The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-08-02

Land Commissioner Pratt thinks that
Judge Robinson is not improving his
nosition on the land question by ex-
planning it. He pointed out the follow
ing passage in the report of an inter-
view with Judge Robinson given by an
afternoon paper:
1.-The Judge went on TO discuss the
general features of the Federal land
law which he thought would be es-
pecially applicable here. He did not
think that the area limit of 100 acres
would be desirable, owing TO the linn
tied size of the Territory, but thought
the minimum area could be cut down
to one-eighth or one-seventh of that.
He also thought that the division of
Federal law, might not be applicable
here, owing to the peculiar nature of
the local ahupuaa divisions, which run
from a point in the mountains to the
sea. The other general provisions of
the law, such as the standing S1.25
valuation per acre, would be beneficial
if applied here He pointed out thai
nowhere was the opening of lands for
settlement conducted for the purpose
of making money on the land, but for
the purpose of having uncultivated
land reduced to cultivation
Upon the latter part of the passage
Mr. Pratt had this to say:
''Our difficulty at present is in dealing
with lands under cultivation and not
with uncultivated lands.
In the matter of the Kau lands nine
teen applicants want 100 acres apiece.
Of the 1900 acres that would make, 1900
acres are planted in cane.
Tin the lower fields, by the use of
fertilizers, the land produces five tons
of sugar to the acre. 1t takes growth
of eighteen months there for the sugar
cane takes longer to grow-from two
to two and a half years-and four to
four and half tons an acre is fair
of the yield.
THUS the Kau lands give return of
four to five tons of sugar an acre, ac-
cording to altitude. with a. period of
growth of cane ranging from eighteen
to thirty months. So we are today
dealing with lands under cultivation
and producing crops of that nature-an
average crop of four a half tons, with
about two years.
with sugar at SIS a ton, as at pres
ent, one can form some idea of the re-
turn a working farmer would obtain
from twenty-five acres of cane land.
1t means living such as few if any
farms of $50 acres in the States would
yield. To place a value of $1.25 an acre
IN already cultivated cane land, or al
price uniform with that of uncultivated
md uncleared lands as Judge Robin
son would have it, is simply absurd.
"Of course if a man sits down in his
house and hires labor to keep the land
n cultivation it will cost him more
han if the work is performed by him |
elf and members of his family. Butt
f he goes to work like an American
armer on the mainland. he will make
comfortable living on a 25-acre farm |
which comes to him in a high state of |
Besides the cane lands there are
assure and wood lands that go with
ach allotment, the farm tracts as laid
ut running from % to 80 acres.
Now, the allotments of uncultivated
md the department is making are
1uch larger. They run from 100 to
30 acres. 1t is not such an easy prop
sition for the settler when he has
, clear the land, especially when a !
ertain proportion of it is likely never