The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1918-05-31
Planters Must Now
Take What
Washington Offers
Suggestions For Land LegisIa
ton win Presumably come
From Secretary Lane and Not
From Legislature As Has Been
Sought 1.1

From Legislature As Has Been
Sought s.F
HaW atian sugar planters ar" at length
face TO face With "A situation which
they cannot but have seen approarhiug
for a long time past, the loss of one
seventh of their raue growing acreage
through honest eading. Their efforts
to secure legislation which will enable
the keeping UP of sugar production aS
is desIred' in these war times appears
to have failed at tins special session
OF the. Legislature Their proposal lrg
isIatIVe measures, designed to keep up
production lands on winch leases nave
expired, have gone by the board. Now
the situation seems to hinge largely
upon the outcome Of the visit Of Srcre-
tary Of Interior Lane aud II is ap
parent that already there will be "A
deere ased acreage of sugar another
wear. Unless something is done, an ar
rnngement made between planters and
hGmrsteaders or unless thP homestead
law be repealed or made imperative
during the period of the war, further
shEiRkings in acreage appear inevitable.
Course Is Blocked
There is an old saying "NeVer cross
the river until you get to 1t, on
which the planters and the government
appear to have been acting. 1t may
BY good maximum but the army wlirh
does not make arrangements to eros,
h, hnfn,Ea oH =, "a
hank of the stream does not get very
far.
The sugsr planters have reached thc
river and at this session of the legisa
ture sought to throw across a pontoon
bridge The current has been too
strong, they find their pontoons swept
away aud they are on the hither side
Of the stream with the green cane fields
on the other. II
There are about 223,000 acres undo r
eGltivation in, cane in these Islands and
as it,'takes more than twenty one months
to. produce a crop this makes about
lfl 500 acres producing annually. Abont
one acre in every seven is government
land which has been cultivated unhr-
lease
Planters Urge Case
It is urgeI by the planters that the
measure which fHlLrd in the house wa
the best measure ever offered to tn,
hOmestcadrr 1t is said that if he
, planted mis- land in cane he would have
to wait two years for return so that
! the use of his homesteaded lands fol
! two years with the profits going to the
! government and to the planters left
4 him no worse off than if he planted fol
! himself. 1t appears to be>~OverlOOkeC
that when that two wears expire hC
| would still have to wait for at leas
! another crop before he could realize
on his homestead and meantime have
' to live uT something other than hi
lands.
4 30 far AZ the government was con
\ cerned it WAS securing far and ava!
q big end Of the bargain for II wOul,
receive Approximately - a ton for su
gar and az the average yield in the Isl
ands is between four and five tons
! the government " Ould have received ii
license fees from so TO $35 an acre
far higher. many times as much, as !
has received under the old leasing plan
Costs Compared
| It is pointed out that there wa
under cultivation for cane in 1914 /
I $40. 900 acres which would grow on
crop a year where irrigation is un
necessary and Fertilizer is hardly need
ed. At that time rentals in Hawai-
were STA times ~ high as in Cuba, 81 e
rs against twenty eight cents. Beside
| this rnltivHtI"n in Hawaii cost frV
! times rs much A. in Cuba, fertihZatiO
costs 500 and viii now cost double an
irrigation cost S67 while il will nov
i be higher hrrauSr of added cost q
! fuel
The fact remains that the planter
and the territorial government hay
been distinctly antn2Onistie to hOmC
u steading and to hOmesteadeTs. At ~
same time the law has been on III
statute books. Months ago 1t was plai
that Naiatea would lose several thOt
sand acres. more than 5000 unless steI
} were taken to meet the situation. Th
planters aud the territorial gOvernmeE
did not take those steps.
Obi ect To Lien
The lien winch was provided ape
the lands to be honest eaded gave
nv ph"''IN u NHlp uhHu ONp'
homestrnd"r winch the latter would NJ
be expected to bow under. The hOu
took that view and beat the bill. /
members rouId not see that fever,
thIug Was hunded to the hOmsetcad'
or silNrr plntt"r.'
, Whatever the excuses for II cOntin
atr"e Of a leasing policy have been
, the past, the planters had a good -
? rusc for asking for action now. T.
f need Of keeping up sugar Productlt
: is great and is admitted. But it
I the past thar lost FOR them their cas-
{ ThrY '"lHostd hOmesteading her
p t"fOrr, and with a Weapon such Ms Il
- lien ProN,sron N Their hands, their fu
thcr and fururr course WAS not trust"
. So rrtnrN Hur il expected to loo
, cr"r the land situation thorough
5 Wbatr'rr Legislation the legislatu
e Pasrei would hate to have been apprO
I ed b" COn"rcSs Instead of the Ter
e tory itself through the legislature, su
I Resting the LEGISLATION deemed requir
n the su"t, 'l.a will now probably cor
from We secretary Of interior.