The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-05-24


with great interest the discussion be
tween yourself and Bishop ResTaricE
anent the chances for profitable diver
sifed agriculture on these islands,
wish to ask you TO allow me space fol
a few remarks on this subject that Is
so important as bearing on develop
ment along American lines. / am in
elined to believe that Bishop Restariek
is right as to the undesirability Of the
human nature for any self-respeeting
man TO be ayerse to being termed
small " in any connection whatsoever.
To be a farmer is honorable, and the
American farmer is King and he
with the limited area is as proud and
often has Just reason for more pride
than the farmer who has 10000 acres.
He doesn t like to be called small
farmer in order to differentiate him
from his neighbor, and it is not neces-
sarily the big farms that show the best
profits and the best brains. / agree
with Bishop Restarick that to class our
farmers as .1small farmers is I'M
necessary and misleading. Your con-
tention that ''truck farmer Is a
small farmer, while quite correct no
doubt in one way, is, think, not the
common usage. The terms truck
gardener and market gardener are, I
think. the common terms for one who
devotes himself solely to raising vege-
tables. etc., on a more or less limited
area. A farmer however large his farm
NAV also be truck gardener of course.
Now for the other side,-if Bishop
Restariek had interested himself here
ten years ago, he might have convinced
himself, as most did, that pineapples
could not be grown proftably, that
transportation was difficult, that there
was limited market, that foreign com
petition was too keen. and that the
market would soon be glutted with the
output of single large eannery, let
alone six or more that viii probably
turn out somewhere about 100000 cases
this year valued at about 10000. Who
knows. too, but that within few years
this output may be increased to 2,ooo,-
COO eases valued at about $6,O0O,ooof
/ for one believe in this being posi-
bility whereas ten years ago l laughed
at the chances for pineapples. The
Bishop asks who would advise friend
TO come here and invest his money IN
a farm. and I can say that have done
az There are now in this immediate
seven Americans, farm
ers if you like, not one of whom, no."
ever, is a regular American farmer, Tor
they are conducting farms with hlred
helm entirely and I firmly believe even
then to handsome profit. Plneappies
are here the principal crop OF course
but not the only profitable crop, as
anyone can come and see for himself
In nv opinion and TO use slang eA
nrassion. we have not yet scratched
the surface" of these islands Tor the
in diversified agriculture.
7 said our farmers here were not lhe
a1 American farmers who succeed by
their own efforts, and paying only Tor
s,,eb assistance as they can not 40
themselves. If our planters here were
a.I American farmers, their prohts,
handsome as they may De, "ouia
.L;.k he aoubIed. / believe that you
90 i.st;6ed in trying to attract some
American farmers of certain dtSlfa-
hla class to come and settle mere Oh
- ,ro,,nd of present facts and future
a+s believe furthermore 1hat
,bare are many desirable tracts on 1he7e
;s1ands where a farmer who mas ih"heIS
enough tn get a fair start,-to ouilo
cottage. to buy tools, two horses %
.ro mules. few cows and some io"'1'
eould produce enough In the nome ~"
80 lar in garden truck. chlekehs'
ducks squads. fodder, milk butter anu
.rrs IN live on. including cost %
o1o+bas thus leaving the MAIN par
- e.-m for the principal crop ana
main profits. If the Territory
n furnishing desirable tracts u
-. .eraaoe. then so much the easier
for the farmer settler, but n1
.ha+ II Is a mistake TO think that am
bilious American farmers can
80 70 come here TO settle on but