The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-05-11


Recently Col. George II. Emerson, OF
Hoquianl, wash. returned from Hono-
lulu. In letter coaxed out of him
he pays the following splendid tribute
to that land which lies tranquil, lazy
and beautiful:
One thinks of the Hawaiian Islands
as tropical, and they are, but never
hot, for the trade winds temper the
air to 80 degrees for summer extreme
and 81 degrees is the coolest winter
weather. BY living on the higher
levels of the islands any desired tenn
perature may be haG, even to frosts
in summer.
The mountains are the shape OF an
Indian bow, with its string the water
level and its center nearly fourteen
thousand feet in the air. The noun
taifls, therefore, are not so impressive
as are ours of equal height, and are
often fertile to a ten-thousand-ioot
level.
lido not say this apparently SMOOTH
mountain contour offers no nne scene
rv. for on the windward, or rainy, side
there are canyons and waterfalls the
equal of any, also grand precipices
where LuG 1lOW u tAtC --Nfr- ---~N
the sea. or broken off and fallen into
the depths of the ocean.
The islands are all Of volcanic origin.
and the soil, all decomposed lava, red
and sticky. At all points there are-old
craters. but only Mauna Loa and XII
lauea are still active, and they have
not flowed for years, only boiled and
threatened, and added sensational ana
.-<.rS,,;o afroo< N cli9Iro travellers.
Sugar is the great industry, with
shipments of S25, 600, 900 worth last year.
Next comes coffee with $227.oOe; then
sisal, rice and pineapples, all to the
United states.
All these products compete with the
CHEAP labor of other tropical countries
and all attained their development UNI
der the contract labor system, where
by a plantation imported Japs or Chi
narnen ADEQUATE to their needs. Under
that plan plantations spread over the
islands until there was $121 100000 IN
vested in the stock of these corpora
tions. additional to their bonds. DIV
idends were large, some sugar stocks
paid over 80 per cent per annum II
| is no wonder then, these stocks solo
! at high figures, and the ambition OF
all was to be possessed of so good
| thing.
Annexation doomed all these stocks
| and every clerk, professional man ana
teacher rushed in to buy to the extent
| of his means, and often to the extent
of his credit. When the boom passed
| IL was found Spreckals and a few other
| large operators had unloaded.
Annexation extended to the islands
orr emigration and labor laws. Labor
contracts were void and no more labor
could be brought from China Labor
became scarce and prices advanced
and the agitator made his appearance.
The customs revenues of the islands.
amounting to one and half millions
per year, instead of going to the sup
port of island government and improve
ments. dropped, after annexation, INTO
the treasury of the United States and
high taxes became necessary to main
tain local government.
Annexation also gave to the Kama
| kas a ballot and unqualified natives
soon filled the government offices.
| Then came the development OF the
| beet sugar industry, and last, reciproc-
| ity with Cuba, and at each step sugar
prices declined. Last year sugar STOCK
/ dividends averaged i 1-2 per cent per
/ annum, and many plantations defauit-
/ ed interest on their bonds Sugar stocks
| are now quoted. about 80 cents on the
i dollar, with prospect that the bonds
/ will take many plantations and the
Il stockholders lose all their investments
Il Property values have shrunk nearly
II seyenty-five millions since annexation.
When it is considered the area OF the
islands is one-tfsrd the area of Western
washington; that the population is pus
Il little over one-haf that of western
washington; that the property value
at time of annexation was equal to the
assessed value of Western Washington
as equalized for 1903; that OF the l24,-
900 population of the islands only H.
600 are white. therefore 1900 and theil
friends must stand this loss, 1t IS lttie
wonder they cry hard times and ask
congress for legislation that shall give
them relief. .
.Ours laws fit our climate and people
Int are not elastic enough to fit oul
troa,icaI possessions White men can
not work in the tropics. never have
and never will. Every experiment OF
the islands looking to that end ha:
proved this assertion. There is no hope
: of diversified farming. no possibility o.
dividing these plantations into small
holdings and thus attracting Amer
: Iicans to out-vote the native and restore
good government.
: The remedy. so far as there is one
| hes with congress, and a colonial polio.
to the islands laws, or the privilege o
framing laws. suited to their needs
Our homestead law when applied t
our tirnberiand is not more out of place
and wrong than our labor and enig'a
zion laws when applied to our tropica
islands.
These gems of the sea, past (which al
currents of commerce sweep; this half
| way station to China, Japan, Austria
liza, New Zealand, East India, 18th,
Philippines and Africa, where the ship