Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-10-13
Ukulele Giuen s.
Recognition In
U.S.. Ohcialdom
BY C s. ALBERT

s
Special star. Brlletiu Carrsspor dtrcF)
" AS4ilN61ON. n. G. . Oct. t., TIE
Eukglele the Hawaiian musical jnrtru,
ment, is rapidly becoming a lad. in
this country II Is no longer any sec
Fret that Broadway. New York. fixes
the. ukuleie music and is willing to
pay for it a..
t The Department OF. Commerce is in
receipt-of a report from A. p Taylor,
RS representative the Hawaiian ia
lands. telling ~ tbe wonderful success
.of the little Hawaiian guitar
Mr. Taylor has Just flied with the
department. a let OF statistics which
give a fairly adequate idea OF how the
uku,eIe business is picking up in III"
South Seas According to the a2PUt
the manufacturers OF tbe"ffawaiian in.
strument are. turning out 1GHn a
month which is. some increase over
the 500 or eco that We're. being made
a year ago. r.. III: H.. 49,.
In the city OF Honolulu therp.ar" at
present no less than eight ukuleIp
factories. while scattered through the
islands are number Of smaller
plants The native manufacturers
were not prepared 10 meet the de-
mand for the guitars that sprang up
within the fast u months. after the
instrument gained such popularity in
the United States. -. .. III.
Previously the only ukuTeles made
we're turned out by small shops en-
plUying- two or three skilled makers.
The output of these places. however.
vas almost entirely for the island
trade end when the foreign demand
struck Honolulu the demand went far
ahead OF the supply .@~4~-
Within the past few months practi-
cally@ every ukuTele manufacturer in
Honolulu. has been speeding UP his
outrut to meet the demand. The
small workshops have been turned in
10 factories the handful of workers
formerly employed has been swel'ed
as rapidly IS workers could he train
ed and plants enlarged. During the
first week of the, present month a
ukulele manufacturing company was
organized in Honolulu which plans to
turn out 1000 te 1000 instruments, a
month as long as the. present demand
continues. H.. -
This COMPANY will not only manu-
facture heavy output of the instru-
ments, but plans to market the pro
duCtion of other factories in the isl
ands.. The workers will all be Hawai-
ians or Portuguese. -: "...-~.
The man who originated the. Uku-
IeIe-a Portuguese whose name is not
given-is now president of manufaC
ID nh + t,tr Inc
700 Instruments a month, He is still
an active worker i'm his own factory.
the report saws Another Honolulu
firm is producing about 400 instru,
ments every month.
Native instrument Superior
The native manufacturers, Mr. Tay-
Tor reports. claim that the native in
strument Isl far superior to any instru-.
ment that can be built in America or
elsewhere The Hawaiian ukulele is
made Of koa wood, seasoned and pre-
pared according to. native methods
and selling at from 1915 to $50. The
higher-Driced instruments. are heavily
beaded ....... $780,:
One Of the most important consider
atoms in uku1ele construction. says
the report is "building in the tone,
and the native workers claim that this
can only he accomplished with the use
of koa wood -..
Ukulere PLAYING became fad soon
after the production on BroadwaH of
the inlay Robinson Crusoe,'' in which
Al JoIson introduced the song "Yaka
Hula Hinky Dula, and has since
spread all over the country,