The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-03-16

hawaii mas reached the crucial per-
iod in her history. The future is dark
or bright according to the viewpoint.
Within the past week 1 have listened
to the arguments of the pessimist and
also to those of the optimist After
year of fairly careful observation in
the Territory, 1 am prepared to cast
my lot with the optimist The work of
the next four or five years should
prove conclusively which side is right.
If the country is to develop in meas
ure with its greatest possibilities, it
means hard, intelligent work on
broad and far-sighted basis. 1 believe
that Governor Frear fully realizes this
and that his efforts are being shaped
along these lines.
A week with the Governor and his
party on Maui has brought clearly to
the front many of the obstacles which
must be overcome, as well as empha-
sizing the possibilities and the latent
resources of the Hawaiian Islands. To
my mind everything lies in the Oft
quoted term of "Americanizing the ISL
ands."
What l shall say of Maui applies al
most equally to all the rest of the Ter
ritory in varying degree. Maui is
garden spot. 1t is favored by Nature
in almost everything that should add
to human happiness. It's surface ranges
from level lowlying plains to noun
tain-slopes rising to an altitude of
nearly two miles. AS in general with
the Hawaiian group, sugar is king
is it's sway more despotic. By far the
largest area of the island is owned alb
solutely by the sugar interests. A gov
eminent map shows less than half the
total area as owned by the Territory,
and most of this proves to be either
desert, lava plains or rocky mountain
country. A good portion of this latter
has been set aside as forest reserves
and is important chiefly as the water
shed upon which the agricultural lands
depend for irrigation. Although all
the various great sugar companies con-
troll immense areas, it is by no means
all devoted to the raising of cane.
larger portion of these holdings re-
main undeveloped, and is thickly Sver-
grown with a jungle of guava, lantana
and other heritage, furnishing only in
differently good pasturage for stock.
Much of this land has been proven to
be the finest quality of pineapple lands,
as we'll as being adapted to other ag-
ricultural and horticultural products
according to it's location as regards
elevation and rainfall.
The sugar interests are not in posi-
ton to utilize this land. In the first
place, the cane culture requires all the
and careful management OF
the planters. Secondly, the labor sup
ply is barely sufficient for their pres
ent needs.
Their unused lands, however, are not
for sale, neither do they consider fav-
orably leasing the same. l put this
question of leasing direct to H. P.
Baldwin, the head of the largest COM
mercial interests on Maui and prob
ably the largest also in the Territory.
He paused an instant before answer
ing, giving me sharp quizzical look
and then replied briefly that they
would consider favorably such a prop
osition, Some time later, 1 put the
same question to his son, Harry A.
manager of the Paia and 9TH
err plantations, and chief-lieutenant UNI
der his father of the Baldwin interests.
81 turned down a proposition of the
kind yesterday" he replied. I'm not
much in favor of it. Men come in
and want to lease land at five dollars