The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-08-13
SAMOA As IT
APPEARS TODAY

Page Pago Is the dryest spot on
earth. according TO the story told by
A. F. Kuhle. a recent arrival from thas
part OF the world. who Is held up In
Honolulu three weeks 10 await the ar
rival OF an American bottom upon
which he can set passage to the Coast.
Mr.. Kuhie was a resident of Apia. the
| German section OF the group. and
knows OF the dryness OF the American
colony by the tales of woe brought to
Apia by those Americans who tempo
rarily had to desert the protection or
the starry banner long enough to
/ quench deep thirst. In the American
colony no liquor of any kind At any
| time Is allowed. In Apia beer flows
and schnapps can be had for whoever
has the price. For this reason regular
excursions run to Apia and the cash
OF the Americans Is for the most part
spent where the wurzburger flows.
| Mr.. Kuhle' Is not particularly enthu-
siastic regarding Samoa. although he
/ declares that II Is a beautiful country
/ TO live in. For man to go there to
make a living the country Is no good.
/ Big corporations with contract Chinese
labor are in control and all others are
small fry that amount 10 little. The
wages paid the Chinese laborers on the
cocoa and copra plantations Is about
81 month in money and board.
amounting altogether to about si1 q
month. Some kanakas from other OF
/ the South Sea islands are employed
as labores. coming from the Solomon
Islands. New Guinea and New Hebri-
des. The right of importing this class
of labor belongs to the German Trad
ing & Transportation Company. the
, great D. II. & P. G. company. No pri-
vate planter can import labor and the
/ Importation of Chinese is done by the
government. These kanakas are good
labcrers and work for a wage of 81
a month. taken out in trade. the actual
cost to the employers being not over
50 month.
The introduction of Chinese is very
much opposed by the native Samoans,
for the reason that the coolies have
brought with them much disease into
the islands.
The Samoan natives are quite con-
tent with their system of government
creasing as are the natives of most of
the islands acquired by the powers
The Samoan Is allowed to live as he
pleases. in his primitive style; his sys-
TEN of tribal law has not been inter-
fered with by the authorities. except
inasmuch as the power of life and
death has been taken from the ALI.
Otherwise the native has been left
alone and there is little mingling with
the whites.
The trouble between the native par
tisans of the rival claimants to the
position of paramount chieftain has
been put an end to by the authorities,
by the disarming of all the fighters
Now. to own a gun requires a special
permit.
A strict regulation regarding the
homesteads of the natives is in force,
no native being at liberty to sell or
lease his lands given him by the gov
eminent. This has prevented the very
extensive opening up of the islands but
has also been the means Of keeping the
Samoans out of the white settlements
and on their own holdings.
Copra is the great staple of the coun-
try. following which in order OF i'm
portance comes cocoa, with which in
dustry Mr.. Kuhle was connected. Both
industries are fiourishing. Three years
ago rubber plantations were started
and these promise to be very success
full. So far the cocoa growers have
been able to keep their plants free or
pests and If this can be continued CO.
Goa will supplant copra among the ex-
ports of the country. All tropical
fruits grow luxuriantly, the bananas
and cocoanuts of Honolulu being look
ed upon by Mr.. Kuhle as very poor
limitations OF the real thing.
The withdrawal of the Oceanic
Steamship Companys service was q
great blow to Samoa, especially as the
withdrawal had not been announced
before it was made effective. AS q
result the country was three months
without a mail, shut off from all the
rest of the world, as no cable connects
the islands with anywhere. AT the
best the communication between Apia
and the fatherland was poor. AS an
instance Mr.. Kuhle tells that a pack
age was posted for him in Germany
on November Is, containing some
Christmas cheer. He got 1t in Samoa
on FEBRUARY ~, Dy winch time lne
cheer had lost its cheerfulness. Now
mail is sent via Sydney, n. S. W.
Among the interesting islands near
Samoa, as described by Mr.. Kuhle, Is
the Savage Island, some three hundred
miles south southeast of Samoa, OF
interest to Honolulans from the fact
that a great many of the native woven
hats are imported from there. This
island is an almost Adamless Eden,
there being only a few men among the
four thousand population. All the
young and strong men have been taken
away from the island to the Samoan
plantations. until the population now
consists OF women and old men. Very
few of the men ever return and the
Savage Islanders are now fast de-
creasing in numbers. The woven hats,
by the way. are bought by the traders
who visit the island about once a year,
the price for them being twenty to
twenty-five cents apiece, and that In
trade.
Another interesting spot visited by
Mr.. Kuhle is the Beveridge reef, about
one hundred miles from the Savage
Island. Here six days were spent by
Mr.. Kuhle's party in fishing. in which