The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-02-20
AN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

AN AGKISULtUNA
IabainalrIna Seminary. it would SEEM
% ,tsa,f keeping an eye on that Federal
Subsidy Of s2500O a year for an agrl-
cultural college in this Territory. This
ras 10 have been expected. as Lahalna-
lima was the institution mentioned IN
government circles when official notice
ers+ came that Hawaii only required
70 have the college to get the money
xrhatbar it is on account of the clouded
titIes of Iahainaluna as to its wafer
rigbts and land tenure or something eiSe'
+ba authorities have not been saying
,,,,cb II anything, of late regarding the
erection of an agricultural college Tor tne
,,ayritory on the ancient foundation at
7o,,aina The matter should. all the
same he kept warm. It viii be no
small addition to the Hawaiian eduea-
tional establishment when that tederai
Subsidy becomes payable, and the meas
,,ra Of the acquisition viii not be so
,nucb the amount of money as the man
ner in which it will be earned.
There is great deal said at nome
.na no small amount of effort being
a,ertea at Washington, for the purpose
of having Federal money appropriated
TO various public needs in this Ierrl-
tory This is all right Yet here we
have money in a permanent l"hu
awaiting our call-that is, just as
soon as the money is made due through
Some little effort which we ourselves
are required to make. 1t is exceedingly
gratifying to learn that the teachihs
staff of I4ahainaluna, and no DOUBT
the students too, are still pursuing the
hone set before then-some years ago
nov-or making their institution the
swimmer of the Federal subsidy for
Territorial agricultural college. They
should not have the hope dashed by
anv sticking at trifies on the part OF
the Government. If the title to the
seminary land is dubious in any re-
snect 80 that it would be unsafe to
the institution until the cloud is remoV-
ed if it can be, then no time ought TO
be lost in having that question settled
forever. Should the test prove un>
favorable for the institution, still La
hafnaluna cannot be abandoned 1t
would be criminal to allow the Oldest
school in the country, just when 1t mas
acquired new life and functions, to De
wiped out. Surely the Government mas
enough suitable land on Maui to fur
nish a new site to the institution
should that become necessary.
Maui ought to have the agricultural
college for different reasons, the first
being that Lahainaluna on that island
was the first candidate. 1t is the MID
die island, taking the general bulk OIL
tbe ero1p. Maui was once and may
still be the premier island in the matter
of diversified agriculture. Oahu has
two institutions now, where agriculture
is a speciality in the training of boys
One of these is a private institution
and richly endowed with resources of
money. and it draws its students from
all the islands. The other is public
institution, but being of the character
of a reformatory it cannot be mention
ed in relation to the class of youths an
agricultural college would invite. All
the same both of the institutions allud-
ed to teach practical agriculture and
both are on this island, and the fac1ll-
ties of agricultural education ought 10
be distributed as widely as possible
over the islands-just as the Hawaiian
Sugar Planters Association has found
it desirable to have branches of It's
Honolulu experiment station started
at different places in the group.
Now that the Legislature is in session
this matter Of an agricultural college,
for which $4,000 of United States
money annually is available, ought not
to be allowed again to slumber.