The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-09-16

to industrial progress, then will the
people look back with regret on lost
opportunity.
The investigation of water resources
now being organized will consist of two
broad divisions. First, the measurement
of river flow; second, the investigation
of underground water supplies. River
flow measurement means the daily OBJ
servation of the amount of water flow
ing in a stream for period of years
sufficient to determine the habits of the
streams and its capacity for service.
You know that a river will flow some
times high and sometimes low, but I'M
less you have made an investigation,
you have no idea how many acres it
will irrigate during low stages, or how
great volume is wasted into the sea
during floods.
unusually good ditch systems. [ have
rarely seen better, but they do not
in any case use their sources of supply
with maximum efficiency. Sometimes
they run short of water and some of
the fields lying under the ditch must
go dry. Again the bitches are full and
water is running to waste in floods.
A food is essentially waste of water.
In order to intelligently deal with such
situation, it is necessary to know how
much water is wasted in floods how
much can be saved by storage and how
many more acres could be irrigated
from such storage. Finally all the
facts must be assembled to determine
if it is practicable to undertake con-
servation, and if so to what extent.
The significance of the underground
water Investigations is equally great.
The investigation of water resources
here involves consideration of many
important public problems, some of
which are peculiar to this Territory.
For example, | hear on every hand, the
desire expressed for great and stable
population that may be depended upon
for labor, production and defense. To
this end you have been trying to secure
immigration of people that would assim-
ilate and become part of the body
polite. A very good plan but upon
zenshir? There is no sociologic prin-
eiple more completely demonstrated
than that which requires ownership of
land in the making of a citizen. Bring
out your social remedies, they will fail,
they will all fail, until each man has
his feet somewhere in the soil.
| don t mind confessing that [ came
here with a badly warped prejudice
against homesteads in this country.
From that which | had faithfully read
and from the testimony of several we'll
informed men my preconception was
that this land was a place predestined
for big estates, to be operated by alien
labor, with the American flag kept in
its place only by the persuasion of
rapid fire guns. | am going away con-
WINGED that the flag can be kept afioat
here without the constant menace of
armament, but sustained. by the stout
hearts of Americans whose homesteads
stand out all over the land. The best
part of this Territory or that which
is best suited for homestead entry is
the arid part. In fact there is very
little agricultural land here that would
not be benefited by irrigation. Now
if you are going to dot this arid coun-
try over with homesteads, which you
must do if you succeed in your ambi-
ton for stable population, you must
know where the water is coming from
that will support those fields.
Up to very recent time, your agri-
cultural development has been one
sided. Before coming here [ heard it
said that Hawaii carries all its eggs
in one basket. After looking over the
situation, [ believe it incumbent on all
devout citizens of the Territory to
thank the Lord for that one basket. 1t
Is strong, capable basket. Long may
1t wave. Nevertheless we must all
recognize the economic necessity Of de-
veloping other industries that will act
as counterweight. In my opinion, it
has been proved that the sugar indus
try is plantation industry, one that
must be run on large scale and that
if the homesteader succeeds in cane
planting he does so by reason of the
altruism of the neighboring plantation.
In other words he becomes a plantation
adjunct. Now altruism never made an
American who would stand up with
his chin out. Therefore in homestead
ing this country there is furnished the
opportunity to build up diversified agri-
cultural industry. Hang on to your
sugar, encourage it, do your best for
it, because it has carried you through
many grievous years. Even if we are
SO ineonceivably foolish as to believe