The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-01-28


crushing of the cane to the refined
product, sacked ready for shipment.
The stalks, after passing through the
+ mill, are dried and carried to the fur
| mace thus saving some 65 per cent. or
| the cost of fuel-an important economy
| when it is remembered that all the
| fuel for manufacturing is brought
| from abroad. Until recently several hum
| dred thousand dollars worth of coal was
| brought from Australia, but California
| oil is now being substitut ed for coal. The
refuse which remains when the sugar
| making process is completed is re-
| turned to the land as fertilizer. The
| economies effected in fuel and in fer
| tilizer, together with the freight saved
| on impurities carried in the raw su-
| gar, amount to a considerable sum, and
| to this extent increase the profit of
| the business. While at the sugar plan
! tation we We're shown an immense
| pumping plant used in the irrigation
| of the land. The water is drawn from
| artesian wells and forced to a height
of almost 600 feet. in some places, and
| from the SUBMITS of the hills is car
ried to all parts of the plantation
Some idea of the size of the plants
can be gathered from the fact that the
pumps used on this plantation have
combined capacity of SO, 100000 gallons
per day.
Speaking of irrigation, I am remind
ed that the rainfall varies greatly in
| different parts of the island. At Ho-
| nolulu, for instance. it is something
| like 80 inches per year, while at one
| point within five miles of the city the
| annual rainfall sometimes reaches 14O
/ inches The sugar plantation visited,
| while one of the largest, is only one
| of a number of plantations, the total
! sugar product of the islands reaching
above 100000 tons annually.
| Next to the sugar crop comes the
| rice crop many of the rice fields lying
| close to the city. Pneapples, bananas,
! coffee and cocoanuts are also raised
| Attention is being given now to the
| development of crops which can be
/ grown by small planters, those in au-
thority recognizing the advantage to-
; the country of small holdings
! LABOR PROBLEM IS SERIOUS.
! The labor problem is the most serious
one which the people of Hawaii have
to meet. AT present the manual labor
| is largely done by Japanese, Chinese
| and Koreans, these together consider
! tives Several thousand Portuguese
have been brought to the islands, and
have proven an excellent addition to
the population. On the day that we
We're there the immigration Commits
sion authorized the securing of a few
Italian families with a view to testing
their fitness for the climate. The de-
sire is to develop a homogeneous popu-
lation suited to the conditions and re-
sources of the islands.
We returned from the sugar planta-
ton in automobiles, stopping at the
! country home of Mr.. Damon, which
was once royal habitation. The pres
ent owner has collected many relics
showing the life, habits and arts of
the native Hawaiians.
Still nearer the town we visited two
splendid schools, one for native boys, |
the other for native girls, built from
the funds left by the native chiefs. |
The boys and girls were drawn up in |
front of one of the buildings, and I'M |
der the direction of their instructor
sang the national anthem of the ma |
, tives, now preserved as the Territorial, |
hymn. They were a finely proportioned, |
well dressed and intelligent group, and |
are said to be studious and excellent |
ly behaved. Nothing on the islands in |
terested US more than these native |
children, illustrating as they do not |
only the possibilities of their race but |
! the immense progress made in a little |
more than 100 years of contact with |
the whites. The museum, the gift of |
Mr.. Bishop, now of California, who |
married the widow of one of the ma
tive chiefs, is said to contain the best |
collection of handiwork of the natives
of the Pacific islands to be found any
where.
The public reception at the Royal
Hawaiian Hotel gave us an opportun-
ity to meet not only the prominent |
American and native citizens and their
wives, but large number of the ar
tisans and laborers of the various
races, and we were pleased to note
throughout the day the harmonious
feeling which exists between the whites
and the brown population.
Political convictions produce the
same results here as in the United
States, sometimes dividing families
For instance, Prince Cupid the pres
ent Territorial representative in Con-
sress, is a Republican, while his broth
er, Prince David, is an enthusiastic
Democrat.
The luncheon prepared by the COM
mittee included a number of native
dishes, cooked according to the recipes
which We're followed for hundreds of
years before the white man set foot
upon the island. The health of the
guests was drunk in cocoanut water, e
nut full of which stood at each plate.
Poi, the staple food of the natives, was
present in abundance. This is made I
from a root or tuber known as taro, | I
which grows in swamps and has a I
leaf resembling our plant, commonly g
known as elephants ear. This tuber is s
ground to pulp resembling paste. and d
is served in polished wooden bowls. in c
the making of which the natives ex- |