The Hawaiian gazette., 1904-07-01
TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT.

grafton to the Hawaiian Islands and
in favor of reliance upon tourists, the
Kona District may be cited. In that
district, which is not alone, 1t is GER
tain that the soil and the climate are
admirably fitted for small farms and
for the comfortable support of a large
population The experiment there has
been fully tried, and, even under ad-
verse conditions its manifest success
has demonstrated the proposition.
The village or town of Kailua sleeps
by the margin of the ocean. Its long,
struggling thoroughfare, and the
vacant spaces by the side of and in
the rear of the houses, are chiefly oc-
cupied by donkeys, sometimes called
Kailua nightingales, who have vital
ity enough to bray their steady dis
content with present conditions. En-
ergetic and ambitious American citi-
zens, embracing a few contributions
from the mainland and some educated
and restless natives, chafe under the
torpidity of business and the dull mon
otony of killing time and soliciting ac-
tivity There is no hotel, not even a
stage line, and the listless apathy is
nourished by the music of the waves
and of the breeze, and only varied by
fishing canoes in the ripping water,
and by the occasional and brief inroad
of wagons and buggies, when the local
steamer arrives or departs.
Kailua should be and ultimately will
be a centre of enterprise and prosper
ity. 1t already has been a scene OF
life and the absence of some essential
conditions, perhaps the application OF
political opium, has induced temporary
stupefaction. A drive through the sur
rounding country, towards the higher
ridges, even to a casual observer, soon
explains the apparent enigma. On all
hands, in the rocky lava formation,
crumbling into fertile SOIL the lantana
nourishes. AS cleared spaces are near
ed and cottages and scattered resi-
dences begin to meet the eye, the pos
sibilities of Kona are revealed. Small
coffee farms, chiefly leased and occu-
pied by Japanese and Portuguese, and
cultivated in the most primitive meth
DDS. line the upper road. Banana and
papaia trees, loaded with fruit, are
frequent. There are a few vineyards
or rather patches used for the cultiVa-
ton of the grape, the healthy appear
are nearly as well adapted to this
lucrative industry as the banks of the
Rhine or the picturesque vine-produc-
ing regions of France, Italy, SPAIN
Portugal and California. The kona
Sugar Company's lands, in their viz
tual abandonment, invite the substitu-
ton of capital, labor and thrift for llti-
CATION and controversy. An expert
mental sisal plantation, fairly started,
Is another evidence of productive cap
acity Jacob l.. Coerper, on his place,
has shown that the moist soil and the
temperate climate are suited TO the
growth of the apple and other northern
fruits.
Everywhere rocks are abundant, but
the soil is luxurious. The clearing Ia
bor has been and can be utilized IN
the construction of stone fences, I'M
nervous alike to weather anu to the
abrasions of time. On the American
continent or in Europe in correspond
ing localities, fine residences, as SOLID
and durable as feudal castles, have
been erected, principally out of the
materials lying on the ground. The
oldest church in the territory is at Kali
"a,
unpretentious but commodious school,
houses, in which the general thirst Tor
education is assuaged. on the noun
tain slope. a consecrated woman mas
established and maintains an excel
lent home for orphans. Civilization Is
not merely beginning, but Is cohsla-
erably advanced, through the energy
of a very limited number of individuals
in some degree backed by the govern
ment. Roads have been built and are
being improved. High up on the sleepy
range an engine on short narrow
gauge railroad once in n while snorts
a demand for Industrial revolution.
With all these proofs of adaptability'
with all these opportunities for growth,
what is it that lsolates the kona Dis
trict and holds it back? The answer
is apparent to those who study the
situation. 1t needs a change and an
increase Of inhabitants of the right
sort II is said that the japanese IN
the entire Konn district number tive
thousand. and they are probably the
most conspicuous element In produc'
tlon. American immigration, an In
nux OF men from the mainland, VIII,
have some money genuine energy, ah'
actual experience In the settlement n
new regions which is equally service
able ln backward communities W0uh
exert an immediate and "a magnetic in
nupnpt There rs un more l.r.WN.
eiuspu than tb1 intfllruut American
farmer Hut br WuI wt urIuWTl
setus uu lpas,i land Whom NH alrW
ana Improves upm FORTY w % hHulr