The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-05-12
NY FREDERIC j. nAsklN.
Honolulu, r

Honolulu, r. Fl.
Sugar III king. To Hawaii he is a
most indulgent monarch, for he has
brought this little group OF islands to
the point where II Is the greatest eN-
porting country Of It's population on
earth. This year the Hawaii sugar
crop will sell for between s4o.ooo.ooo
and s5O000,0oo. The price is high on
account OF great shortage in Cuba.
Java and elsewhere. The crop here is
larger than ever before Last year
1t was 44o.o1T tons. This year 1t is
ESTIMATED at from $4,000 to 100000
lions.
Hawaii has been growing sugar for
nearly a century. BY 1876 the produce
ton had increased until the annual
crop was 1850 tons. Then something
happened. The United States made Il
reciprocity treaty with the kingdom
lof Hawaii. and the sugar from the
Islands was admitted to America free
of duty. Immediately the sugar busi-
mess began to take on new life, al
though the crop returns did not show
Ian enormous increase for some time.
! Sugar cane cannot be grown over
might Each crop grows two years In
I Hawaii. Even the two-ycar period was
lnot the beginning OF the greater day
flor all great businesses must grow
4 Modern methods OF agriculture have
drought the Hawaiian cane fields to
their present productivity. but 1t was
4 the abolition OF the duty on sugar en-
ltering the United States that made
this development possible.
IL Twenty years after that treaty went
into effect Hawaii became frighten-
ed lest the United States might abro-
gate II, as II had the right to do
upon one years notice. Hawaii was
clamoring for annexation. The War
with Spain came up, Hawaiis great
strategic value was impressed upon
j congress. and annexation came Free
4 sugar was made q fixture by that act.
for Hawaii was annexed. and made n
part and parcel of the United states
before the "insular possession TO
which the Constitution does not fol-
low the flag. was invented.
/, The treaty of 1876 was made before
There was any beet sugar interests in
:. the United States, or IL would never
have been made at all. II the Ameri-
! can beet sugar industry had been as
great in 1895 as It Is now, Hawaiian
. annexation probably would have been
defeated.
Hawaii. having benefited by these
things, Is now unit in opposing the
extension of like assistance to the Phil
lippnes. The worst nightmare that
, can come to a Hawaiian planter is the
!, dream of Cuban annexation. Hawaii
2 has the backing of the powerful beet
, sugar interests in this, and the beet
: sugar people have the backing of the
entire }"stand-pat' party on principle,
: SO It's danger Is remote.
1t is interesting to take a retro
!: spective glance at the industrial his
!, tory OF Hawaii to show what King
: Sugar. with An American free market
has done. lust twenty-five years ago
: a pamphlet was published in Homo
: lulu reviewing the sugar industry OF
r the islands. Maps of the various Is
I lands were given with the plantations
: marked on them in red. Tables show
: ed how much land was planted in SUI
i. gar cane. and how much more there
t was available for that purpose Az
! that time, ss2, there were $4,000 acres
d of cane. and the estimate of the max
r AS matter of fact the present acre
! age is 213.400. or nearly three times
1.-THE "maXimum possible" of twenty-five
! years ago. The same authority sait
that on the Island of Oahu where Hon
olulu is situated. the acreage was
1000. and that It's maximum eXten'
sion would be $500. The sugar acre
? age of Oahu now is 36,532.
= The statistician of 1882 was homes
: and painstaking, and his estimates o.
the maximum possible extension o.
the industry We're not made by guess
r but by careful surveys. But he dit
j mot and could not, take into considera
ton the present methods of irrigation
d land steam cultivation.
r. The irrigation plants now in use OF
Hawaiian sugar plantations cost owe
sliOOO000. AS there are only fit.
plantations of considerable size thi
Indicates a great expenditure for IN
,! |dividual plants. In fact, only twenty
It tens at all, the others depending o.
u rainfall. Six plantations have plant
which cost over million dollars eacf
|. La good rain that will fill the reser
- voirs means a saving of thousan
!. dollars day for pumping on NOR
- than one plantation.
,r This kind of agriculture require
= capital. The sugar plantations OF Hn
wall have a combined capitalization 9
something over $4,000, 600. The owner
1T 1000 shareholders. The control OF III ;,
II, sugar industry IS centred In the hand
of half dozen big companies IN hon
olulu, sugar factors. These companle
act as agents for the plantations, IN
they are not prohibited from ownln
sp shares in plantation stock, not by an
lmeans. There are fourteen susa
~ agents on the list. but there are 81
big ones. These big companies gre,
out of small stores established lhat,
dreamed OF doing business by the mi
The small sugar planters Of the o.
days had to have supplies toF tne'
places. They Optalileu thetr, 80. /,
-. Honolulu trading store. When tn
e! crop was made they sold their suE I,
to the same store, or employed I'll
~ store to act as agent for It's sale. 4
I'll the sugar business grew from a sma
- matter OF farming to the proportion
~ Of a mighty industry, the factors gre
RI with it, But tho old ways are stroni
- and these old institutions can to-da
sell you anything from a million do
lar steamship to n box Of carpet tack
they are still supply stores of tt
ne general type, -waxed great and rlch,
ID, As half a DOZEN firms and doHe
10, or so men control tho sugar bus
81 ness, they control the business of Hi
S.e vail. They are King Sugars minis
% tiers. UP to this time no ono of the
Ia HAS been charged with disloyalty
~ Ills monarch. They arc faithful servi
or ors. 1t was inevitable, of course, thu
a tho concentration OF this econom
hoover into a few hands would caul