. !
Sumner $500 year in gold coin as !
rent, besides paying the taxes, amount /
ing in all to $43, 900, and all we have !
gotten out of the land during that en-
tire time was SO, 500, leaving US a net
oss of $50, 500.
THE DOWSETT COMPLICATION.
After annexation suits were brought
20 test the title, all of the expenses of
If which were borne by the railroad,
and I opened up negotiations for COM
promise, direct with the Federal gov
Meanwhile, ]. I. Dowsett,
who owned the other undivided half
interest, died, leaving a large number
II children, several of them minors In
rider to handle the matter it was nee
.ssary to untangle this complication,
which, after much time and work,
succeeded in doing, by getting the
state transferred into a corporation,
10 that the interest of the the minors
Gould be dealt with. This involved an
additional expenditure on my part Of
some 100000.
During over a year I negotiated
With the Washington authorities, going
here several times at my own expense,
'aying several lawyers to present the
natter, and finally, in August last,
concluded a compromise with the gov
eminent by which it received title to
,our-fifths of the land, while the Dow
'ett and Sumner interests together re-
,eived but one-fifth. AS a result,
therefore,, of all this risk, time, work,
md expense, the railroad had the right
20 buy only one-tenth of the original
and claim, but upon condition that it