Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-12-05

Il
/ ously with their laborers. ..~
Labor Conditions Fairly Satisfactory
Generally speaking. the labor con.
! ditions On the plantations during the
wear have bean fairly satisfactory
/ Some of the plantations have been
more or less pressed for labor at diff.
I feTent times. but | cannot recall any
particular period when all OF the
! necessary laborers needed 10 conduct
plantation operations were on hand.
| II at any time all of the plantations
had all the laborers required. fear
/ that some of US would think that the
| millennium had arrived ...,..
| Benefits Of Filipino immigration
The payment of portion OF the
! bonus monthly and the extension
thereof TO contractors has served to
| keep plantation hands contented and
on the job nearly all the time. Fill
! Pine immigration has continued with
out interruption and the labor COM
mittee will report thar cor the year
under consideration total OF 1914
men. l41 women and l34 children have
| arrived in Hawaii from the Philippine
| Islands 1t is our hope and desire
that this immigration may continue
Not only are We receiving benefit
therefrom, but the FilipinoS are also
profiting. Very considerable sums of
money are being taken home or sent
home by laborers, and those who re-
turn are certainly more competent
and efficient through their experience
as plantation laborers in Hawaii. T..
Splendid work Of Experiment H..
Station ~
The experiment station has had
very active year under the able
direction of M Agee, in cooperation
with the experiment station commit
tee. AS a full report of the work
done will be made by the director Of
the station and the committee and
presented to you for consideration,
do not need to refer to their work
beyond mentioning few matters in
passing which seem TO me to be wor-
thy of attention --.-..<.. .
The work being done in connection
with plantation experiments, which is
referred to in the report of the eX-
pertinent station committee, seems to
me to give promise of great results,
and trust that these experiments
will be continued and extended
through the cooperation of the plan
tation managers. The plan now in
operation for training a number of
young men in the agricultural and
chemical departments of the station
should fill a long-felt want, and from
these young men we may surely eN-
pect to find some of the future mana
gers and head overseers. 49,.
Success in Fighting Pests ~. Il
I'm passing, would like also to
congratulate the pathological division
on the excellent success which has at
tended their work in connection with
the search for parasites for the ano-
mala beetle, and the establishment on
the infested fields of one species OF
these parasites, viz, Scelia wasp
The Makiki station has. been ex-
tended by the purchase of lot con-
tanning somewhat over an acre OF land
adjoining the present station, 4 and
plans have been approved and con-
tract let for fire-proof building which
will provide additional room for the
staff and the valuable station library
and chronological collection. With
the completion of these improve
ments, which are being made at a
time when the plantations can well
afford to pay for thema the Makiki
station should be we'll equipped for
its work for some time to come.
Quality of Sugar Must Be improved
"One of the most important subjects
which will be brought to your atten-
ton at this meeting is the necessity
for a great improvement being made
in the quality of sugars which we are
sending to the refiners, and | trust
this most important matter Will re-
ceive your careful consideration and
that some means will be devised for
the establishment of a standard OF
quality which will be adhered to by
all.
TT is a truth too we'll known to
need repetition, that in order to OBJ
tain the best market price a manu-
facturer has to be continually on the
alert to improve the quality of his
wares; and if, for one reason or an
other, the quality is allowed to de-
cline, the manufacturer soon finds, In
these days of competition, that he Is
losing shis market, or has to take
lower price than his competitors.
This Is equally true of the manufac.
ture OF sugar as of anything else.
Competition in the sugar business, as
in almost every other line of business,
is becoming keener all the time, and
we may be sure that the Cubans, with
their eEer-increasing crops, which
they sell in competition with each
other and with Hawaiian and Porto
Rican sugars, are losing no opportu-
nifty of making sugar more and more
in conformity with the requirements
of the buyers. The result will be that
unless radical Improvements are
made at the beginning Of this corp,
and continued through the season,
new contracts will only be made SUBJ
iect to deduction, based on refin-
ing value, greatly in excess of any.
thing we have ever had to pay in the
past. Though we have long been &C
customed to paying more attention to
getting much pOccihlo Our