The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-09-20
DEVELOPING
The TROPICS
Letter From Statistician
Austin to Governor
Carter.

Governor Carter has received the let
ter printed below from MIR. Austin
chief of the Bureau of Statistics. De
partnent Of Commerce and Labor
1t is most interesting communica-
ton. in the first place. from its revela-
ton Of the increasing attention ia the
tropics, together with demand for their
products, now existent in countries in
the temperate zone In the next place.
1t is fiattering to Hawaiian enter
prise that such trained observer as
i Statistician Austin should indicate, for
means of developing The tropical and
/ subtropical belt OF the earth, the
utilization Of modern discovery and in
vention in the very manner that has
| marked the latest progressive steps In
| the chief industry of this Territory,
also TO some extent in public utilities
| conducted by the Government and by
corporations under public franchises.
When. for instance. he talks about the
ability of man now to carry the power
of the waterfalls in the form of cleo
.tricity to the material or to the plan
! tation or the mine and utilize it for
, that as well as transportation, while
! he car also now readily supply power
in another form, viz. that produced by
the use of petroleum." Mr.. Austin is
stating a general principle that has
concrete Illustrations in the lately
started Wainiha electric plant, in the
lighting of Honolulu's streets for many
years past and in the recent adoption
Of petroleum for fuel, both in the Ho-
nolulu pumping stations and the Rapid
Transit Co.'S power house.
Following is Mr.. Austin's letter:
Department of Commerce and Labor.
Bureau of Statistics.
Washington, Sept. 4. 1906.
His Excellency, the Governor of Ha-
wall, Honolulu. Hawaii.
My Dear Sir: 1 acknowledge receipt
of Your letter of August 16, and the
two papers on Tropical Medicine"
which you kindly sent ME, and thank
you for them. / am, as you say, great
~ interested in subjects of this char
acter, and especially in those which re
late to the tropics and their products.
i
man is the development of the tropics.
That section of the world lying be-
tween the both parallel north latitude,
which runs through New Orleans in the
United States, and Cairo, Egypt and
Hongkorg, China, and the 30th parallel
of south latitude, we may, L think,
class as tropical or subtropical; and,
while it contains practically half the
area and half the population of the
world, it at present supplies but about
one-fifth of the merchandise entering
international commerce. although 1t is
naturally the most productive section
of the world.
The temperate zones. now pretty Well
developed, have learned the value OF
the products Of the tropics and are
increasing their demands for them day
by day, as is shown by the fact that
the United States. for example, has IN
creased it's importation of tropical and
subtropicai products from 140 millions
in 1870 to about $40 millions at the
present time. The slow development
of the tropics up to this time has been,
/ think, due to the fact that climatic
conditions were such that the physlcaI
power Of man and beast was 1nsuff1-
cient for the development of agricul-
ture mining, manufacturing and trans
portatfon. But now that man mas
learned to use natural power instead
of the power Of man and beast Tor
this work, the development of the
tropics ought to proceed rapidly.
Unit, recently, man could only utilize
the power of the waterfall by carry
ing to it the material for whose devel-
opInent it could supply the power. NOW,
however, man can carry the power OF
the waterfalls in the form or cleo
tricity to the material or to the plan
tation or the, mine and utlilze 1t LOT
that as well as transportation, While
he can also now readily supply power
in another form, viz, that produced
nv the use of petroleum. 1 have been
quite impressed with the fact that, in
our egn case at least, a large pro
portion of the export trade In Vehicies
propelled by power, whether under the
name of automobile or otherwise, goes
to the tropics, and 1 learn from other
sources that vehicles of this general type
are now being used In tropical coun-
.rtaz for transport a ton of agricultural
nrosucts. minerals, and merchandise OF
various sorts, which suggests that they
are likely to serve the purpose "hich
animal mower serves In the temperate
za,nes but could not satisfactorily sup
ply In the tropics owing to climatic
conditions. simultaneously with these
have come others wnlcn
reduce the discomforts of lie IN the
tropics and also reduce the danger Oh
tronical disease. and in this latter work
Of combating tropical diseases We all
ought to cooperate, and L assure you
that I shall be glad to be Of any pos
sibIe service in this or In other lines
relating to this general subject.
I am not sure whether 1 sent you
conv of nv recent monograph, com
rnercial orient in 1905" In that / give
some little attention to this subject
If the tropics and the peculiarities OF
conditions and markets in the Orientai
countries I have also discussed TINS
subject to some extent in my docu
rrent Colonial Administration" ana !
7 am sending you copies Of each OIL
these. thinking that possibly they may