The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-06-18
HAWAII.
A Territory Whose Interests Are
Neglected by Congress.

NegieCteu W SOnkfess'
To THE EprroR OF THE SuN-Sir: w
have with us to-day" a party or
one hundred and thirty United states
Senators and Representatives who ar
rived here yesterday on the steamship
Sierra as the guests OF the Territory
of Hawaii, Al appropriation OF $4O,-
900 was made by the Legislature which
adjourned last week to bring these ma
tional law makers to our shores so that
they may study the situation which
affects our sugar and other agricultural
industries. our immigration problems.
our military and navy defences, our
land questions. 80 that when these mat
ters come UP in the halls OF Congress
they will be FUZZY and Intimately ac-
quainted with the details.
Although we are q legal territory
OF the United States. in ~oine respects.
politically, our detached position from
the mainland gives us quite different
results from national laws passed.
Therefore We believe the $4,000 VIII
be we'll spent. OF course this only goes
to show that we are a prosperous eoun-
try and that the Americans here. al
though American influences have been
here ever since 1920. are quite willing
to risk their Investments In the devel-
opment OF the islands as a great sugar
producing community.
You remember when the tarin ques-
ton was under discussion In
n delegation OF our people was turned
away from the doors of the White
House on the ground that their argu-
mtnts would not affect the programme
already arranged. our Island people
were also told that IL our in
dustry was to be ruined by the change
In the tariff, then We could raise some
thing else. corn. wheat, alfalfa. or
something OF the kind. Imagine de-
stroying an Industry OF nifty years
standing. built up at tremendous risk
and developed into one OF the most
scientific productions in the world.
our bread Is buttered on both sides
with sugar" That In a phrase which
may sound strange, but at the same
time II is quite true. Everything we
have here In buttered with sugar. All
our business is woven and interviewer
with sugar. The plantations, or ths
stocks thereof. are not owned by a
inonopolistic few. as many OF our critics
assert. but are owned quite generally by
the rank n file. Stocks are on sale
and changing hands every day. and sal
aritd men and women, clerks, street car
conductors. stevedores even. and best
people from all WALKS OF life, own stock.
and some OF them have quite extensive
blocks.
The national law makers have here
tofore failed to recognize the real I'm
p%ortance of Hawaii. They forget that
in 1895. when the trouble in the Philip
pines was on. Hawaii was an !uhvpend-
ent country. a republic. The American
warships and army transports needed
a port OF call on the long voyage from
san Francisco to the Philippines.
Hawaii was generous and waived neu-
trality and at that time was seekisg
annexation to the United States. Tho
United States took advantage Of this
opportunity and took into the MO a
country which had a debt Of less than
n million dollars. In exchange for this
IN wall gave to the United states an
OUTPOST defensive position. which to-day
may he likened to the advanced
trenches In the troubled. war ridden
countries OF Europe.
The fact that the United States is
now spending millions OF dollars In
Hawaii for Notifications and the de-
%veloprent OF Pearl Harbor naval sta
ton does not indicate that those ex-
penditures are to he dcbited to Hawaii
any more than the expenditures for for
tihcatlons in New York Harhor or at
Boston or AT San Francisco are debited
against those localities. The eNpendi-
lures for defence in the Hawaiian
Islands are made as n national meas
~ aAANA ~ Nht' ~ VI ANi' ~ -
can mainland. and particularly OF the
Pacific Coast.
our customs revenues. now collected
by the United States. run from 81 500
600 to nearly 81. 100000 per annum in
addition are the revenues OF the Internal
Revenue Department and of the Post
ONCE. The cost of maintaining these
departments is much smaller than in
other larger and so-called more iinpor-
tnnt nlngpS on the Afnprir1n mainland
Hawaii turned over to the United states
Government many pieces OF valuable
lands II public buildings.
At the time 81 the annexation, 1898.
the Chinese exclusion act Of the United
States automatically went into effect.
hat shut off the best class Of labor,rs
we have ever had here for our sugar
! plantations. We ave had to scour the
world for labor ~ the kind which could
compete with similar labor In foreign
countries. We nave sent to Spain, por-
tugal. to siberia. to Corea and the
Philippines and many other places for
labor. Recently Congress discussed a
l~iteracy test in the immigration bill
which II passed would have absolutely
cut on all Of our labor supply. This
was not thought OF in the national leg.
i%slstiye halls.
In shipping measures Hawaii has
again bel unConsidcred. In 1875 there
was passed a cuastwise. law which
placed "A charge OF So a head on per-
sons travelling on foreign vessels he
tween domestic ports. say from phila-
delphia to New York. In 1895, jus,
one hundred years later. when Hawai-
was annexed to the United States, the
coastwisc law was augmented and the
fine for travelling on "A foreign vesseI
between Hawaii and san Francisco, for
instance. was raised to $500. Therefore
our travel has been restricted entirely "a
American lines. National shipping leg.
islation has apparently, in our opinion,
struck at American shipping. particu-
larly in the Pacific. where the compe.
tition is keen. Thu Japanese Govern
ment pays a subsidy to steamship lines
running across the Pacific to san Fran.
cisco; America does not pay a subsidy
American officers are paid much highe,
salaries and wages than those of Japan
and other foreign countries. The foreign
boats can carry cargoes for much les,
than American boats. do not believe
that one out Of fifty Congressmen ever
knew that had ii not be, n for Hawaiian
sugar thc American merchant marin,
would have been almost At a staudstill
The American Hawaiian STEAMSHIP
Company, composed Of tweuty-eigh,
splendid freight vessels, was built ur
on the basis of Hawaiian sugar. 70,
contracts To deliver the sugar to tn.
Atlantic ports were given To this line
So were built up the Matson Navigation
Company, the Oceanic Steamship Com.
pany, and Ia some cNt,ut the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company. That is IN,
case. although not exactly "A brief, fol
Hawaii, \. +. TAYLOR,