The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-03-23
CLARENCE COOKE
TALKS At H|LO
The Financial Situation Looks
G0od-Gartfey on Small
Farming-ltems.

|. HILO, March Gothic sum of two
million dollars was sent from these is
lands, during the recent financial panic,
to the relief of the banks in San Fran
cisco.''
This was the statement made to the
Herald by Clarence H. Cooke, cashier
of the Bank of Hawaii, before he left
here for Honolulu. Mr.. Cooke con-
tinued:
Every person, business firm or bank
that held an account against anybody
IN Honolulu sent for the money and
it was RENTED. Every person or con-
Germ that owned stocks in any Hawai-
ian sugar corporation sold those stocks.
They were purchased in Honolulu and
the money paid for them. That is the
reason why money was so tight in the
islands. 1t was very trying time.
Yet business was conducted here as
usual and none suffered throughout the
Territory. Of course loans had to be
stopped for the time and everybody
had to go slow, but I think you must
admit that the banks in Honolulu did
fairly well in paying off two millions
OF obligations without creating a panic
here, nothing more than a tightness of
money, and money was very tight.
But we are going to derive a benefit
from it all. Take the advance in the
price of sugar which, you tell me, has
been quoted today at over four cents.
That is the best news we could get
here because we now own all our own
sugar stocks. Former holders of them
on the mainland have sold theirs and,
IT they want them back again, they
must buy at an advance in the face of
the present rise in sugar If they do
not Buy them, and we keep them, then
we get the additional dividends which
means so much more money kept here
that can be used in established bust
nesses or for developing something else.
For the Island of Hawaii I fore
see that there must be development.
Hawaii has the country, the land, to
compel it to grow, more so than any
of the other islands. If the govern
ment can get the land settled on this
island, where there is so much of it
and such variety of climate that any
thing can be grown, there is nothing
that can hinder your progress more than
any other place in the Territory, ex-
eepting Honolulu where the Federal
government improvements, the military
and naval stations and its commercial
importance must always make for its
prosperity"
SMALL FARMING.
Alonzo Gartley, manager of the Ha-
waiian Electric Company and the best
amateur photographer in the Hawaiian
Islands, was in Hilo for a couple of
days last week He landed at Hawai-
haze, went to Waimea, through Kona
to the volcano and down to HiIo. He
was accompanied by Clarence H. Cooke,
cashier of the Bank of Hawaii, both
of them travelling in a little blackboard
auto a distance of two hundred miles
from Kawaihae until they reached here.
The total cost of their trip for gasoline
was rather less than $3.50 for ~
gallons, which was all that the little
used and made tolerabIy cheap
travelling.
Speaking of his outing, Mr.. Gartley
said that he had enioved every minute
of it, the weather had been fine and
the roads were good except for a short
distance near Waimea He continued:
''What seemed TO me to be the most
features of the trip were
the old lava flows of 1901 and 1859,
that of 1901, and the develop
ment of Kona. The whole of the Kona
district is one continuous garden, little
farms growing coffee, grapes, pineap-
pies. vanilla and alligator pears. and
raising poultry and vegetables These
farms are owned by Portuguese who
have japanese laborers working for
hem.
As far as I have been able to see
hona must be the garden spot of the
Island of Hawaii The climate there
s perfect, Judging by our experience. |
understand that the Matson Naviga- |
ion Company is willing to send its |
steamers from Hilo round to Kona, and |
from there direct to San Francisco in |
order to help in developing the fruit |