The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-05-21
Honolulu
walter oinord smith In Now yors independent,

While Honolulu has not lost its car
iier and distinctive charm. II has grown
into n city OF modern aspects and facii-
tiles. What survives OF native ways
OF living is not much seen In either
the ground plan or architecture OF the
place, though II RAY be felt In certain
existing customs and modes of hospi-
tality. A stranger searches In vain for
the grass hut and the half-naked saw
age of the postal cards. 1t is much
easier to find the adobe house and the
Mexican vaquero in California. Homo
lulu, in Its chief characteristics, belongs
as much as do any OF the American
coast cities to the twentieth century.
This is one OF the first Thoughts of
the sea traveller on approaching It.
Honolulu. save for its palm plumes and
its background OF extinct volcanoes,
might pass for any prosperous Amer
ican summer capital and small COM
mercial port. There are the busy tugs
and coasters In the harbor, the moored
deep-water ships, the docks, marine
ways, warehouses, oil tanks, the brick
and stone business section, with six
story structures here and there, and
beyond are the shaded villa homes,
stretching over a plain, where church
spires now and then emerge from trees,
the suburban hotels and bathing re-
sorts abide.
climbing the slopes of hills and lined
up along nearby curving beach, where
Fifty years ago one landed in Ho-
nolulu from an outrigger canoe, man
ned by swarthy natives, who had pad
died a mile or more to meet the ship.
Now an ocean liner ties up at a fine
dock, one of many, and the passenger,
after giving his checks to the baggage
man. steps off into a waiting hack or
automobile. He rides to his hotel through
macadamized streets. which are also
traversed by electric cars. He sees
telephone, fire alarm and electric light
ing wires, and notices that people are
buying and selling the same classes of
goods, save those inhibited by the cli-
mate, that he saw last in the store
windows of Chicago and San Francisco.
One thing especially suits his ideas
of what city should be-the general
cleanliness Of streets and people. And
that is one of modern Honolulu's best
points. Sometimes a Northern town
may let dirt accumulate without hav-
ing men decay-a tropical one, never.
A Southern seaport. especially, must be
always on it's guard against diseases of
the torid zone, which are left by ships
that touch and go. 1t took some years
and some punishments to teach Homo
lulu the gospel Of sanitation. but it has
learned the lesson, and now the city
finds itself complimented in the report
of the Surgeon-General of the Army as
being the second healthiest post in
which United States troops serve,
Alaska appearing as the first on the
list.
To specify some details of interest In
brief form: Honolulu has from $4,000
to $4,000 inhabitants, about 1000 of
whom are of unmixed Caucasian blood,
the rest being Hawaiians, Portuguese,
japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Porto Ric-
ans and negroes (the latter being few;
$50 miles of well-cared-for streets,
which are heightened, in some instan-
ces, by macadamized highways reach
ing far into the country. There are
five parks. Few modern comforts or
public utilities are wanting in Homo
lulu, whose people, being wealthy and
public spirited, have not been willing