The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-02-27
PROSPERITY
BAROME
Joe Marsden Talks of
the Conditions
Here.

Sugar is the barometer Of the pros
perity of Hawaii and when sugar is
up business here is good" said Mr..
Joseph Marsden yesterday at the Pa
ci1c Club. Mr.. Marsden is one of the
old kamaainas. He came here in
1869 and was one of the annexation
commissioners to Washington. Six
years ago he left the Islands for good,
although he still retains large inter
ests here, and made a visit to Honolu-
III four years ago. After a visit OF
about a month Mr.. Marsden will re-
turn on the Siberia March 9Th TO ibis
home in San Francisco.
There have been some changes since
I was last here" continued Mr.. Mars
den. There are many new buildings
and also many vacant stores. Homo
lulu has been oyerbullt You tried to
go ahead in too big hurry. If sugar
goes up Honolulu will catch up again,
business will be good and your vacant
store rooms will be filled.
1.-THE sugar industry is the main
stay of the Islands. Without sugar
no ships would come and go from this
port. There would be no business
Sisal is picking up some. I brought
the first sisal here myself some years
ago. Coffee prices are down and labor
is difficult to obtain for the coffee plan
tations and while pineapples are doing
very well they will never take the place
of the sugar industry. Sugar is a
staple article and always in demand.
81 believe that we can look for an in
crease in sugar prices by the close of
this year or the early part of next. 1t
may not be large, but every little
counts. There are always bright
prospects for sugar provided Hawaii
has no difficulty with her labor. Sugar
can only be a success with cheap labor
and the white man cannot work in the
fields. Even if he would, he could
not earn enough. to pay his board.
Only with cheap labor can the industry
be made profitable, and even now the
planters are compelled to pay more
than they should. That is one trouble
with coffee. In Brazil it is raised with
cheap labor and can be put on the
market a. a profit at the prices now
prevailing. There is considerable diff
ference between five and ten cents a
day, and eighteen dollars per month
as the planters here are required to
pay their labor. In Mexico the poems
work for twelve and a half cents a
day. In Japan and China laborers
work in the tea plantations for four
and five cents a day. Tea can be.
, raised in many parts of the United
States, but it wouldn't pay with the
wages which must be paid to labor.
There is no reason why the nnechan-
les should be antagonistic to the plan
tation interests in Hawaii. When
sugar IS high and times are good there
is always work for the mechanic and
business for the merchants. And
when sugar is low money is scarce and
the people are not spending any. They
have their sugar stocks but as long
as no dividends are being paid they
can't spend it.
II believe that there will be better
sugar prices before the end of the
year. Everything points that way.
Look at wheat. It is now quoted at
S1.09 per bushel, which is bound to have
its effect on sugar. With wheat at
that figure the beet sugar growers in
Europe are going to plant less area
in beets this season and put in more
wheat. With a smaller production
prices are bound to go up. Hawaii is
a sugar country. The soil here is es-
pecially adapted for growing cane and
Il will never pay to try anything else
while the conditions are so favorable
for sugar. And sugar will pay bet
ter than anything else as long as labor
conditions are right"