The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-07-05
.IvERS TOOK THE
COVER RIGHT OFF
Gave Tax Appeal Court Full View
OF Inner Working Of the
Paauhau Plantation.
(Man Special to The Advcrli.cr.)

(Mail Special to The Advertiser)
HlLo, July Richard Ivers, score
tary Of Brewer s. Co., took the cover
of Paauhau plantation for the benefit
Of the tax appeal court here last week
and explained everything about it, from
the cost of raising ton of cane to the
comparative superiority of Japanese
over Filipino labor. lie went into full
particulars regarding the plantation
finances and urged as one reason why
the value of the concern had deprecia-
ted the certainty that large part of
| it will soon go into homesteads.
Pauahau paid $l,025,O0 in dividends
since 1906, but had paid none last year
and would probably not pay the usual
twenty cents a share month any more.
In 1906 the dividend was $4,000; in
1907, $lS0,000; in 1908, $l90,000; in
1909, $4,000; in 1910, 100000. Last
year, at the end of the period, owing
to expenditures for buildings, extra fer
tilizers and other things, the planta-
ton was not only not able to declare
dividends but had to announce an ac-
tual loss in surplus account.
Labor Situation.
This year Paauhau expects to turn
out 10000 tons of sugar, but, on ae-
count of the necessity of extra ferti-
lizing and the increase in cost and the
decrease in efficiency of today's labor,
the profits will be little. In some parts
of the plantation, declared Mr.. lvers,
the cost of the fertilizers applied is
greater than the value of the sugar
cropped. Regarding labor conditions as
the plantation people find them, Mr.
Ivers testimony was of particular in
terest.
"Good labor is hard, if not almost i'm
possible, to get now,'' said the witness
'The labor of today is not as good as
that of past years. Men want to gel
out of plantation work now and to hold
what labor we have we must pay more
, for it. A man now wants to get a day
and half's pay for every day ht
works, and even when he gets it he
cannot be depended upon as could the
steady hands there used to be in the
cane fields. The Filipinos, for instance
who are taking the places vacated by
the Japanese do not begin to compar,
in efficiency with the Japanese.
son January ] of this year there wa
, a fat increase of two dollars montl
\ for all laborers. Then there is nov
the bonus system, on sliding scale
Q which also increases wages and de
. creases the profits on the crop.
1.-The way | see out of it is to en-
l. courage the contract system and go i
{ for it more and more at Paauhau.'
Mr.. Ivers also asserted that labor o
!, all kinds was very scarce, due probabl
u to the increased acreage under crop i
! the Territory. In his opinion, the Ii
Dor situation is serious.
e Cost OF Production.
i, The figures given the court regardin
II the cost of production of ton of s,
/, gar were interesting. On Paauhau til
n figures varied with the years. In 100
it had cost $43.S1 to produce ton
sugar ready for shipment to market
, in 1907, $42.12; in 1908, 1926;
,. 1909, $42.l1; in 1910, $54.SS, and
v 1911, $3.50. The extremely low co.
"a in 1908, when there was a crop
lO,400 tons, was because the tonnag
:: of cane per acre was above the ave
l. age and the sugar contents of the car
lie high, thus cutting down the cost
n sugar production.
is Referring directly to the cause
lie issue, that of the assessment of Il
plantation, Mr.. Ivers announced thu
- h' "Ohiu hdNC u
assessment, even if Paauhan had bee
the only appellant in the field, becau
he thought the new assessment tt
high for the present, while the depr
citation in the future of the plantatiC
should be taken into account in fixit
taxation values. The plantation
also certain to lose a Thousand acr
of its best land, the lease on whit
will soon expire and which, in O
probability, cannot be renewed on al
terms. The land will be homesteade
and while it will still be used to gro
cane for the plantation, the corpor
ton will have to pay more for Il
cane than it would cost the plantati'
to grow it, Paauhau owns in f
simple only 985 acres, while $500 acr
are leasehold. Some of the Ieas
have many years yet to run, but tn
of the best cane land expires with
four years.
The tax appeal court will give
decision in the case next week.
SUMMER SCHOOL OPENS