23 
maintained and improved. And these conditions can only be 
maintained, — our future can only be safeguarded, — certain dis- 
aster can only be prevented by you and the general public awaken- 
ing to the seriousness of the situation and all hands uniting with 
the Board of Health to make Honolulu and Hawaii not only pest- 
free but pest-proof. 
ECONOMY IN THE USE OF SURFACE AND ARTESIAN 
SUPPEIES. 
Address of Hon. W. O. Smith. 
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
When Mr. Hosmer invited me to speak this afternoon, he said 
it would be for a few moments. We have listened to so much 
that has been instructive and interesting that what I have to say 
will be in the nature of suggestions. 
We all know in a general way — and we have had it impressed 
upon us this afternoon — of the importance of the water supply, 
i. e., most particularly the economic use of water. 
The islands are essentially an agricultural country. Our 
manufactures are very limited, and probably will never amount 
to much, but we depend upon agriculture. There are five prime 
and essential phases involved in successful agriculture, namely : 
soil, climate, water, labor and market. Climate we can not regu- 
late, and market we do not create, bat all of these five are es- 
sential links in the chain of sure prosperity. 
We do know today what water and labor can do. It was but 
a comparatively short time ago that on Kauai we produced but 
800 tons of sugar; now we produce about 128,000 tons. On 
Oahu, about 800 tons, and this year we had 128,000 tons ; on 
Maui, taking Lahaina, Wailuku, Kihei, Grove Ranch, Hana, Paia 
and Ulupalakua, there were possibly 4,000 tons a year. This 
year our records show 140,000 tons. I will not speak of Hawaii, 
because the plantations on that island depend in a large measure 
upon rainfall and not upon irrigation. Wherever enormous 
progress and development has been made, it has been due to the 
application of water. There was rainfall before on Kauai and 
on this Island and Maui, but it was not until brains, labor and 
engineering skill were brought into play that these results were 
attained. The first irrigation works were constructed by Mr. G. 
N. Wilcox at Grove Farm, Kauai. We now have many on 
Kauai. 
Yet with all this, as w^e have heard from the Governor this 
afternoon, with a little over four million acres of land, there 
are about 750,000 acres which are considered to be arable and 
about 250,000 acres are under culture. It is very difficult to tell 
how much of this land which is now used by ranches may be 
