The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-06-24

To the query What are the possibili-
/. ties of trade between Seattle and the
Hawaiian Islands, I would answer,
They are good under certain condi-
tons"
Foremost of these conditions would
be the establishment of a sugar re-
finery here and second would be close
attention upon the part of the COM
mercial interests of Seattle to supply
ing the needs of the Hawaiian trade.
Excepting for about two years in 1900
1-2 when the Globe Navigation Com
pany sent some of its freighters to the
Islands about once a month, there has
never been a regular line of steamers
plying between Puget Sound ports and
the Islands and an endeaYor to estab-
lish trade without regular sailings is,
| under the circumstances, impossible.
The irnportations of Hawaii from the
mainland amount, in round figures, to
more than $24, 900 100000 annually. Prac-
ticaIly all this trade goes to San Fran
CISCO Why? Because San Francisco
has two lines of steamers with regular
sailings plying to and from the Islands.
The Oceanic Steamship Company (the
| Spreckels line) has three through
steamers on the Australian run making
| sailings every twenty-one days. These
steamers sail under the American flag
and make Honolulu a regular port of
call. Besides these three through
steamers this line runs one steamer,
the Alameda, regularly, between San
Francisco and Honolulu, making round
trips every twenty-one days, so that
this line alone averages three steam
ers a month each way between San
Francisco and the chief port of the Is
lands.
The Pacific Mail line has a fleet of
three steamers on it's regular run which
is soon to be increased to five, so that
the sailings of the Pacific Mail Com
pany will soon be about three every
two months. These are steamers which
ply under the American flag and there
fore can carry products to and from
the Islands. There are two other lines,
the O. & o. and the Togo Kisen kaisha
with three steamers each on the run be-
tween San Francisco and Hong Kong.
which can carry mail to and from the
Islands.
Besides these lines, which stop regu-
larly at Honolulu, the Matson line,
which runs very fine fleet of sailing
vessels between San Francisco and
f1lIO, on the lSldIiu VI nav lls 4lc1o JIG
steamer, the Enterprise, on the Hilo
run which makes round trips to San
Francisco every thirty days. The sail
ing vessels of the Matson line are fitted
UP to carry a small number of pas
sengers and as they furnish first class
accommodations are we'll patroniZed.
Residents of the islands wishing to
come to Seattle must either come by
way of San Francisco or by way of
Victoria on a British vessel thus hav-
ing to undergo the trouble of custom
house inspection of baggage if they
take the British line. With a regular
line of passenger carrying steamers
plying between this city and the Is
lands there is no doubt that much OF
the passenger traffic would be diverted
to Seattle. Many of the residents OF
the Islands would like to visit the
Sound country for their summer vaca-
tions if there were direct line OF
steamers flying the American flag ply
ing between the two ports, but as 1t IS
they are diverted to other places, more
convenient of access.
AS stated, the foremost element nee
essary for the establishment of closer
trade relations would be the establish
ment of a sugar refinery. Sugar is the
principal product of the Hawaiian Is
lands; in fact it might almost be said
that sugar is the only product as the
expectation of other products is only
Just beginning to make any showing
Last year the Islands produced slightly
in excess of 1000 tons of raw sugar
This years crop it is estimated Will
slightly exceed $4,000 tons. There are
no refineries in the Islands so that
every pound of this enormous crop must
be carried 20 the reffneries on the main
land. San Francisco for years has been
the recipient of a large share of this
sugar While the rest has been sent
around the Horn to the refneries at
Philadelphia and Brooklyn
Since the abolition of the sugar boun-
ties by the nations of Europe in 1901,
sugar has been low in price and as a
consequence, coupled with the unset
tied la Dor conditions in the Islands
since 1900. the planters have not been
making money, but for years the su-
gar industry of Hawaii was exceedingly
profitable, so profitable that every other
industry was permitted to drop, so that
the islands. when they were annexed,
produced not ten per cent OF the prod
ucts they consumed. aside from taro
the natives.
Half a century ago the Islands ship
ped corn. potatoes and wheat and some
other products to the markets of Cali
fornia when people were so intent on
gold hunting that everything else was
neglected Hawaii can produce eX-
cellent oranges and lemons and yet
practically all she uses are shipped
from California now. The islands can
produce good potatoes and many other
garden products yet every steamer
from San Francisco carries great pack
ages of all kinds of garden truck. Less
than % per cent of the butter con-
stunned is produced in the Islands and
not 40 per cent OF the beef and NUT
ton
The low price of sugar the past three |
years has in one way proved a blessing |