The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-03-28
Man the Land.

/ STRUCK the heyHote OF the iiHHIigfdllOL
proposition when you say: Such fund:
must be provided by the Legislature.
1t is very natural to suppose that il
private parties supply the funds to en-
| able the immigration Board to import
| Iaborers, that they should have most
to say as to the disposal of said funds
and the class of people to be imported
| can not see where others who are
interested can have much to say SO
long as the class of people they bring
will eventually build up an assimilable
population of Caucasians. By the es-
Enlistment of the Board of Immigra-
ton we have taken an advance step;
but have not gone far enough; and |
agree with you that the Legislature
should supply the funds, conditioned
that only Caucasians should be import
ed; those of the Industrious working
class only; Ono jail-birds, ete.)
To meet the expense | would sug-
gest specific land tax of five cents
an acre on all private land holdings
of FIVE or more acres for the next two
years, or longer if necessary.
This tax would not be burdensome
to anyone, and every taxpayer in the
Territory would be benefited far more
than the amount he would thus con
4,iI Int cho1l1 bn
the money in this manner, the Board
of Immigration should be composed of
representative men from the various
industries of the islands, and be men
of broad minds who place the value of
good citizen above that of a mere
laborer.
Now Mr.. Editor, should we solve
the question of getting ways and means
for bringing the immigrants here, the
most important question of all is to
be met. How are We to keep those
people here? When they leave their
native land, it is for the same rea-
son that our forefathers' came; not
merely to secure employment as la
borers, but also to build homes for
their families. The man who has not
owner of his home, is not worth i'm
porting; and were / selecting laborers
for these islands, | would make this
one of the conditions of acceptance.
The offer of employment alone will
not keep the class of people these is
lands need here; they have got to have
the added inducement of securing
homes of sufficient aree TO give employ |
ment to those in the family who can
not go into the fields TO work that |
they may supplement the family earn
ings; and place where, when incapa |
citated for hard work as old age com
pels them to retire, they can still take |
from Mother Earth the sustenance |
for their old bodies to which they are |
entitled
1t seems to me it would be wisdom |
on the part of our government, to |
open land for homes of not less than |
two acres each, wherever there is pub |
lie land near the plantations; if such |
lands are now leased to the plantations, |
the planters should release enough to |
supply homes of this or greater area |
TO each family that is apportioned to
them. Only by some such plan, where |
the head of the family can own his
home can we expect to keep an in |
5elligent class of immigrants with us.
have seen more Portuguese leave the |
islands since / came here ten years ago,
than have been imported; and they |
were worth more to the islands than |
hose who take their place. | firmly |
believe the majority of these people |
would have remained here if they could |
nave obtained fee simple homes near
he plantations for each family, and |
he younger members would have con-
inued to work for the plantations.
Small homes will make the laborers a
fixture; such not requiring the labor
# but portion of the family, the |
surplus will naturally seek employment.
Should this condition be realized, it
s not an impossibility, but a reason
lble expectation that we would see
he plantations, instead of ransack-
ng' the face of the earth for labor,
tbIe to eommand@all they need at their
Tery door; at the same time the hun
lreds of thousands of dollars now 90
ng out of the country for poultry,
Eggs, etc, would remain at home, these
supplies being furnished from the small
1omes scattered all over the islands
wherever there is a plantation center.
Ten thousand families thus located,
would, at a very low estimate increase
BUR tax revenue 100000 per annum;
besides spending more than a million
dollars annually with our merchants,
md produce another million dollars
surplus in tropical fruits for export;
he two million dollars they would re
,eiye for wages would be kept in the
country instead If heiuU Sart tn 0ri-