The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1919-02-28
Would Have No Fee
Simple HOmeSteadS
Thinks Government Land Should On
ly Be LeaSed-Federal Farm Loan
Act Would Be Useless In Hawaii
Ideas OF A Maui Farmer
Haiku. Maui. Feb. 20, 191

about to meet and and the farm LOAF
act and land laws are under discus
sion may l contribute to the discus
sion the views that | have before ad
vanced, and in which, as the year:
go by, l become more finally convinc
ed.
To establish a contented and pros
porous rural citizen population in Ha
wall there needs to be first, an op
portunity to get a piece of land; sec
ond, a way to get the necessary mo
ney to build on and develop it; third
every possible help to the farmer in
the production of marketable crops
and their protection from pests; and
fourth, aid in the sale of such crops,
nee they are produced.
The first need can, for the present,
be met from government land. The
problem in that connection is how to
dispose of that land to real farmers
and keep the spectators off. 1t is a
problem easy Of solution, yet Hawaii
has p~ersistently refused to adopt the
solution that has been so successful
elsewhere where the same difficulties
have been faced. The title to the
public land should never pass from
the Territory, but homesteads should
be disposed of only upon long term
renewable lease, bearing a rental, and
the main condition of which should
be that the homesteader live upon the
homestead,-not 2 years, or 5 years,
or Is years, but so long as he or his
descendants desired to hold the home
stead. Under this plan the govern
ment ecures revenue from the land,
and citizen families upon it, or else it
gets the land back. 1t would take TOO
much space to give here all the de-
tails and advantages of this plan, both
to the Territory and the hOmesteader,
but suffice it to say that it can be car
ried out with full protection to every
right and to every legitimate desire
Of the man who takes the land. 1t
automatically eliminates the specula-
tor. None of that breed would touch
such a proposition, and it follows that
a great howl will always be raised
against it by that class. Those sugar
interests who want to see the public
sugar land pass thru the SPECTATORS
hands and into their control as quick
ly as possible (as it has in the past)
may also be expected to object, I'M
less the light dawns on them that the
families on these lands would solve
their labor troubles. To institute this
method in Hawaii H. B. 12S was in
troduced in the legislature of 1917,
which passed the House but was kill
ed by the Senate.
The second point, that of adequate
rural credit, can be supplied satisfac-
torily only by a territorial farm loan
80 TT-Ior 4l4 TNAIaro1 No,,N I nn1N
Act loans must be secured by first
mortgage on farm land. No loan
could be made in Hawaii to any home
steader until after he had secured
title. The federal act, if secured for
Hawaii, could aid only those farmers
in the Territory who have clear title.
Putting aside a number of lesser OBJ
jections, this is the point on which
attention needs to be centered. At
the very time when most of our small
farmers are in greatest need of Dor
rowing they would be able to get no
thing from the federal farm loan
bank.
1t might be added that when Mr..
Norris, chairman of the Federal
Farm Loan Board, vas appealed to to
use his influence to have the act eX-
tended to Hawaii he replied: I'VE
sympathize with the aspirations of
III insular farmers. Such eX-
tension is a matter of public policy,
and no of administration, and must
first find expression in Congress. l
feel that in fairness to you l should
further say that if the extension of
the system to Hawaii were to be TAX
en- up in Congress, and u opinion
upon it requested, we would be bound
to say hat there would be serious adj
ministrative difficulties in the way.
=, A territorial act should not, and |
think need not, be a burden to the
Territory. All territorial money used
for the purpose should be finally re-
turned to the treasury with interest.
With this provision it is hard to see
what objection there can be to a ter
ritorial act, and as a matter of fact
no substantial objection was eve
raised against the bill III. B. 24) in
troduced in the 1917 legislature, pass
ed by the House and killed in the
Senate by a vote of s to 7,-Senators
Baldwin, Castle, Correa, Cooke, Hind,
Quinn, Robinson and Single voting
against 1t.
1t may interest the public to know
that just as the legislature was about
to meet in 1917 Senator Baldwin
wrote me (Feb. II, 1910 as follows:
AS far as the Farm Loan Fund pro-
position is concerned l am in favor
OF working up ONE scheme that will
be a help to small farmers in this line
and hope that we can succeed in get
ting something of the sort thru the
legislature. After a two year trial of
whatever act We will be able to get
through notifications can probably
be made if it does not meet the
needs" Had he adhered to this as
uranc the act would have passed
both Houses, for his vote alone could
have saved it.
The people of Hawaii might just as
well face this condition squarely.
They are financially in the grip of a
small group of usurers, masquerading
as bankers, who have the people of