52 
I cannot  account  for  the  fact  that  so  few  people  attended  the 
public  meetings  of  the  Commission  held  on  the  islands  of  Hawaii, 
Maui,  Kauai  and  Oahu  otherwise  than  by  concluding  that  corm 
paratively  few  people  are  now  interested  in  an  amendment  to 
the  land  laws.  On  occasions,  the  Land  Act  of  1895,  and  the 
administration  thereof,  have  been  the  subject  of  caustic  criticism. 
It  will  be  recalled,  however,  that  aside  from  discussions  in  polit- 
ical campaigns  the  public  has  been  most  interested  in  the  land 
laws  at  the  time  of  a prospective  exchange  of  a large  tract.  At 
the  present  time  there  are  not  in  this  Territory7  any  considerable 
number  of  persons  who  are  anxious  to  enter  upon  public  lands  for 
agricultural  purposes  and  with  a bona  fide  intention  of  main- 
taining a living  from  the  products  of  the  land.  If  any  consid- 
erable quantity  of  land  is  tO’  be  settled  the  homesteaders  must  be 
induced  to*  come  here  from  the  mainland. 
There  appeared  at  our  meetings  very  few  mechanics  and  wage- 
earners  who1  wished  to  be  heard  upon  the  subject  under  discus- 
sion. From  these  and  from  other  observations  which  I have  been 
able  to  make  I ami  brought  irresistably  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
problem  confronting  us  is  not  one  of  land  laws,  but  is  a broader 
and  more  serious  econocical  problem.  In  settling  up  the  Terri- 
tory with  an  independent,  self-respecting  and  persevering  class  of 
small  land  owners  we  shall  be  compelled  to  go  beyond  the  mere 
amendment  of  our  land  laws.  The  fact  that  several  hundred  bona 
fide  home-seekers  have  attempted  to  find  a living  on  the  public 
lands  of  the  first  land  district  within  the  past  ten  years,  and  of 
these  over  85%  have  been  failures,  is  one  which  must  give  us 
pause.  The  slightest  examination  of  the  subject  will  demonstrate 
that  the  conditions  confronting  the  home-maker  are  responsible 
for  every  case  of  failure,  and  that  the  land  laws  are  an  unim- 
portant factor.  About  some  of  these  conditions  I shall  ask  your 
attention. 
The  subject  which  I believe  to  be  of  first  importance  in  the 
matter  now  in  hand  is  that  of  transportation.  While  there  exists 
no  adequate  means  of  transportation  for  the  products  grown  on 
lands  now  held  by  the  Government,  those  lands  will  continue  idle 
or  eventually  be  absorbed  by  corporations  and  large  individual 
owners  who  can  handle  transportation  questions  in  a manner  far 
beyond  the  capacity  of  the  holders  of  small  tracts.  The  land  now 
available  for  settlers  is  situated  at  a considerable  distance  from 
the  government  roads  and  still  farther  from  water-ways.  No  con- 
siderable number  of  railroads  have  yet  been  built  in  this  Terri- 
tory. The  cost  of  transportation  of  supplies  to  the  new  land  and 
of  the  products  from  such  lands  to  market  is  prohibitive.  That 
prohibition  will  continue  until  the  Government  shall  have  taken 
steps  to  relieve  it.  For  the  purpose  of  illustration  let  me  call  your 
attention  to  a question  of  cost  which  will  confront  a settler  upon 
his  taking  up  land  on  the  island  of  Hawaii. 
If  the  homesteader  selects  a desirable  piece  of  land  at  Ahualoa, 
