The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-08-25

hope in these islands for Manila hemp,
hut he thought that tariff would add
coffee and tobacco to the staple in
dustries of the country. Coffee; he felt
sure, would be one of the great means
of building this up as white man s
country.
Tobacco a Possibility.
Jared Smith said that tobacco was not
yet an industry, but possibility. He
doubted if any revision of the tariff
would seriously affect tobacco. but the
tobacco men were ready to do what
they could to help other Hawaiian in
dustries that did need help in the
tariff. He thought bananas could get
much help from the Deciduous Fruit
Marketing Associations of the East,
which were powerful, and wanted a
tariff on bananas, not because they
raised them, but because, being a cheap
fruit, they competed considerably with
the deciduous fruits in which they were
interested. Revision he said would be
along the lines of a maximum and min
imum tariffs, which was interesting to
the coffee and rubber producers be-
cause the manufacturers of the East
were anxious to revise the tariff in the
interest of the extension of trade in
South America, and especially in Bra
iii. which was the chief producer of
coffee and rubber. It should be borne
in mind also that the revision would
probably be a Republican revision. He
couldn't conceive what n Democratic
revision would be like, but he didn't
think there would be one.
Rubber Supports Sugar.
DR.. L. @. Warehouse said that rub
Der was not yet an industry here. The
imports of rubber into the United
States were about $4,000 tons. There
were now about 1000 acres planted in
Hawaii, which when in bearing would
yield about four-tenths of one per cent.
sible because of sugar, and therefore
the rubber industry would give its sup
port to the sugar industry.
Honey Needs Protection.
A. F. Judd, speaking for the honey
industry, said that its present product
was $50 tons of honey and Is tons of
wax, worth $50 200, which was about
the amount imported into the United
States The Hawaiian honey comes in
direct competition with the honeys from
Cuba and Central America, on which
there was a duty of twenty cents n
gallon. He hoped that this duty would
not be removed The industry had an
immediate future of about 100000
year,
Sisal Means Millions.
1T -.
dustry had passed the experimental
stage and that they should know in
few months whether or not Manila
hemp could be produced proftably here
or not.
w. c. Weldon sai,l there were $780,
900 acres of land in Hawaii that could
be devoted to sisal more proftably
than anything else, and at six cents
pound, the lowest price they had ever
received would yield about $35,OOO,O00
worth of sisal, which was just about
the value of the sisal imported into the
United States every year
R. w. Single said that the lumber
company he represented had already
spent about 100000. In the Santa Fe
tie contract it came in direct competi-
ton with the Japanese oak tie.
/. w. W. Bruner said that by recent
ruling of the Secretary of the Treas
ury Hawaiian pineapples were depriv
ed of part of the protection intend
ed for them under the Dingley tariff.
Rice Industry Disorganized
T. H. Lansing said the rice industry
was not organized, and was in the
hands of class of men who did not
appreciate the benefits of organization.
He did not think, however, that it
could be benefited by tariff as both
seed and land had deteriorated by rea-
son of the unprogressive ways of the
growers. large part of the rice eat
ing population demanded rice grown in
their own country. They had been
taught to make this demand by
clever commercial move on the part
of some of the Japanese dealers. Rice
on which cent and quarter of duty
a pound had been paid now sold in the
market al seventy-ive cents bag
more than the homegrown rice, and to
increase the tariff would simply in
crease the cost to the Japanese and
probably lead to a demand for higher
wages from the plantations.
w. o. Smith said that in the
eighteen months ending December 81,
1907, the importation of rice frcm
Japan to Hawaii had been $4,000 bags
Of unpublished rice a month.
Question of Unity.
George w. Smith said that there
would go out from this meeting some
thing greater than the question of the
tariff on rice. There would 90 out a
unification of the industries of Hawaii.
James F. Morgan promised the good
will and cooperation of the Chamber
of Commerce for the efforts to be put
forth as a result of this meeting.
Mr.. Tenney's motion was then, put
and carried unanimously, and Governor
Frear appointed as the committee Jas.
+, Morgan, G. w. Smith, E. D. Tenney,
T.. +. Paxton, and Albert Warehouse.
The meeting then adjourned.
sannaF- ~Ha