Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-06-21
UNCLE SAM NEEDS
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
Congressman Graft
of Illinois Dis
cusses Trip
sTRATEGET|c NAVAL STATION
Islands Fertile and Inhabi.
tants Prosperous---lnter.
esting Interview.

Uncle Sam proposes to take a
tighter grip on the Hawaiian Islands
as is indicated by the recent visit to
the archipelago of two Congressional
committees Naval authorities pro-
nounce this little group invaluable as
a coaling station and naval outpost
of the United States and their ad-
vantage for foreign commerce is also
a factor that makes them a desir-
able possession The harbors of the
principal ports are to be improved
and modern Notifications are to be
built.
Congressman Joseph V. Graft, Of
Peoria, Illinois, who with his wife and
daughter was a member of one of
these junketing parties, is spending a
few days with his family in Santa Fe,
guests at the residence of Hon. and
Mrs. T. b. Catron He is member
of the subcommittee of the general
committee on appropriations Of the
House of Representatives which has
jurisdiction over the appropriations
for Notifications both OF the main
land and the insular possessions Of
the United States. The other men,
bers of this subcommittee are Gen
eral j. Warren Keiffer of Ohio, and
Congressman Fitzgerald of New York.
The other solons on the trip were
Congressman Davidson, of Wscon-
sin, Jones, of Washington Atchison,
of Pennsylvania, and Alexander, of
New York, members of the commit
tee on Rivers and Harbors.
On Archipelago Three Weeks.
The Congressional visitors spent
three weeks on the archipelago dur
ing which time they visited the four
principal islands which consist of
Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Hawaii.
They were taken from one to another
on the island steamers and visited
portions of the islands which tourists
generally do not see They looked in
to the subject of the fortification of
Pearl lHarbor the bay at Honolulu,
and the harbor at Hilo, which is the
main city on Hawaii Island. Pearl
Harbor was very carefully inspected
with a view to it's prospective use as
a naval station. 1t is perhaps the
largest naturally protected harbor in
the world.
The rivers and harbor committee
members visited all of the harbors
mentioned and were interested in the
proposed breakwater to be construct
ed in the harbor at Hilo and also in
spected the proposed enlargement Of
Honolulu Bay. The Hilo breakwater
will cost over a million dollars. Four
hundred thousand dollars have al
ready been appropriated by Congress
for the construction of this break,
water.
Mr.. Graft is much impressed with
the Importance of this little group Of
islands lying off the Pacific coast.
Discussing the trip of himself and col
leagues in an interview last night he
said
Islands Wonderfully Fertile.
"The Hawaiian Islands have a
beauty of scenery peculiar to them
selves. AS is we'll known they are of
volcanic origin and on the edge Of
the tropics. They have all of the
splendor of tropical growth and at
the same time have what might be
termed continuous spring as the
temperature does not rise above 80
degrees.
"The Hawaiian Islands are proba-
bly, the best place in the world to
witness the meeting in commercial
and manual competition Of the Chin
ese, Japanese, Portuguese and Porto
Ricans. In commercial way the COM
petition may be said to be just in it's
beginning between the Japanese and
the white Americans. There are about
100000 people in the islands of which
only about $4,000 are whites, 10000
are Japanese and about 10000 native
Hawaiians. The exclusion act has
prevented the increase of the Chin
ese immigration and therefore the
Japanese very largely outnumber the
Chinese.
"These islands are exceedingly fer
tile. The chief industry is the rails
ing of sugar cane which is done
through large plantations, the maiori-
ty of the stock in which is owned by
a comparatively few. These cane
plantations are conducted on perhaps
more progressive lines than anywhere
else in the world, and are more pro-
ductive. The soil in some cases is
thirty feet deep but in spite Of this
they place every eighteen months
from 500 to $25 per acre in CONNER
cial fertilizers which they manufac-
ture themselves.
"The Islands each have a ridge of