The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-08-20
TALKS BY DE YOUNG
AND SCHVERIN

One of the largest assemblies that
ever gathered there was in the hall of
the Chamber of Commerce yesterday
H. De Young, proprietor of the San
Francisco Chronicle, and r. P. Schwe-
rim, general manager of the Pacflc
Mail Steamship Company, for which a
special meeting with the general busl-
ness public invited had been called.
Secretary H. P. Wood asked the
members to elect chairman, as both
the president and the vice president
were absent from the city. l.. Tenney
Peck was on motion called to the po-
sition, and coming forward thanked
the Chamber for the honor and stated
the object of the meeting. He said
that when he told people in San Fran
cisco that he was from Honolulu he
needed no further passport to good
treatment. Mentioning the positions
of both guests he first called on Mr..
De Young.
That gentleman came forward smil-
ing and said that he had long taken
an interest in the Hawaiian ISLANDS.
Every hour of the five days he had
been here had been full of enjoyment.
Mr.. De Young spoke of the beginning
of the State of California, when peo-
pie crowded in from all parts of the
world to dig for gold, when cities
sprung up in a night and the popula-
When 81 100000, 900 had been taken out
of California the supply of gold was
practically exhausted, but another sort
of gold mines was discovered. Right
on the spot where the yellow metal
had been extracted from the ground,
golden oranges were produced. The
new gold mines of agriculture were
like those of the Hawaiian Islands,
whose sugar industry today produced
S36, 900, 900 a year. For years this was
almost the only industry here, but OF
late the pineapple industry had become
great, with 300, 900 cases last year and
the promise of 100000 this year. 1t
ought to become as large as the sugar
industry. They had 100000 people
in the States besides the European
market. Then they were experiment
ing with cotton tobacco and sisal in a
small way. 1t ought to be more than
experiment with these and other pro-
ducts for which the soil and climate
were suited.
He would venture a word of warn
ing. That was that the price of the
pineapples should not be made higher
than the capacity of the average wage
Garner to buy. 1t was the patronage
of the clerk and the mechanic, men
on moderate salaries or small incomes,
that made business. He knew an in
dustry that had been nearly killed by
high prices. A slight increase in the
price of can of salmon proved just
one too many, and a plant worth 49,,
| 100000 found it's product unstable
| There had been no dividends since,
although it was now all right again.
Besides diversfying their products
/ they should diversity their labor. Late
| ly they had sustained a strike on the
sugar plantations, which was the re-
suit of being largely dependent upon a
single nationality for labor, and that
one having the swelled head on ac
| count of successes of the past decade.
Referring to the policy of bringing in
| a class of population to build up Anne
rican citizenship, Mr.. De Young said
! that something more was needed than
advertising the amount of untitled
land, the capacity of the soil, the things
I that could be raised, etc. They must
ascertain from the large holders OF
J land what areas they have for disposal
to settlers, and advertise the size OF
farms that can be had, where they are
situated, for what crops or products
they are adapted and the price of avail
able farms. 1t was no use to bring a
man to the islands to sit around in
Honolulu until some one made an Of
fer to sell him piece of land. They
wanted to bring here the farmer from
the West and the planter from the
South.
AS the president of the California
Automobile Club he took an interest
in good roads, and he was glad to see
the progress that was being made here
in that respect There had been con-
siderable experimenting in California
and for the benefit of our road builders
the speaker described a type OF road
which was far superior to common
macadam. This was made by lay
ing a four-inch base of concrete rein
forced with steel wire mesh, on which
was superimposed oiled macadam. Tins
road would sustain heavy loads even
when the earth underneath 1t was
washed out, and it did not cost more
than macadam of the old-fashioned
kind eight inches thick.
Mr. De Young in conclusion spoke OF
~ Iooutiao ond tha raSffulnaSS of