Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1906-09-01

i1ld-OWnlng farmers, together WIN
the mechanic and mercantile Commu
nifty that such population wOuli
maintain.
Even II the first immigrants are sat.
isfled with homestead and a garden
patch and steady employment In tho
cane fields. their descendants, under
Abe influence Of American institutions,
will not he satisfied to accept the per
mancnt status of field hands. This
has already been demonstrated by m
earlier experiment.
.
II Il Caucasian people can he found
with the humility Of ambition that vii,
permit them and their descendants to
remain satisfied with the permanent
status Of field hands. they will prove
sorry stun out OF which to build up
sclf-govcrning American common"
wealth. As Hawaii is and must re-
main propondcratingly agricultural.
the only direction for the ambition OF
most Of the white population will lie
In securing the land to enable them to
become independent farmers. II they
can not secure this steady outflow
toward the mainland of the United
States will draw away from the Terri
tory the best material for its citizen
shin. A population clamoring for
land is the last thing the plantation
Interests could desire.
There could be no permanent poaCo
in the affairs of the Territory so ong
as few individuals held immense
tracts of arabic land under cane cult
walton. while at the same time ambi-
tiOUs and desirable citizens were stead
lily leaving the Territory to seek open.
ings elsewhere; such loss to the
Territorial population must inevitably
lead TO political agitation looking to
the breaking up OF the large planta.
ions. The planters naturally have
no desire to see such q condition
brought about. and II would be only
natural for them to grow lukewarm
in their financial support of an immi.
grafton board the efforts of which, ii
successful must inevitably lead Ia
such a situation.
Much of the present sugar land Of
Hawaii was made productive at cnor-
nous expense and great risk by those
who undertook the development.
The planters therefore naturally re.
sent any proposition that looks to the
breaking up of the plantations that
they have thus developed.
=
Il Is unqucstionablc that under the
: 'oscnt system Of cane raising white
= will not work In the cane fields
u. Hawaii. but the reasons for this
are social and psychological as much
os they are physical.
The experiment was tried several
years ago on the Eva plantation of
farmers from California and
giving them holdings on that planta.
ton. The experiment proved fail
urc, and Is cited everywhere by the
Planters today as a proof of the utter
Iutility of any hope that any consider.
able white laboring or white farming
population could be built up in the
Territory of Hawaii. The only thing
hat the experiment did prove was
that white men can not fl into tho |
present plantation regime. II II Is Sc.
Iiously maintained that this expert. |
men Is conclusive. not only as con. |
terms the problem of stable labor |
supply for the planters, but also ms 10
he further problem of building up a |
sclf-reliant population of independent !
1t can only be said that never !
before has a large and vital problem
IN state building been dismissed as
settled by so trivial an experiment. |
That such evidence should he cited |
rs conclusive Is still more surprising !
when II Is recalled that there are now |
men in Hawaii who saw the pioneer
days of California and the great West,
and who know, therefore, what Is pos
sibie for a determined people. I