The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-05-23
BIC LAND BUYER
FROM HONOLULU
The Mysterious Actions and
Statements of A. F.
Thayer.
IS HE IN SECRET SERVICE?
Details Confirm Cable That He
Claims to Represent
Dillinghams.
IS HE IN SECRET SERVICE:

I
The last mails from Manila brought
details of the report that \. F. Thayer
who left Honolulu for Manila with the
declared intention Of buying friar lands
for Hawaiian capitalists, had bought
10000 acres for the DilIjnghams. There
is nothing to explain the mystery of
Thayer's actions, however. When the
cabled report of his purchase came
and the DilIinghams disclaimed any
connection with the matter The Ad-
vertiser cabIed definite inquiry to
Manila, asking whom Thayer repre-
scented. The reply came that he rep
resented the Dillinghams. The latter,
however, still deny that they have
anything to do with Thayer.
Thayer left here with a large sum
of money secured while he was here,
| for the purpose Of buying lands. In
view Of some recent moves in Wash
| ington looking TO q general investiga-
| ton of these land matters. it has been
, suggested that Thayer may be a secret
/ service man. taking the character of
a land buyer for the purpose OF get
ting on the inside, and though the
suggestion Is regarded as a rather wild
one, his connection with the Oregon
/ land fraud cases lends it some color.
! The Manila Times of April IA had
! the following, showing impression that
/ he was going to bring a lot of Hawaii
| capital into the Philippines:
/ Three million pesos (about 81 300
| 0O0) of Hawaiian capital Will be spent
IN the development of a 20,000acre
! sugar plantation within thirty miles of
! Manila in less than ten months ac-
| cording to a report current this morn
: ing that the Dillingham; interests of
! Honolulu through their agent, Mr.. A.
! +. Thayer, had taken over the CaIamba
! estate comprising 10000 acres of friar
/ lands and had contracted for 10000
! acres additional in public and private
| lands adjoining the estate.
"These lands are located in Laguna
| province and have superb water faciI-
titles, as they front on the lake and
| have two rivers flowing through the
! property that viii furnish upwards of
! 10000 barrels a day. This will enable
every acre Of the land to be irrigated
after the Hawaiian system which has
| proved such a success.
- Mr.. Thayer. who is known to have
| spent more than two months looking at
lands in provinces near Manila, refused
| either To affirm or deny the report,
i although it is known that the bureau
Of lands now is at work on the final
certificates showing the purchase of
these lands for the Dillingham; inter
ests Of which Mr.. Walter Dillingham;
of Honolulu, is the head
"From all the facts available. it is
learned that the average price paid by
Mr.. Thayer for the entire 10000 acres
is between forty and fifty pesos an
acre. From the moment it was learned
that he was in the field to buy lands
prices of privately owned estates are
said to have gone shooting skvward
until some of the smaller haciendas
near the Calamba are now held as
/ strongly as city lots.
According to information reaching
the Times from Honolulu, the purchase
price is the smallest item in the invest
' ~ "a nun ~ N'0t
100000 pesos already has been ordered
in Honolulu and viii be shipped i'm
mediateIv on receipt Of the cablegram
from Mr.. Thaycr announcing that the
purchase OF land has been completed
1t is understood to have been the
original purpose Of the Dillinghams tC
? buy at least 10000 acres, but the price
limits are said to have been such as Il
prevent carrying out this plan. Ever
| with 10000 acres, sugar planters say
, labor viii prove problem, as upward:
of a thousand field hands must be EN-
ployed.
That the Calamba estate has beer
sold IS evidenced by the work already
under way on the plantation, where
roads looking to its planting in suga1
now are being cut across the fields.
According TO the original plans the