Hawaii for Homes 



299 



from its strategic position, must soon be- 

 come a great military stronghold, prob- 

 ably the greatest in the world. Certain 

 it is that Pearl Harbor, on the Island of 

 Oahu, near the city of Honolulu, will be 

 rapidly developed as America's mid- 

 Pacific naval base, the entire island of 

 Oahu being practically converted into a 

 vast military encampment. The protec- 

 tion of the Pacific coast and our prestige 

 as a nation demand that this be done. 



Hawaii's future prosperity, however, 

 is not dependent upon its unequaled 

 climate, beautiful scenery, or 'strategic 

 position, but will be due to the fact that 

 here is found, as possibly nowhere else 

 on the face of the globe, all that goes to 

 make perfect home conditions — a place 

 where a man with a few acres of land 

 can earn a good living for himself and 

 family and provide for a comfortable old 

 age, surrounded by all that tends to make 

 life enjoyable. 



Of Hawaii it has been well said : "A 

 section able to produce such a variety of 

 tropical articles as may be produced in 

 the Hawaiian Islands, and having free 

 hospitality of its citizens by those who 

 have been privileged to voyage over 

 access to a market demanding such enor- 

 mous quantities of those various articles 

 as does the market of the United States, 

 ought to become not merely prosperous, 

 as it already is, but one of the most pros- 

 perous and perhaps the most prosperous 

 of all the tropical communities of the 

 world. With the power to produce 

 sugar, of which the United States im- 

 ports more than one hundred million dol- 

 lars' worth a year ; with the power to 

 produce coffee, of which we import from 

 seventy-five to one hundred million dol- 

 lars' worth annually ; with the power to 

 grow rubber, of which we import fifty 

 million dollars' worth annually ; with the 

 power to produce tropical fruits, of which 

 we import thirty-five million dollars' 

 worth annually ; with the power to pro- 

 duce sisal, of which we import fifteen 

 million dollars' worth annuallv, and with 



the power to produce cocoa, of which we 

 import nearly ten million dollars' worth 

 annually, the possibilities of increased 

 prosperity in Hawaii seem very great." 



Today the advantages offered by Ha- 

 waii are enjoyed by comparatively few 

 people — about 200,000, including the 

 alien labor on the different plantations, 

 or say 32 persons to the square mile for 

 the entire area of 6,400 square miles. 

 Switzerland, a bleak, inhospitable coun- 

 try as compared with Hawaii, sustains in 

 comfort a population of 3,356,000. The 

 same number to the square mile would 

 give the territory of Hawaii a population 

 of 1,344,000, a number equal to that sup- 

 ported by the broad plains and fertile 

 acres of the State of Arkansas ; or if pop- 

 ulated as Italy, Hawaii would have 

 1,870,000 people within its boundaries, 

 while Belgium's rate of population to the 

 square mile would give Hawaii 3,760,000, 

 or 19 times the present population. 



Hawaii offers room and opportunities 

 for many hundred thousands of home- 

 seekers. The agricultural colleges 

 throughout the country could perform 

 splendid work in tropical agriculture, 

 entering into correspondence with the 

 dean of the College of Agriculture, Hon- 

 olulu, Hawaii, and thus secure reliable 

 data as to the wonderful growth of the 

 pineapple industry and the possibilities in 

 rubber, tobacco, tropical fruits, etc. By 

 doing this they would confer a lasting 

 benefit upon thousands of young men 

 throughout the country who are now 

 looking around for openings and who will 

 find in Hawaii just the opportunities they 

 are seeking. 



The territorial authorities are most de- 

 sirous of settling the islands with a 

 citizen class of small landed proprietors, 

 and will gladly welcome all home-build- 

 ers who are strong and industrious, able 

 and willing to work. It is the hope of 

 those having the best interests of Hawaii 

 at heart to make of the islands an ideal 

 American community. 



