The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-02-15

further recourse OF an appeal to the
Federal Judiciary. to prevent the sale
of Lanai, one OF the eight islands OF
the Hawaiian group, to private indi-
vidual named Gay, q British subject
The proposed sale, which is being fur
thered by Governor Carter. Is disguised
as an exchange of properties. various
lots in the city OF Honolulu being Of
fered for the island In lieu of cash. II
the deal is made. whatever the form OF
consideration may be. valuable part
of the public domain, capable OF even
tual settlement by the Substantial
middle class" which President Roose-
welt wishes to establish in the feudal
environment of Hawaii, will have been
lost forever. na.
Lanai is the island fifth in size OF
those which constitute the group. II
has an area OF 1856 square miles. About
1000 acres OF this constitute the Ter
ritorial interest. the rest having been
sold to another British subject, w. G..
Irwin, a partner of Claus Spreckels.
Irwin will sell to Gay and Gay will
buy IL he can put through his deal
with the Territory. Both men say that
Lanai is so deficient in water and her
bage that 1t could be Of no value to
settlers save at a vast outlay for re-
forestation and the impounding of
rain in some Of the gulches. Gay, 1t
appears, if the island be given to him
in fee simple, would undertake to save
1t. He says that unless he gets the
property it's dry soil will literally blow
away in the trade winds, leaving moth
ing but the underpinning Of rocks.
So eager is he to secure this barren
principality that he has appealed for
the help of native Hawaiians to silence
opposition, saying that his chief desire.
as owner of Lanai, would be to restore
the aboriginal customs there. He would
put natives on the island, encourage
them to live in grass houses, to go
without the white mans clothes and,
by keeping in touch with nature, try to
regain the vitality which they have
lost in contact with the pale-face.
Back of all this, however, Is supposed
to be q baronial cattle scheme.
It is this reactionary spirit that the
progressive people Of Hawaii are fight
ing, with some verbal encouragement
from Governor Carter. But the Gov
ernor cannot get away from the feudal
in which he was born and
reared. His large fortune is chiefly In
vested in sugar and his basic attitude
toward the small land seeker is very
much what that of Southern planter
Governor before the war must have
been toward an ambitious poor white
who wanted to take up farm near
an unfriendly cotton estate. Carter
prefers to do what the planIer rather
than the settler thinks desirable. Next
to the planter he ranks the cattle
baron.
The attitude is surprising when 1t Is
seen that the soil farmer would want
for his specialized tropical agriculture
is mostly above the sugar zone and
would not trench upon it in the least;
but any planter will tell you that the
farmer by raising the price of land
leases above the nominal figure which
the sugar men pay and by drawing on
the coolie labor supply might so unset
tie the conditions which exist as to
make 1t impossible for the large pro-
prietor to keep up his average scale of
profits. And then there Is natural
desire to let well enough alone.
I'VE planters and graziers have made
Hawaii what it is and thrived nightly
they say. why should we
let strangers come in to disturb the old
order. We can afford to buy what we
don't raise in the markets OF the world.
We control the agriculture, the politics
and the government of the Territory.
We are satisfied and do not court trou-
BILE with outsiders"
Meanwhile, in ga.st, smiling. fertile
lies land which, according to
Jared G. Smith. director of the United
States agricultural experiment station
1T Honolulu, would support 100000
engaged in raising rubber, to-
bacco, coffee, sisal, bananas, cassava
and vanilla and the staple food prod
lcts native to the north temperate zone.
A goodly part Of this vacant land Ia
in the limits of Kauai. the
fourth island of the archipelago chain.
4 beautiful, hilly country Of 544 square
miles. In poetry Kauai is called the
garden island" in prose the closed
island" and closed 1t is to everything
American. 1t is owned and
by four old time families,
but one of American extractton-the
Robinsons. Rices and Gays.
The latter including the Gay who wants
to get the whole island of Lanai. These
are chiefly in sugar, but their
support no other whites
than those connected directly or indi-
rectly with the cane growing and mill
ng industry. Not an acre Of private
and, 1t is said, can be purchased on
Kauai and whenever the leases on pub
ic land expire some one of the four
'eigning clans buys the property. A
ract of 900 acres Is the latest portion
If the public domain on 1.-The garden
sland" to pass into their control.
Lanai was once fertile and well for
,sted, but Mr.. Gay and one or two
,thers with their sheep have pretty
veil eliminated the mountain trees and
erns and thus reduced the rainfall and
made 1t easy for such rain as may fall
o run off into the sea. This policy has
nut down the selling value, 80 that Gay
ropes to get the island in exchange
or about 100000, exclusive Of the part
lie will buy from Irwin.
II he gets the property and fences In
he high lands he can raise a forest OF
Eucalyptus and other drought resisting
rees in seven years, solve the water
'roblem and make fifty dollars where
lie expended one.
KAMAAINA'S REJOINDER-
70 the Editor Of The Sun.
Sir: have read with interest. II not
dification, an article In The Sun OF
40