The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-10-16
HONEST[ADING ON
kauai DECLAREDTO
Be WORKINGHNELy
Paper Urging Opening 81 Lands
Now Leased Read Before
Special Meeting
KAUAI CHAMBER 0F
s q, COMMERCE AWAKENED
Big Meetidu Is Held At Walmea
and Resolutions Asking In
.as Vestlgati0n Pass 7,

H b 81 Nas n f. d. So +"
demonstrating on Kauai was the sub
sect up for consideration at special
meeting Of the Kauai chamber Of com
nicrce which was held at waimea Fri,
day evening, October s. The crowd
in attendance more than filed the
court house but no larger aeeotnmoda-
tions were available that evening. The
chief speaker of the evening was =.
w. Broadbent, of the Grove Planta-
ton, ihue, and other speakers included
Frank Crawford, president of the
Clhudius MacBride, Il. M, Cheatham,
o. W. Crowell, G. A. Rice, Thorvald
Brandt. NJ. ~ .s'.-.. -. b.. ~:
One of the matters of Importance I'M
der discussion concerned Hanapepe
lands and the water rights claimed by
Cay & Robinson. In regard to these
resolution was passed asking the com.
missioner of public lands to cause to
be made a full. Investigation Of the
subject and il this investigation war
rants TO have the attorney general
bring an action to have adjudication
by the courts as TO whether such water
rights belong to Gay 4 Robinson or
the Territory. ) ..y,a.ta A,t-
Il. w. Broadbent presented a care
fully prepared address in which he
pleaded the homesteaders' side Of the
homesteading question and brought out
evidence to show that success had been
made despite the fact that the better
lnnas had never been opened to home
stealing. He said: ..g.a. j IL
''As we are here to consider the i'm.
pOrtant question Of homestending, il
might be well to go into the. history Of
this movement on Kauai. / will read
to you' an extract from the report Of
Governor George r. Carter to the See
retary Of the Interior, for the year 1906,
referring to Kauai. He says: +-'
Quotes Governor Carter -
"'One important fact in connection
with the plantations, worthy of note,
on account of the effect on Kauai 3
future, is that these various planth.
lions have at the present time under
lease $4,000 acres Of government
land, which constitutes the most yalu
able part of Kauai's domain, on &C,
count of the water rights which in most
instances attach to. these lands. The
leases on these lands are beginning to
expire, and the policy of the present
government, to parcel out these lands
among citizen homesteaders, win make
Kauai a prosperous community Of in.
dependent citizens, owning their own
homes, thus establishing vantage
point from which the county can be
developed along traditional American
lines. At present Kauai is the land
of the homeless employee, who holds
the roof over his head by the suffer
ance of his employer, and whose only
refuge in case of discharge is the
steamer that bears him to Honolulu.
Plantation Holds Tract g..
Now, gentlemen, let us see what
has been accomplished in the eleven
years that have elapsed since George
r. Carter made this splendid word pie.
ture. First let us see what these
leases he refers to are. We win take
them in the order in which they expire.
First comes the lease on the KamalO
malo, and Anahola lands, which ex.
pired in 1907, a few house lots were
opened up in the Anahola, Valley, and
the remainder of these lands and the
water pertaining to them are at pres.
ent under lease to the Makee Sugar
Company, on short term leases.
Makee Makes Exchange
Next came the Olohena lease, to
the Makee Sugar Company; this ex-
pired in 1902 and is a part of what
Is now known as the Kappa homesteads,
Let us see what happened with these
lands. The Makee Sugar Company had
for years grown cane on the makai
lands, belonging to this tract, and had
used the water from these government
lands, to irrigate some Of their own
adjoining fee simple lands, and the
first move made was proposition to
swap, the government giving the sugar
company these lands that had been
used as cane fields and receiving from
the sugar company mahka lands, a very
small portion of which, if any, had
ever been considered by the manage
ment of the plantation fit for the prof
liable production Of cane, and had, till
then supported perhaps one animal to
ten acres. 1t was these maukR lands
together with manka lands already
owned by the government that. were
after innumerable surveys, finally
opened for demonstrating, and today
there are ninety homesteaders occupy.
ing 3l4O acres, Of this second class agri.
cultural land, for that Is, the best rat,
ing it is possible to give it, and this
year there has been produced by these
men 81 500 tons. of cane, which Brought
them 100000, and 3S1 tons Of pines
for which they received $6392. You
will note that no land which was under
irrigation, was opened for homesteads
and that the government water was
leased to the Makee Sugar Company,
and the lands that are owned by the
government that require irrigation are
still not homesteaded.
Another Exchange Made
fIl the same year, 1909, the lease
held by the MeBryde Sugar Company
of the KaIaheo lands expired. Here we
find the same thing happening in re!
gard to exchanges, the McBryde com
paRy getting all the makai cane land
md the government getting in ex-
change 'manka land, which, altogether
with the mauka land already owned by
the government was cut up into small
lots and parcelled out as homesteads
There are 225 homesteaders occupying
1899 acres, and they have this year
sold to the MeBryde Sugar Company