The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-08-23
SHOULD Be
OPT|M|STS
Cheerful Talk Needed
To Help the
Town.

Editor Advertiser: Please pardon q
stranger for presuning TO offer advice
to community. but the question that
| seems to be of the most moment to the
people of Honolulu at the present time
is. how are we 70 increase the popuia-
ton and business of the Islands? So
far there seems TO be no answer offered
Now | do not wish to butt in, and II
| these few suggestions are of no value,
| they at least will do no harm:
/ | note in the SUNDAY Advertiser lit
tie sum in arithmetic from the Bystand-
er, IF we let 100 Portuguese families
! leave, who are worth $500 per month
to the merchants, and pay $1,000 per
month to get tourists who will in turn
spend $1,000 per month in town, how far
will the difference between the $500
per month we have lost and the $1,000
per month we have Melted from the tour
lists, 90 toward restoring prosperity"
It does not require the gift OF second
sight to see that the ultimate result of
such conditions would be bankruptcy,
but is there not way to overcome this
condition? As an illustration. ii there
was stream of water to cross, and it
was too deep TO be forded, would you
sit down and lament or would you rather
seek some other method of getting
across? [ think you would Now the
present situation is like crossing a deep
stream, inasnuch as you cannot ford it
as it stands. and the only way that l,
Can outsider), can see is to correct some
of the causes that are responsible for
the present conditions. From my point
of view Icontend that the people of Ho-
nolulu, and most particularly the bust
ness men. are to blame largely for pres
ent conditions, for this reason: 1t is
well known fact that no one will invest
money in what promises to be losing
venture, and that is where the business
men are to blame, for there is nothing
heard in town regarding business but
hard luck stories When a stranger
comes to Honolulu and asks about how
Hard times" ] myself heard that cry
on the steamer on my way down here,
and have heard nothing else since / have
been in the Islands. Not a single mer-
chant that I have talked to but says
the same. Now is that way to stimu-
late business? Is it not fact that when
one hears nothing but depression he
soon begins to feel it too? Does it stand
to reason, if an intending settler comes
here and everyone tells him that the
country is going to the dogs and that !
there IS no money, or a chance to make (
interest on an investment. that he will
invest good money to lose it?
The mistake to nv mind is here If I
the merchants and all other business men
would get together. and have an under T
that they would stop this hard /
times cry entirely, keep a cheerful face, I
and answer everybody's question that T
times are all right and getting better all
the time, there would soon be better
feeling. The home people would cheer
up and the intending settler would feel 1
more like investing. The reason that so
many of the young men are leaving here /
is because from constantly hearing of /
nothing but woe and poverty they nat
urally seek to go where times are bet /
ter. 1t is natural if you are happy and
cheerful your company is sought, but if
you are peevish and cross all the time you
are summed by all, for everybody seeks