Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-03-21
Lack of Available Land Makes
Development of This Indus
try a Mere Myth

people about. one OF the BaldWlns
said yesterday that last week Por-
tugucse came to him and wanted to
lease piece of land to raise pine
apples. Il refused him." Baldwin
said. because do not want them
about. when they get in here, they
hire our Japs away from us"
Some day a cyclone will hit the
ugar business in Hawaii. II is not
leasant to contemplate, and there
is nobody who will not wish that
any such calamity might be avoided.
But the man who thinks that the
United States is going to have a
scrapping, quarreling little nation
next door to II, constant menace to
the peace of its big neishbor. has
mother guess coming. Besides, IT
5 an open secret that most of the in-
iernal dissensions and incipient rev.
buttons In Cuba have their origin in
the downtown section of New York
City There are monied interests
there which want to see Cuba an
neXed. and some day in the not dis
liant future, II may play the proph-
ct for a line or two, they will gain
their end. And free Cuban sugar
will give Hawaiian sugar a blow in
the solar plexus that will send II TO
the mat for the count.
When that time comes, or is seen
closely approaching, sugar land is
liable to become n drug on the mar
ket, and the interests which now so
loosely hoard their fertile acres and
esent any attempt at their division,
will be glad enough to turn loose
md let the little men in.
No commonwealth that is progress
sive can for too long keep its land
tied up in big blocks. and no conf
| monwealth the land of which is thus
tie. up can be progressive. There
were those who said that the huge
wheat fields Of California would
| never be subdivided. The men who
owned them fought desperately tC
hang onto what they had. But tn,
end was inevitable, and now wher,
one man owned ten thousand acres
4 large number of families max,
their living, and n good living, of
10 or 20 acres apiece by intensive
farming. A year and a half age
there was only one of these huge es
tates left intact, and understand
that this has now gone the way o
the others.
So 1t will be, 40 It inevitably mus
be, in Hawaii some day. But Their,
is nothing now to Indicate that tina
Jay is close at hand. The American
farmer, most desirable acquisition
though he undoubtedly is, has llttl,
inducement to come to Hawaii I'm
less he is unusually fortunate, Their,
Is practically no chance for him to
day. u is all very well to clamor 70
American citizenship and American
citizens, but If Hawaii Is to hav,
them, she must be prepared TO offe
them a chance to make a good liv
ing, and more than living. Euro
pean immigrants may be content t
go upon the soil and exc out bar
living, which at all events is as goo
rs they have been accustomed 1
where they come from. But a PEG
pie who can remain contented wit
such prospect Is not the kind tina
will make American citizens as W
are accustomed to think of then
not the kind that will advance he
10 the position among the units @
he Nation which her natural ad
yantages and geographical situate
and her Incompatible climate entitl
her to think she should occupy.
EDWARD p. IRWIN.