The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-06-11
NOVELIST
SEES EVA

Jack London and his wife have been
doing" Eva Plantation. They have
examined pumping plants and kinder
gartens; nine roller mills and japanese
camps; irrigation systems. sewing
schools. They were interested in ev-
erything, but in the kindergartens and
schools. the social hall and the recrea-
ton grounds more than in anything
else. unless 1t was in the wonderful va
rieties and mixtures of race and ma
tionality that some of the gatherings
presented
Alexander Hume Ford suggested the
trip to the Londons and took 1t with
them. He is interested In Eva planta-
| tion-not in Eva stock-and 1t was
Hawaii at this time. Why is quite
curiously interesting. 1t is because
when he was here last, eight years ago,
Eva was in the middle of that expert
ment with white farmers from Cali
fornia, and he was interested enough to
want to know how 1t came out. He
this trip. for contrary to widely enter
tanned local belief they have not all
left the Islands. Those whom he met
are employed on the plantation and
most of them have good positions.
With Ford as guide and mentor Mr..
and Mrs. London started to do" Eva
plantation last Friday. Like everybody
else they went first to the mill. Jack
London has quite a talent for mechan-
les and machinery and the processes
which begin with cars loaded with
cane brought into one end of the great
building, pillaged by machinery of their
contents, the cane crushed by the tons
of pressure as 1t passes through the
nine rollers-pressure so great that the
juice runs out in rivers while the
bagasse passes on to the boiler room
dry enough to burn. This is only the
beginning of the processes which in
clude centrifugals and CHARTERS and
mud presses and all that sort of thing,
until the sugar. still warm, is put in
sacks ready for shipment
Mrs. London was as much interested
in this as her husband was. From the
mill they went to the Japanese camp.
Both Ford and London have been in
Japan and seen Japanese villages in
Vulnerable. To them the aesthetic diff
ference between the Japanese village
and the Japanese camp was striking.
Other camps were visited. the Korean
and the Porto Rican. The newly ar
rived Spaniards are located with the
Porto Ricans and the bond of COM
mon tongue has proved close one. The
Spaniards seem very intelligent and
wholesome set of people.
The kindergartens interested the
Londons very much. Jack London made
friends with the little tots at once and
they We're unwilling to let him go when
Manager Renton, having arranged a
locomotive and observation car-the
latter a fiat car with chairs placed on
1.-THE party were called to start on a
ride over the plantation roads for a
view of the great estate,
The immense pumping plant, with a
capacity big enough to supply first
class city was of great interest to the
visitors and Jack London was not sat
isfied until he had studied the whole
construction and operation of the plant.
On the return to Eva Mill they visit
ed the boys and girls schools. 1t was
the day when the girls were taught
sewing. There were fifteen different
races, nationalities and mixtures rep
resented in the school. Yet there SEEM
ed perfect Inconsistencies on their
past of any such difference. This was
one of the things that seemed to i'm
press London strongly.
He took great interest in the COM
mon recreation grounds and the build
ing used for social gatherings.