Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-09-07

UH AHel tCdH SuIppIHS lcI TIC Cal
riage Of her products anu passengers
to- and from the mainland. 1t is
therefore, of the greatest importance
10 the Territory that all vessels fly
ing the American flag shall be &C,
corded the privileges of the canal
and that free tolls shall be granted
to all vessels engaged in the coast
wise trade.
Not only will such policy effect .
saving of at least a quarter of a mil
lion dollars annually to the Terri,
tory, but it would tend to give Ha
vail what she badly needs-addition,
al facilities for passenger. travel The
restrictions of the coastwise laws Oh
passenger travel have borne heavily
ON the islands and have retarded
their development; but, with free
passage through the canal for Amer,
ican vessels and with the proposed
additional local steamers, the burden
would be lifted and the Hawaiian
islands will enter upon a new era OF
commercial development.
Hawaii's destiny is strongly linket'
with that of the Pacific Coast. The
islands draw most of their supplies
from San Francisco and Seattle, TO
which will doubtless be added In
time, Los Angeles and San Diego
San Francisco has furnished nearly
all of the outside capital invested il
the island industries up to the pres.
ent time; on the other hand, the Ter
fitory west of the Rocky Mountains
is the natural market for Hawaii's
two principal crops-sugar and pine,
apples. Whatever increases the pop
uIation increases the consumption OF
those products, and there can be nc
question as to the influence the canal
will exert in opening UP the vast, un,
developed resources of California and
her sister States. 1t is, therefore,
only fitting and proper that the open.
ing of the waterway shall be com.
memorated at San Francisco Sby the
greatest Industrial exposition the
world has ever seen, and to which
Hawaii will contribute her full share.
The long distance from the islands
to the worlds markets has hitherto
confined their agricultural activities
to the one great staple
which has been added the canned
pineapple industry during the last
few years. The deNelo pment of tour.
ist travel, supplies for the naval and
military posts, and the demands of
an increasing population will call in
to existence number of small an5
diversified industries, and the settle
ment and cultivation of lands Urn.
suited for the staple products, which
now await the hand of the industri
Gus, bona fide home seeker. A
shorter and cheaper route to the
manufacturing cenfefs of the East
will doubtless encourage the euItiva-
ton of tobacco, sisal, cotton and
other semi-tropical products now
more or less In the experimental
stage. 10 b.. -
Hawaii's greatest problem is now
and ever has been that of labor-no,
merely efficient workers in the cane
fields, but a laboring class eligible
and desirable for American citizen.
ship. Long experience has proven
that the Latin races from the south
of Europe adaptlbthemselves most
readily to conditions in the islands
Although many of these people on
arrival are illiterate, they are sturdy
and Industrious, and under the lib.
eral public school system of the Ter
ritory one or two generations make
of them good, intelligent citizens ane
useful members of the community
life of the islands. The long distance
around Cape HORIZON the one hand.
and the difficulty of transporting i'm
migrants across the mainland, on the
other, present almost insurmountable
obstacles in bringing these immi-
grants to Hawaii. The distance from
Gibraltar via Cape Horn to the isl
ands is more than 10000 miles, ans
with the best medical inspection anc
care that can be provided sickness
and suffering are inevitable durins
the long unbroken voyage.
Trans-Pacific Routes. .. -.
Within the last six years, the Ter.
ritorial Board of immigration has ex
pended three-quarters of a million
dollars in the transportation of immI
grants from Portugal, Spain, the
Azores and Madeira islands to Ha-
waii. Notwithstanding the large
amount, it has been fully justified in
added labor supply, and in the Amer
icanizing influence brought about BY
the ready assimilation of these races.
After the completion of the canal
the distance will be reduced at least
which will more than pro-
portionately reduce the expense and
attendant upon the present
route. The steamship lines which
now run regularly from the Mediter'
ranean to Mexican ports may be ex.
tended westward through the canal,
affording facilities for a steady
stream of immigration from the
countries above named.
There is much speculation as tC
the effect the Panama canal will have
on international commerce. Whether
any large amount Of traffic between
Europe and the Far East will be di
Eerted from the SueZ to the Panama
will doubtless depend to some exten.
on the tolls which are levied on for,
f. g.,