Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1911-02-09
C. J. WeIch Makes Damaging
Admission In Friar
Land Hearing.
MINDORO COMPANY
HELD BY THE ALLIES
Honolulu Iron Works Built Mill
On Plantation Now Under
Scrutiny By Committee Of
Congress.

Especial Bulletin Ccrrcspondcncc)
+ WASHINGTON Jan ga gem
tleman more or less directly asso-
cate1 with Hawaii appeared quite
prominently before Congress the 9TH
cr day in the hearing of the special
committee that is investigating the
Friar land matter Of the Philippines,
AS one of the Congressman put Il
the hearings thus far have brought
forth testimony "of exploitation oil a
most constituencies character"
And the most damaging admission
Of all was made by9 Charles j. Welch
who is associated with the Hayemey-
ers in the NHndoro proposition. He
IS the leading factor of the business
nections in Cuba and also in the Ter
ritory of Hawaii. The Mindoro pro-
position with which he is connected
ordered the mill for their plantation
constructed in Honolulu
Mr. Welch in his testimony said
CAS- far as the San Jose estate and
the Mindoro development are concern
terests We (the Sugar TrusD are
practically the same thing. There is
no getting away from that
A New Jersey Corporation.
Here is the cruX of the whole sit
uation. The MndorO Development
Company organized for purposes OF
general development of the island re-
&c
Its express reason for existence is
the exploitation and development Of
the vast sugar estate of San Jose in
the island of Mindoro. Between the
harbol of MindorO and the San Jose
estate lie three plantations. known as
the California plantations. They are
owned by a grouD of California set
tiers who are regarded as the friends
and allies of Sugar Trust interests.
From the harbor to the San Jose plan
tatiOn the development company isl
building railway This railway
crosses all three of the California es-
tates. The owners thereof have never
given consent for the construction Of
the railway II was not that they did
not want it but the Mindoro company
was so sure of their LOYALTY to the
sugar interests that II did not even
take the trouble to get their right of
way
At the harbor of Mindoro the de-
velopment company has secured a.
lease on the whole harbor for twenty
Ave years. According TO the mem
bers of the committee. there is no
record of any previous corporation
having been able to secure mono
noly on the waters Of American ter
ritory. The lease is absolute and the
lease stands of record in the Philip
pine Land Office.
Regarding the organization of the
MindorO Development Company Mr.
Horace Havemeyer was cross-eXamin-
ed
"Who were the organizers of this
company?" he was asked.
81 do not know their names" hn
replied. "They were clerks in the Of
fees of the Jersey City law finn
where the papers of the incorporation
were originally drawn"
Horace Havemeyer had already sold
a big block of his own Mindoro stock
to his cousin Fl. o. Havemeyer.
HaVemeVer AGENTS Evidence.
More interesting testimony was pre-
sented by T., l.. Poole. manager Of
the Havemeyer and Wolch interests in
the Philippines He told the commit
tee he was the agent of the Mindoro
DEVELOPMENT Comnanv He said FUR
thor that the Public Land OHice at
Manila had already cancelled the GO"
tifrate of sale made out to issncH
certificates either TO him or his cor
porate nominees. This was giving TO
the known agent of the comnany the
Continued on Page 4.