408 HKiMurr ok okkhk (»i' kxi'khimknt stations. 



the mills, Tlic Wilier supply lias been developed rriiiuikiihly within 

 the last ll\'e years, over and al>o\'e what was considered (o lie an 

 availaltle limit j)re\ ions to that lime. As a result, either hy the dis- 

 eov«'rv of new underj^round sources of water sujijily or In u(ilizin<^, 

 liy means of engineering,^ entei'prise, supplies of water ])roviou.sly 

 considered inaccessihle. it lia-^ heen possible to j^i-eatly (wtend the 

 area devote(| (o the, cultivation of (his crop. At the time of (he 

 passage of the recijirocity treaty the Hawaiian minis(erat Washington 

 stilted that the possible yield of sugar would iiexci- exceed 1()(>,()()0 

 tons. At the time of the i'e\'olution, ten y(>ars ago, the; advoi'ates of 

 aimexation advanced the belief (hat (he animal yield of cane sugar 

 would never exceed 250,000 (ons. The de\'elopmi'nt of new sources 

 of water sup[)ly and the conservation or improvement of existing 

 sources of water have' so changed (he situation that, at the present 

 time, no one can pi'operly set a limit upon the amount of land a\ailable 

 for the cultivation of sugarcane. The limitations are no longer those 

 of available land and available water, but only such as are marked l\y 

 the ability to obtain working capital and laboi'. The climate is ideal 

 for the growth of the sugar-cane plant. The soils, naturally fertile, 

 arc capable of (juick response to the aiiplication of fertilizers and 

 modern methods of cultivation. The fact that the islands are sur- 

 rounded in every direction 1)V '2J)(K) miles or more of ocean has 

 worked to prevent the introduction into these islands of the numerous 

 fungus diseases and insect pests which have so seriously affected the 

 cultivation of sugar cane in the continental countries. 



As before stated, practically the only limitations to prevent the 

 indefinite (expansion of the area cultivated in sugar cane in the Hawaiian 

 Islands is the capacity to obtain capital for investment and the possi- 

 bility of obtaining the necessary labor. Until the ])resent time all of 

 the cane grown in Hawaii has been cultivated under the plantation 

 s^'stem. A large majority of the total population of these islands con- 

 sists of Japanese and Chinese coolies, imported with the sole view of 

 supplying the labor necessary to the cultivation of sugar cane. The 

 existence in an American conununity of over 15(),0(»0 souls of so large 

 an alien population, consisting of men who understand neither the 

 language, laws, customs, nor the American ideals of government, a 

 class of men who com(> to this country not to become citizens, but 

 only as a temporary ex})edient and who expect to return to their native 

 lands as soon as the}' have obtained what is to them a competeuc}', is 

 certainly' in many respects unfortunate. 



The statement is often made that a white man can not endure labor 

 in a cane field. This, we believe, is a misstatement of the case. There 

 is nothing in the climate to prevent a man working out of doors every 

 day in the 3'ear. The "" native sons" of Hawaii are as vigorous a race 

 as an}' produced in an}- colder climate. The work in the cane fields is 



