The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-04-29
DELEGATE TALKS FREELY
ABOUT AFFAIRS OF HAWAII
Contrasts Annexation With the Old Order and
Sees Good in Both---Native People Are
Happy and Contented.

ing. Inc HaWa1lanS are all Christians.
| They were Christianized long before
annexation and had been taught about
God by missionaries of all denomina-
tions. And they supposed that all the
people in the United States were Chris
! tlans and went to church. Under the
monarchy we had a Sunday law, but
everybody was more than willing to
obey it. Now under the new conditions
there is no Sunday law and the day of
rest is quite like other days. Here.
too, it was an easy matter under the
old form of government to control the
situation. The Hawaiians are natural
ly a conservative people and SO many
new things thrust upon them had a
tendency to upset the regular order of
things. / may say, however. that so
far as church attendance goes, the
people are beginning to go back to it
and before a great while will have re-
gained all lost ground. They find that
their old custom was far better than
the new in this regard
The Hawaiian delegate refused to
subscribe to the statement that there
is grave ground for alarm over the
nese in the islands. He admitted that
the Hawaiians would like to get rid of
all Orientals, provided some satisfac-
tory substitutes could be found.
But as things are at present. he
said, I'VE must depend on them for
our labor. And they are good, law
abiding citizens. They sometimes have
fierce rows among themselves, but they
give us no special trouble, are quiet
and do their work well. Without other
I,l
along with the Chinese and Japanese.
| Several times we have imported large
numbers of foreigners in our own
chartered vessels, but the immigration
laws of the United States, which APP
ply in Hawaii as well as here, act as
bar to further activity in this re-
gard. There are many Portuguese in
the islands, some $4,000 having been
imported years ago. They have made
splendid citizens and We would like to
have more of them. We make it as
easy as possible for them, assigning
land to every settler, besides paying
him for his labor. After a residence
of three years the land becomes his
own property. What is true OF the
Portuguese is equally true of settlers
of other nationalities We want TO
people the islands with substantial
men and women who will make good
citizens and help US develop our re-
sources.
I'VE have had an agricultural ex-
pertinent station in the ISLANDS for the
past four years and it is great help
to US. Indeed, it is helping the people
wonderfully and We appreciate its
worth. Our people as rule have been
brought up to believe that sugar is
the only crop that the islands viii
produce, which, of course, is a fallacy.
Diversity of crops is what we need.
A very pressing need in this connec-
tion is a soil survey of the islands.
Nothing of this kind has been at
tempted. Until a comprehensive soil
survey is made the people will not
know what to plant in the way Of di-
versified crops. For example, some
new crop might do splendidly at
given elevation which would be an
utter failure at a higher or lower alti-
tude or in different soil. Yet, If
somebody should try a new crop and
meet with success, you would find
others trying it without regard to To-
cation or soil conditions. The chances
are that many If not most of them
would fail That is why soil survey
is an absolute necessity.
Last year the Legislature of the
islands--you know We are a full
ffedged Territory and not an insular
possession as so many, even some
members of Congress, continue to be-
lieve-appropriate ted $4,000 for soil
survey. But the officials of the De-
partment of Agriculture could not help
US inasmuch as all of their soil experts
We're already overburdened with Worn
I have been trying at every session OF
Congress for some years to have some
thing done in this regard"
If there is a soil expert anywhere
who is out of a job, all he need do Is
apply to the Delegate from Hawai-,
but he must bring his credentials with
him, for this prince of the Pacific is
lands wants the real thing. Doubtless
it would cost much more than $10,0OO
to make the survey which Is so much
desired, and the expectation has been
that the national government would
bear part of the expense. But 1t is SO
important to the future of the ISLANDS
that the Territorial Legislature would
make whatever additional appropria-
ton might be necessary
Prince Kalanianaole is very ap-
proachable and affable gentleman and
in speaking of conditions in Hawaii ne
did so with the utmost frankness and
without the least show of rancor. He
has no ak to grind He laughed at my
difficulty in pronouncing his name and
smilingIy pronounced it for me. 1t IL
jaw-breaker for you folks, I know
he said, "but just remember that there
are no silent letters and it is not so
hard" The prince speaks English per-
fectly, having received part OF MS
in the United States and
England. He is a cousin OF the late
King Kalakaua and former Queen Ii
and was created prince by
royal decree in 1884, when he was Is
years of age.
Usually I object to being interview
ed for publication said the Hawai-
ian as l left his office, but you are at
liberty 10 use any part of my CONVEX
sation in The Woman's National