The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-12-06

Beginning in 1883, and continuing
with more or less activity, the so-called
homesteading system has been carried
out by the successive governments OF
Hawaii: but, one is told. most Of the
lands so homesteaded have been re-
mote from sugar mills; the homestead
ers mostly without adequate means to
, establish mills of their own. and with
out education and administrative abil-
! ity enough successfully to combine
sugar-raising on any cooperative
basis. The local market for farm
produce is limited. and markets for
money CROPS for export abroad are noc
yet generally established The small
homesteader, needing the moral sup
port of his powerful neighbors, seldom
gets 1t.
MR.. THURSTON'S VIEWS.
L. A. Thurston tells me: There are
exceptions Some plantations for years
bought cane from small planters;
some plantations have from time to
time farmed out portions of their lands
to planters on shares. In the main.
however. the policy of the plantations
has not been favorable to small plant
to own their own homes. such thing
has been practically unthought Of
There may be instances which have
not come to my attention, but in thirty
years of intimate acquaintance with
the sugar planters and plantations OF
Hawaii have never known Of a plan
tation selling or giving land to labor
ers in its employ for homesteads or
any other purposes. True. on some
plantations some laborers have occu-
pied certain houses for long periods. but
always as tenants at will.
$50 long as an abundant supply OF
labor was available. or the supply was
measurably under control, there was
no serious thought of, or from the
viewpoint of its advocates. any neces-
sity for, changing the plantation sys-
tenn. But the conditions until recently
prevailing, under which this system
was possible, have passed; and the
system is itself passing The RESPONSE
bility is, in part, upon each one OF
US to say what shall take it's place.
Chinese are no longer available. South
Sea islanders were never efficient, will
not work without the spur of a con-
tract, and can no longer be had. In
til recently the Japanese who came to
Hawaii remained here until they were
ready to go home; but within the two
or three years last past, although com
ing here in large numbers. they are
making Hawaii but a stepping stone
to pass on to the mainland of the
United States. They are not only do
ing this, but the impetus caused by
their numerous departures is drawing
into their train thousands Of Japanese
previously resident in Hawaii. The
Korean immigration has been pre-
carious and uncertain, and they do not
make especially good laborers. Al
though there were number of good
laborers among the Porto Rican immi-
grants, the large percentage of crimi-
nal and degraded characters among
them has placed that immigration un-
der cloud. Morally and socially they
are at the foot of the ladder in Hawaii.
as compared with immigrants of other
HAWAIPS CHIEF PROBLEM.
This then, is the chief problem con-
fronting the Territory today: wheth.-
er the arabic lands of the islands shalt
the past, or whether they shall be
divided into homesteads and an effort
made to make citizens out OF Portu-
suese and other European white i'm
migrants. All Of the men who have
he best interest of Hawaii at heart are
Eager to Americanize the islands. How
best to do it they do not exactly know.
rhey want the lands occupied. but they
must find living for the people whom
hey bring to occupy them. They
would prefer that the wealth of the
territory was not concentrated in the
lands of a comparatively small num-
'er OF men. How to divide I'D the
vealth-making property of the Islands
Without doing injury to the prosperity
Il the Territory is a problem they
must solve for themselves. Upon their
uccess depends in large measure the
uture of Hawaii.