The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-10-24
HOMESTEADED LABOR ON
CUBAN SUGAR PLANTATIONS

Mr.. C. Hedemann. manager of the
Honolulu Iron Works company, is in
New York city experimenting the
business of the company at that end of
the line, more particularly in connec-
tion with the assembling of the sugar
mill which the company has the con-
tract for furnishing and erecting near
the Tehauntepec railroad in Mexico and
the new mill which it is supplying to
the Wailuku plantation on Maui.
Mr.. Hedemann has recently visited
Porto Rico and writes interestingly of
what he saw there and of labor and
political conditions in Cuba. He says,
in writing to friend in Honolulu:
VISIT TO w. j. LOWRIE.
During the month of May visited
Porto Rico, and under the guidance
and hospitality of our old friend, Mr..
w, j. Lowrie, / visited number of
the most prominent plantations, trav-
eled across the country over the beau
tiful military road built by the Span
iards and kept in n most excellent
condition, and Travelled fully over three
fourths of the entire shore line of the
island. / found at the Aguirre planta-
tion on the south coast quite a large
and pleasant settlement of Hawaiian
people. whom Mr.. Lowrie has engaged
as engineers. sugar boilers, account
ants, overseers, etc.: besides severa
contracting planters, all formally con-
nected with Hawaiian plantations. Mr.
Lowrie has brought that plantation uI
to a wonderful success by using the
Hawaiian methods, in the field work
as well as in the sugar house, and it Is
considered one of the best, If not the
best. managed plantations in all of the
West Indies. He is having a great bat
tie against the old established Cuban
and Porto Rican planters methods
which these conservative planters dc
not easily give up until they find the
example set by Mr.. Lowrie to be great
ly to their advantage.
The people owning the Aguirre plan
tation, which this year turned out over
20, 600 tons of sugar and have the cane
to be ground next season which VIII
yield over 10000 tons, are now contem-
plating the building of large central
factory, located about fifteen to twenty
miles from the present mill. This CEN
trail factory in the course of a few
years will reach a capacity of from
5000 to 1000 tons of cane per day. The
formation of this country is at pres
ent under consideration by the owners
including Mr.. Lowrie, who holds d
large portion of the stock.
SUGAR OUTLOOK IN PORTO RICO
With the sugar import free from duty
to the United States; with the larg,
poor laboring population in the island
with transportation expenses from the
mill to the market of less than one,
third of what such transportation ex.
penses are to the Hawaiian planters
with a climate and natural condition OF
the land and soil which can hardly be
found more advantageous anywhere foI
cane cultivation, and with a number oi
responsible land owners who are will.
ing and able to cultivate cane on thei,
own large tracts of land and sell 1t L
Aguirre plantation at what we woulC
in Hawaii call low cost, and owning tn
exclusive franchise of railroad trans
portation on both sides of their larg,
estate, one can hardly imagine bette
sugar plantation proposition than 1
now being considered by these people.
THE CUBAN STATUS.
Writing in regard to the status il
Cuba, Mr.. Hedemann says that the po
litical conditions there are extremel.
disturbed. which must necessarily re
act upon business. He states that Go
mez, the Liberal candidate for Presi
dent in opposition to President Palma
the present President of Cuba. openl!
declares that II the Supreme Court o
Cuba decides against the acting Cover
'nor of Sant9 Clara in case now pend