Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-10-04
HILO RAILROAD PLANS AND HOMESTEADING
POSSIBILITIES AS DSCUSSEDBYL, A, THURST(N

! IHCh lAeIS IL the question OI uIIlcut
ties here Now you are familiar, arr
you not. with the beet sugar industry
in the West?
ThurstOn: Yes.
Fisher: Are you familiar with any
OF the irrigation projects OF the West,
Thurston: By reading.
Fisher: | don't recollect in any Of
| these that the mainland farmer has
any of these rosy dreams that you
| speak of. He has to clear his land
he has to plant, before he can put il
into sugar beets. And it was urged
on me in a very extensive visit
through many of the very best irri
gated regions that the charges of the
reclamation service are quite as high
as the land was worth. If that is true
there is no particular difference be
tween the farmers situation there and
that here.
Thurston: The beet crop is sown
in the spring and harvested in the fail,
not more than six months in the
ground. AS matter of fact, from my
reading of largely official reports on
the subject, the beet sugar-beets are
not being raised by American farmers
by thir own eXertions. saw tue re-
port of the Commissioned of Labor in
California when was in Washington
reporting the 9S per cent of the beet
work in the fields of California was
done by Japanese or oriental labor
Fisher: Yes, that was California
Taking the beet sugar terEtory that Is
not in California, which is of enorm-
Gus extent all through the central west
have seen the American farmer MIS-
ing his own-working his own fields.
Thurston: My information Is mat
the are almost no Americans rails
ing those, but that they are being rails
Ell by immigrants.
Americans In Industry. :
Fisher: I have met hundreds of
Americans-farmers who are raising
be cts with their own hands.
Thurston: / am very glad to hear
it. -: .-.~ ~ #s. r. *....... 49,. '..--.. r..
Fisher: The beet sugar farmer has
hot got any place to sell his beets ex-
cept to beet sugar mill, and there
usually are not surplus of them in
any port or district. OF course, he
has the advantage that by carrying
his beets little further he can reacn
another beet sugar factory so that il
the factory is too exacting he does
Rave something that approximates
competition-that is not always true
here. fail to see any substantial diff
ference ON the point you mention as
between the beet sugar farmer in the
North or central west or the cane or
pineapple frower here. Both of them
cell their product to practically linn
tied market, to mill, just as the pine
apple man or sugar man must sell his
product to pineapple cannery or sug-
az MILL = -
Z, Thurston: The principal difference
IS pineapples and sugar require asout
two years, beets take only six months.
Mainland Problems Many. =,
Fisher: That is more than made
ur by this fact-that on the mainland
this land is invariably raw land. 1t all
has to be cleared. If course you have
in your lands here the same problem,
but you have great deal of these
lands that are now being opened tina:
have long been under cultivation-in
some cases the homesteader il h.
waii has the distinct advantage over
the homesteader on the mainland be-
cause he goes on land on which he
can plant Immediately. OF course he
has to wait little longer for his crop,
tut doubt it when you take into con-
sideration that he has to clear that
land and other preliminary oper-
ations. And that to the short
er time of the actual entry of
the land and the production of
the first crop. Take the fruit crop
m Utah or in Washington or Oregon
anywhere through the central west
where the great fruit lands have been
developed-of course the waiting there
II just as long as here. / would like
to know whether you know of any diff
ticulty here in the way of getting fruit
on the market that has not been met
and overcome by the mainland fruit
grower.
Thurston: Without knowing what
it costs your Western farmer to clear
his land and get it in shape, venture
to question your suggestion that the
expense of clearing the land and get
ting it in shape is as great as it is
here.
1.-THE statement will be continued
Iater.l