178 
would  supply  all  Honolulu  throughout  the  dryest  season,  and 
this  is  only  just  beginning  to  be  appreciated.  This  is  only 
one  of  many  valleys  which  might  be  made  to  conserve  a por- 
tion of  the  rainfall  and  be  a great  blessing.  Some  of  our  plant- 
ers have  done  great  things  in  the  way  of  conserving  water, 
redeeming  arid  lands,  and  so  forth,  and  this  at  great  cost. 
The  benefit  to  the  whole  land  cannot  be  overestimated  and  we 
honor  them  for  their  foresight  and  helpfulness.  These  things 
will  be  told  as  a memorial  of  them  in  the  years  to  come 
It  is  argued  that  these  valley  reservoirs  are  dangerous  and 
the  awful  Johnstown  flood  is  cited  in  sounding  the  note  of 
alarm.  And  yet  they  can  be  made  strong  and  safe  if  prop- 
erly constructed. 
Our  mountains  are  the  natural  home  of  fine  trees  whose 
woods  have  high  value  commercially;  yet  some  of  these  have 
almost  wholly  disappeared  and  this  because,  in  our  eagerness 
to  be  able  to  tell  of  our  large  cattle  ranches,  we  have  for- 
gotten to  consider  the  future  generations  and  have  allowed 
the  young  growth  to  be  destroyed. 
Again  until  lately  there  has  been  no  limit  to  the  extension 
of  large  plantations  which  border  on  the  forest,  and  many 
fine  groves  have  fallen  to  make  way  for  sugar  cane. 
Is  it  wise  to  cut  away  the  Oliia  forests  on  Hawaii  so 
rapidly?  The  forests  stand  between  us  and  desolation.  Let 
us  be  careful  of  them. 
This  subject  of  building  and  planning  for  posterity  is  worthy 
of  our  serious  consideration,  indeed  we  cannot  afford  to  neg- 
lect it.  Preservation  of  that  which  we  have  is  less  costly  than 
restoration  of  that  which  has  been  wasted  and  destroyed. 
It  costs  money  to  build  reservoirs,  to  plant  forests  and  care 
for  them,  to  fence  ranches  and  all  these  methods  of  conserva- 
tion. On  the  other  hand,  it  costs  money  to  lose  cattle  from 
drought ; to  have  short  crops  for  the  same  reason,  and  when 
health  comes  into  the  question,  as  it  surely  does,  it  costs 
money  and  lives  of  men  to  have  pestilence  as  we  may  have  in 
long  seasons  of  drought. 
In  view  of  the  importance  of  Conservation  the  Aloha  Chap- 
ter, D.  A.  R.,  has  decided  to  lend  a hand  in  educating  the 
young  people  to  feel  the  serious  need  in  this  line;  and  it  is 
their  intention  to  offer  a prize  in  the  coming  year  to  Oahu  Col- 
lege and  McKinley  High  School,  each  school  separately,  for 
the  best  essay  on  Conservation,  and  I am  assured  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  local  Chapter  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution that  they  are  in  accord  with  our  plan  and  ready  to 
cooperate  with  us. 
I am  not  yet  prepared  to  say  what  form  the  prize  will  take, 
but  it  will  be  worth  striving  for  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
study  of  this  interesting  subject  will  tend  to  awaken  a lasting 
