Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-09-25

low price the holdings OF the little
men?
On my way to Hilo | met credit
man who twice year visits the isl
ands to investigate the financial stand
ing CT various plantation owners. He
told me with a sigh dsdo not know
how genuine il wasl of the gradual alb
sorption of the small but rich planta-
tions by the larger concerns. BY far
i the most valuable produces of the ISL
ands is raw sugar and acanned pineap-
Pies. OF the income from their sales
very little remains at the place of pro-
duction except laborers' cheap wages,
which are again cut down by the plan
tation commissary stores. 1t would
be practically, impossible for any out
side person to successfully operate a
general store expecting to obtain any
support from laborers or employees
A mill situated upon the west side
of the island of Oahu produced $50
tons Of sugar the day arrived, ap-
proximately a value of $4,000 at 4
cents per pound. This is only one
mill and there are many of the same
or greater capacity. 1t stands to rea-
son that this industry wouid not oper-
ate unless at good profit. There is
no question but that tie moneys real
lied in the nature of profits do not
again see the islands, except as it
goes into the pockets of a very limited
number of wealthy people who reside
there, the balance going to interests in
the United States.
After once having visited a pine
apple cannery no one would lestsate
to purchase this fruit. The greatest
courtesy is shown to all visitors. The
methods are very simple. The pine
apples are not picked until they are
fully ripe. They are then pared. cored
and cut by machinery. The slices are
graded according to form, but it makes
no difference of which grade you pur-
chase, 1t is all the same delicious pine
apple. They are packed5in their own
juice. The can is theHnsealeds and
brought up to boiling po.nt, after which
they are ready for shipping. The same
character of interests control this In.
dustry as in, the sugar industry. The
only factory to which general admis.
sion is refused is in the manufacture
of pineapple juice. could not learn
the reason why. 1t may be that more
juice comes out of the factory than
there is in the pineapple.
"Of the voting population fully 75
per cent are the original inhabitants
of the islands. or mixed descendants
The Kanaka of the present day is.easy
going. good natured and lazy as dis
tinguished from the Kanaka who lived
under the reign of Kamehameha l. He
has no fight in him and cares little
what happens tomorrow as long as he
has three meals today. me climate
and the great productiyeness of the
soil have made it easy for him to live,
his principal article OF food being poi.
which is made from the root of the
taro plant. This is grown in great
quantities upon, the islands and is con-
sumed there.
The Kanaka's chief ambition In life
is to have luau, or native feast. In
order to satisfy his desire In this d.
rection he has always been willing to
mortgage any of his land holdings
The native soon forgets that he has
borrowed any money upon his land
until he is dispossessed of il. No small
portion of the finest holdings upon the
islands have been obtained by outside
people through their knowledge of the
fondness of the Kanaka for his luau.
Such weak enmity toward the present
possessors of the land is shown by the
Kanaka and half breed vote as well
as in jury practice. Puerile, If not
densely ignorant. he is father of some
of the strangest laws which could be
imagined, as instanced by certain arch.
ives in the local legislature. one of the
native statesmen making a motion that
low tides be abolished as he could
never see any use for. them anyway.
Another motion was made that the lati-
tude of the islands be changed to num-
Der one, as it was too hard for the
natives to remember the exact number
of degrees and minutes from Green
witch. Asking for an appropriation to
protect the islands from epidemic the
local statesmen did NOT believe that
such thing could be caused by bac.
terra unless they could see them,
whereupon one of the members of the
board of health obtained cockroach
and after decorating il with various
designs, including skull and cross
bones, it was shown to the statesmen,
who having seen this awful monster
rushed from the room and passed
law authorizing public funds to be eX-
pended for signs at the entrance to
the outer harbor bearing the inscrip-
ton no bacteria allowed to land.
Taking this condition into considera-
ton it can easily be seen how inefi- |
Gent the government of the islands
must be, handicapped as it is by an
ignorant vote No more corroboratiye
evidence of waste is shown than is
apparent to the casual observer when
he looks at the condition of the roads |
and subsequently learns how much |
money has been spent upon them.
AFTER a residence of a few weeks .