The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-11-10
PLANTER AND Farmer.

|. There is an element aiming Inc pAe1iA
| tiers opposed to small farming on tn
grounds ID that the land required TO
such purposes may be needed later OF
for sugar; ~ that the labor require
ments of the small farm may draw I'M
duly upon the labor supply of the sugar
estates
/ We are reminded Of the existence
and active hostility of this class by
the receipt of the following sub-acit
letter from Mr.. C. B. Wells of the Wal
| Iuku Sugar Company:
| Office of the WaiIuku Sugar Company
| Wailuku, Maui, II. r., Nov. 4, 1904.
| Editor Advertiser:-I have read in
| your paper of the End inst. Mr.. Frank
/ Atherton's letter on Kula farming and
| he is to be commended for the fair
statements he has made. 1t is well
known fact that farming in Kula dis
trict has been a failure and that as a
| whole Kula is practically busted"
community through failure Of crops.
In your editorial you imply that the
small farmer has not inteliigently till
ed the soil I have been interested in
seeing corn raised in this country for
stock purposeS-have made several
trips to Kula and have been surprised
to see the amount of cultivation the
tiIler of the soil had put on his corn.
field-being better cared for than many
farms you will see in the States. The
farmers of Kula have had a hard row
to hoe--they have worked hard, have
shown a remarka bic degree of patience,
living on the hope that next year
would pan out better-the result has
been failure.
If Japanese or Portuguese who can
subsist on nothing but rice and boiled
cabbage, at a low cost of living per
month, and be content to live in an
eight by ten shack with a family can
not get enough out of the soil to make
living, how, in the name of common
sense, do you expect the white farmer
to make a go"
In your editorial you cite Southern
California as a rich agricultural do
main. Yes, on paper, but in reality the
majority have to scratch to make a
living. I have a fruit ranch in South
ern California which has cost me many |
thousands Of dollars-it is so profitable |
that I am. quite willing to sell out at
ment.
I have visited the above section of |
country every year for the past twelve |
years; during those visits have found |
that the small farmer with but few ex-t
ceptions, has barely made a living. |
They all pin their faith on the one |
hope that the Eastern sucker will come /
along and buy.
T1- sx,1- e,t
in saying that the majority of your
readers who have lived in the country
for years, think you are wasting valu-j
able space. in your paper and doing
wrong, by your continual blowing of |
hot air to encourage the small farmer
fsucker) to come here with the idea
that he is going to make money.
IL you are sincere in your belief that
small farming Will pay why not, in
stead of wasting printers ink, come up
to Maui and start in farming, taking
as a partner the Editor of the Maui
News, and give a practical demonstra-
ton that there are millions in it. To
encourage the enterprise I will contrib
ute one hundred dollars for your tools
and overalls-no doubt some other
resident of Maui, for the good of the
cause, would chip in pair of mules
there would be no trouble in getting
a twenty acre lot for your experiment.
gratis. I presume there are many of
your readers who would gladly sign
a subscription list to keep you in rice,
hard tack and tobacco, while you are
raising your crop, SO that you could |
run your farm on no capital-alI that
you and your brother editor would
have to furnish would be the sweat OF
your brow.
What small farmer ever started with |
better proposition!
Come up and demonstrate what you
preach and you will have the applause |
and everlasting gratitude of all good |
citizens of this country.
Yours truly,
C. B. WELLS.
Mr. Wells conveys the impression
that the way to inteIligently till the soil
is to keep cuTtivating it and this, he
says, the Kula farmer has done Now
cultivation is all very well in lis way
but it will not bring good crops from
soil which has been overworked and
not inteliigently fertilized. If Mr.
Wells raised cane as he thinks pota-
toes and corn should be raised he
would soon be in hole. People tried
it in the early days and got left; final
ly their successors came along with
science as well as capital and industry
and cane became the great staple of
the islands and a wonderful wealth
producer. All we ask for small farm
ing is a part Of the intelligence which
has been given to large farming; and
in that event we shall look for as good
results here as obtain in many other
parts of the tropical world.
For example when the land of Kula
farmer gets sour. what does he do?
C1Jlfivata ito AnytJfner aIca2 Doa. I, =