Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1906-11-15
HATCH TELLS moHoNY


great ingenuity and vast amounts OF
capital have been expended In secnr
ing water for irrigation, without .
which the crop In some districts would |
be impossible, and in many others pre-.
oarious. The irrigation works of the |
Islands are on scale rarely under. |
taken by private interests and are a |
nifty. These works have brought un.
der cultivation large areas which otn-
erwise would have been barren.
Crops have been Increased until the
output now aggregates four hundred
thousand tons per annum. Consider.
ing the paucity of the population, $780,.
600 all told. this achievement has a
record character. Immediately follow.
ing annexation the development of
this industry was undoubtedly too rap
Id. Inspired by the hope Of permanent
prosperity under the new conditions,
and believing that stability in business
as well as in political conditions had
been attained. practically the whole
community invested Its savings In
new sugar plantations. In the capital
much new building was undertaken
and many small enterprises started.
An era Of apparent great prosperity
followed. While the development was
in progress. employment In all lines
was readily obtained. Wages were
high and mechanics nocked into the
. Territory. When the new works un.
dertaken were completed many work.
men were thrown out Of employment
and large numbers returned to the
mainland. The wave of prosperity re.
ceded: conditions assumed a normal
basis. The difficulty at that time was
TO determine what was a normal ba.
, sis. These sharp fluctuations were
2 successfully met by the business com.
, munity. Though hard pressed for q
time. no financial crash followed. The
r excess Of energy displayed In develop
I ing new enterprises was followed by
: steady. persistent application and
!. great consistency Of purpose In the de.
termination to carry through the new
undertakings, and to bring them to a
successful issue. The danger of de.
pending. however. solely on one crop
was emphasized. At very early pc.
rlod following annexation II was rec.
ognized that the need of variety of
crops was great Constant efforts
have been made to find new crops
suitable to the support OF the small
farmer. Coffee. sisal, pineapples. to
baccO and rubber have all been tried
with varying degrees Of success. The
' community IL ON the alert to discover
and foster my species OF agriculture
!, which will help to AFFORD the diversity
!. Of crops desired. II Is obvious. how.
: ever. that the established industry
= cannot be abandoned. For years Il
!, come the chief reliance must be placed
:, on the sugar crop. That is the crop
!, which pays the taxes and furnishes
the revenue required to maintain oul
institutions. Hawaii cannot afford to
/, lose the capital she has invested In
4 sugar Her first great problem Is
,. therefore, how to shape an advance
on new industrial lines while preserv
Ing the old. The great menace to Ha
, walls sugar industry obviously lies In
a reduction Of tariff on Philippine OF
Cuban sugars or In the annexation o
these Islands. Cuba is capable Of pro
ducing enough sugar to supply the to
|, tai consumption of the United State.
and. II annexed, would drive tn,
" American growers to the wall. In tn,
;. Philippines the industry is capable o.
!. indefinite expansion. The cost of pro
!, duction Is there 80 small. owing Il
!. excessively cheap labor and the escap,
:. from the necessity of expensive irri
cation, Hawaii could not hope to com
pete with II. At present sugar Is no
e. crop OF the first importance to th'
Philippines. They have four othel
good crops-rice, copra. tobacco an,
their unrivaled hemp. Hawaii at pres
ent is dependent on sugar alone as IL
chief staple. In Hawaii II seems I'M
reasonable to excessively stimulate tn,
! sugar industry In the Philippines a
the expense of impairing or destroy
Ing II In the United States. Again. til,
Philippines, not being part of thu
fiscal system Of the United States. d,
not bear their share OF the burdens O
that system. They. therefore, are no
I justly entitled to the benefits Of II
D There does not seem to be equity Il
permitting them to purchase their ma
chinery and supplies In foreign MAJ
ket, escaping the payment OF Amer
can duties, and to sell their produc
/ In the United States with the full Der
eft OF the duty on that product. II
u easy to be carried away by our eI
thusiasm and to approve OF altruisti
ideas without duly weighing results
Business prudence would lead us
Hesitate before taking a course while
would probably destroy great HON
"a industry In which some two hundre
IN million dollars have been invested