Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1905)
OXOL.UL.U. May 3. (Special Cor respondense of The Sunday Ore sronian.) The Hawaiian Islands are Just getting: over a bad case of blade-eye. After annexation they had a real : Western boom out here. They tried, In true clty-madc-whlle-you-ivalt style, to make a Chicago out of Honolulu; and, as is usual In such cases; -strained themselves In the at tempt. It is the same old story of rid-' ing the wave too high, with the usual long "Tfcalt for. the sails to All. Many of thedlsconsolatc ones are still wail ing and waiting, lor wind, but. the plucky ojzcs have sot out their oars end are using X eir-muscle. "- - It seems a pity that people will never learn the way of the boom and the les son of the bursted bubble. It is too bad that the fair faco of development should so frequently be disfigured by the ugly scars that result from these disruptions of over-confidence. There is really nothing unusual about sthe sit uation here. It Is easily diagnosed as a commercial convulsion of the regula tion order. Our "Western towns have had them, one after the other, just like children ' take the measles or the whooping cough. Sugar the Patron Saint. It b&eras that the root of all t&e evil has been too much sugar. The sweet staple is to Hawaii what. coal is to Pennsylvania or lumber is to Wash ington. After annexation, prices were good and the islanders went sugar mad. Inside of IS months they raised $40,000,000 for plantation investment $40000,000 from a community where there are less than fiOOO white people. Where is the town in the United States, or In- the world for that matter, that can equal such a record. Men, women and children took stock to tho limit of their means and credit. The game was played by all hands to a stand still. Sugar was tho patron saint of the whole population. Then prices fell and Honolulu went into mourning. If; there is anything which is mor ally certain, it Is that the price -of sugar will, fluctuate Its rise and fall is as' sure us the coming of the wet and dry .seasons, but for all this tne speculators went at it blind, and the" limb "broke under hundreds of them. Six of 'the big companies failed and their stocks went by the board- with a crash. The rest have weathered the storm and the tardy advance in prices Is bringing them slowly back to the dividend-paying basis. Although Hon olulu has been hard hit I do not know of another place In the world tnat, under similar circumstances, would have met the decline so bravely, or got off so easily. Hotels at Sheriff's Sale. In addition to the low price of sugar several other things have occurred to make the situation worse. The tourist trade wae just arriving at good proportions when the plague broke out, nd the easy-going, free-spending American rover checked his bag gage through and took his coveted dollars elsewhere. For a time the through liners to the Orient would not even send a small boat ashore in Hon olulu. This, of course, deprived the place of much revenue. The beauti ful Mbana Hotel, where Mrs. Stanford died recently, was opened in the face of all this, and it had to run with empty rooms so long that it is now in tho hands of a receiver. The rare old Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which was so prosperous In the days of the mon archy, has just been sold at Shcriffe sale for the same reason. The Alex ander Toung Hotel, which Is doubtless the most remarkable structure ever built in an. out-of-the-way locality like this, is "having a lively tussle with the Inevitable. Mr. Alexander Toung is one of the Island's richest sugar planters. At a cost of over $1,000,000 he has constructed in the heart of Honolulu a modern, six-story. flre.-proof hotel. Between the two slx atory ends of this splendid building Is a roof-garden capable of seatlngg 3609 peo ple. The floor apace of this garden is one-third of an acre In extent. It has banquet halls, ballrooms, and all the fur nishings and equipment of our most modern American establishments. He evea has his own farm in the suburbs to provide prevtefcn; for the hostelry. This enterprise ts certainly a mewumest to Jtr. Tewas's fatyh is the future of his island home, but in all likelihood he will have to wait a long time before he real izes upon his unusual investment. Ideal llesort for Tourists. In this connection it Is only fair to say that the Hawaiian Islands are an ideal resort for tourists. If tho hotels do not prosper eventually it won't be be cause they are not - deserving. An out break of the plague which occurred years ago should not scare the wits out of the people for a generation. Havana was a pest-holo of yellow fever for centuries, but people can go there now with per fect safety. And Hawaii la safer than Cuba, Jamaica, or any of the West Indian Inlands. The steamers running to It are as large as those in any tourist service In the world. The hotel accommodations are certainly not surpassed anywhere. There are no fogs or hurricanes or ma laria. The forests have no wild beasts and there are no snakes or poisonous In sects ia the jungles. There is a real live volcano with a sort of natural safety valve arrangement so that it can't blow up. All tho earmarks of the old mon archy remain, such as the homes of the kings, tho hula-hula dancing girls, and the picturesque flower maidens who put garlands of posies around tho neck of the stranger. That the climate is de lightful may be known by the mere state ment that sea bathing is comfortable one day after another, and that one may have strawberries for breakfast the entire year round. This is said purely from an appreciation of the situation. It is not written as a return for passes or any sort of favors. Too many newspaper correspondents travel around in a complimentary capac ity and work their way by exploiting the interests of those who entertain them. I pay my way and say whatever I like, aiming always to tell the truth and do the square thing. I am glad of an oppor tunity to say this so that my readers may know my policy in this respect. The Hawaiian Islands are a part of the Amer ican Union and it pleases me to say a good word in. their behalf, especially when they are so deserving of it. "Wc Arc Civilized." Hawaii Is not generally appreciated In other respects. Few visitors are pre pared to find such an advanced civiliza tion. It is a great mistake to suppos that we have here merely a lot of naked kanakas, the remnant of a monarchy, a -volcano, and a few sugar plantations. Honolulu has a gentleman's club which has had its doors open for more than 50 years; It has a college which recently held its Wth anniversary; in Its public schools there are more than SJ teachers, and the foundation of the system dates hack to 1SU. It to a fact sot generally knows that in the early days of the Pa cific Coast chUaftea -were seat from Cali fornia t Heaetulu t he educate a. ThfcJi quke la. eoatraK te the pttatttea THE SUKDAY- ' ijLto&kc5 nkc b' In Porto Rico. Cuba and the Philippines at the beginning of Yanke rule. Thcr. the public school was unknown until we introduced It, and we took over a popu lation the bulk of which was as dirty as it was ignorant. American Influence pre dominated in the Hawaiian group for so many years that it was In reality a ready-made colony when the time came to annex it. The fine residences, modern store buildings, splendid roads, and clean, well-mannered, people will prove a reve lation to all who vls.lt the Islands for the first time. Statistics "Worth Knowing. Some'vital statistics may not be out of place here The distance between San Francisco and Honolulu is 2CS3 miles. ! From Honolulu to Yokohama It is 3443 miles, from Manila to Honolulu it is 4700 miles. The total area of the seven prin cipal islands of the Hawaiian group is 6449 miles, and their total population Is 154.000. The names of the Islands given in the order of their size are: Hawaii, Maui. Oahu. Kauai. Molokai. Lanal and Ntihau. Honolulu has about 40.00) inhabitants. It is located on the Island of Oahu. The returns of the last census show that of the entire population 63.221 were native born and 90.780 foreign born. There were 54,141 Hawailans, a third of whom were of mixed blood; 12.743 white people. 23.767 Chinese, 61.111 Japanese and 233 ne groes. It is estimated that since the cen sus the arrivals and departures of Japan ese have about "balanced, and that the number of Chinese has decreased on ac count of the Federal, exclusion law. Sev eral thousands bf Porto Rlcaps have ar rived In the meantime, and the number of Americans has increased somewhat. The number of white people in Honolulu Is large, as .shown by comparison with those residing In the City of Mexico. The last named has a population of over 200,000. in cluding 3000 -Americans, while Honolulu, with its 40.000 Ycsldents, claims 000 whites. ScIkxjI Children Arc 3IIxed. An examination of the school report of our island territory discloses some Inter esting figures. Schools taught in Ha waiian have long been abolished, all In struction now being . In the English lan guage. The nationalities of all pupils In the schools are as follows: Hawaiian, 4903: part Hawaiian, 2S63; American. 12; British 240; German, 337; Portuguese, 4124; Scandinavian. 35: Japanese. 1933; Chl nesclSSS: Porto RIcans, 596; other for eigners, 151; total. 17.518. The national classification of teachers necessary to Instruct such a motley crowd of youngsters is as follows: Hawaiian; 79: part Hawaiian. 70: American, 329; British, 56; German, 11; Portuguese. 23; French, 10: Scandinavian, 15; Belgian, 3; Japanese. 5; Chinese, 6; other foreigners 2; total, 603. The main dependence of the Hawaiian Islands is sugar. Kearlyall of the ex isting wealth came from this source, and It te about the esly hope e-f the Immedi - ORBGOXM, POB0?EAOTK ate future. Out of the total value of ex port shipments for the last fiscal year, amounting to $25,223,201. the Item of sugar alone was $23,310,723. Thus It will be cen that there was less than $1,000,000 worth of all other domestic merchandise ex ported to the United States and foreign countries. There are about 120.000 cares Planted in sugar on the Islands today. There are 71 plantations' In all. which are scattered over the four islands of Hawaii, Maui. Oahu and Kauai. These planta tions produced last year 437.S91 tons of raw sugar, as against 166.432 tons ten years ago a gain of 271,053 tons since the fall of the monarchy. It Is said that the cane grown In Hawaii Opinions of John. L. Sullivan Ex-Champion Says Tilings "Uncomplimentary About James J- Jeffries. JEM MACE, champion of En&.and, wanted to flght me four rounds.. He tried to get Al Smith, my manager, to agree to have me make It a draw Mace said to Smith: "It I fight with John L. and he knocks me h'out It would break me ''art." The rest of Jem's offer was that If I would agree to make It a four-round draw he'd announce from the ring that I was the best man he ever met. Smith proposed that he make the match on the level, that It could be pulled off in Madi son Square Garden. New York, and there would surely be a $20,000 house, and di vide the receipts equally. "For that price, you can afford to get knocked out," Smith argued. -cBut Mace insisted that It must be bis way. To humor Mace, Smith came to me, told the story and asked me, "What do you say?" Cy answer was this: "If I tackle Mace III do my best, and let him do the same. All the fighting I have ever done lias beep on the level, and I won't quit to oblige Mace or anybody- else." Al went back, told Mace what I said and pressed him to fight me under those conditions. Jem's reply was cute and to the point. It was, "Not for the bloody Bank of England." "Mace fired a number of challenges at me from long range afterward, " but he sent this message to my manager: "Don't mind what I say. I have to make some money, and this way is the best way to do it. It benefits mc and It doesn't do you any harm." When I was at the height of my career the story was teW in all the papers that I was to retire from the ring, and, as a wind-up I would give an exhibition In a theater m Boston, during which I was to knock dewn an ox with my naked list. Nothing e-f -the kind was pi&aaed, for It would have bee brutal to nee aa 'ex that way and I sever was brutal. I evr kabeked dewa as ex, hut. I did Mii"2 21, 1905; Is much richer than the product of Cuba and the United States. It takes about ten tons of Cuban cane to produce a ton of sugar, while, eight tons of the Hawaiian stalks will easily yield that amount. It tho price remains fair, it Is. expected that the total yield of thee Islands will eventually reach 600.000 tons annually. j rion. van-on xj. ngni, unueu cnaies Hawaii, declared that it ought to afford homes for half a million people. How ever, If sugar remains the one staple, the island will have no great stability, but will suffer numerous ups and down3 ac cording to the variations of the market. What is needed is a diversification of do up a calf on two legs. Once in Mount Clemens a fellow who had made himself a terror, looking for flght, all the time, attempted to jostle me oft the sldewalk He didn't know who I was, and when I started to give him some advice he called me a name that meant fight, and he made a lunge at me. I put him down and out In about two minutes, and for once he had his fill of fight, and enough to last him till the cows came home. When the people In the place found that his joblots had got the walloping he had beert working for so long, they got together a purse of $230 and presented It to me in a corner drug store. I didn't take the money, but It was explained that I'd done the town a great service, and they'd feel mean if they didn't show their appreciation In some solid manner. I hope the bully behaved, himself afterward, for although I refused the 'money the action of the citizens in raising the present showed that they were ready to pay high for peace so far as that particular bully was concerned. Ballplayers as Scrappers. I just missed being a baseball star. My stamping ground In Boston produced more good ballplayers to the, square foot of mud than any place in the country, unless it's the little town of Avoca, Pa,, which I guess has the record. When I first got tho fever it was some time before I was good enough to play on even one of our scrub teams, but I came along fast. Lew Brown was a great pal of mine a ad he showed me a few. and I was offered" $1300 a year for 1579-S9 by the Cincinnati club. In those days a ballplayer was expected to know something about scrapping, so as to be able to stand off a crowd of rooters ia an emergency. I would have' been bandy on and off the SeW,- hut I didn't cooaecc A hail player today is better equipped for the game it he can haadfe Ms flits, as. for metance the-mix-up 'Jim my Cotttoe, captain' o the Bottom. Ameri crops. Successful experiments have been made with, the Yucatan fiber plant, a variety of cactus called sisal, which can be grown on semi-arid landv This fiber is used In making rope and binder twine, as well as several kinds of brushes. Over 100,000 pounds of this fiber has . already" been produced in a year. It sold in San Francisco . for about 8 cents per pound, netting the growers about $75 per acre. The Spell of tho Tropics. The people of Hawaii have their prob lems to solve, but they will doubtless be able to work them out. It is a place where a home Is worth striving for. He who sojourns here a while la ever loth-j cans, had last year with Pat Dougherty, at that time left fielder of tho Bostons. I didn't see the battle, but the story Is that Pat tackled his captain and soaked him good,' and Jlmmic was helped out by another player Dlneen, I believe. This happened off the field, and the papers didn't say much about it, but Pat was soon exiled to New York, where he ha3 bad considerable to do with making Bos ton sorry he left that town. There's more real ilghtlng on the ball field today, anyway, than, there-is In the ring, and if the players don't get good they'll make baseball as roughhouse as football. "Why Jeffries Is Kctiring. In the article printed by me In a num ber of papers on April 30, I gave the tip that I'd make Jeffries meet me before many months or I'd drive him from the ring. A couple of days after this was printed Jeffries came out with the procla mation that he was going to retire from the ring right away, because "fighting don't pay." Put what I said, and what Jeffries has done together' and what do you make of It? Don't it mean that he had a particular reason for suddenly get ting wise to the news that fighting don't pay. He could easily put some thousands In his jeans by lighting me, but he passes them up and ducks. And so Jeffries, who began his career by fighting a negro, closes it by sidestepping a better white msn than he ever proved himself. Yes, indeed, Jeff began his career by fighting a negro. The negro was Hank Griffln,, and the place Los Angeles In '92. The boiler-pounder has given It out that he fought the negro because he was a terror to the community and somebody had to give him a walloping to keep he peace. Nothing to It. Jeff trained for the gght, and It was regular in every way. If he had the right kind of sand in his craw he'd have given rae a chance to get under bis crouch with a clout or two that would make him know that for once he was fighting. His statement that fighting don't pay1 4s too thin, for It Is a reflection on the American people, who have" always stood ready to- pay big for any heavyweight who would really .fight. If it hasn't paid Jeff it's because the peo ple dB.'t tafee Bitten stock is hiw, He's to leave. The fair skies and bright flow ers and brilliant shrubs offer a charm that grows the while, and inakes other less-favored climes dull In comparison. Only those who know the spell of the drowsy tropics can understand the hold they have upon the fancy. No pictured palm can wave and drone Its evening an them like the one that has its roots in the sand and Its crest In tho wind; no painter's brush can catch the majesty of the mountain peak at the sunset hour; and no juggler of words can Impart the zest that rides with the spray of the Southern sea. To know It for a day is to know It forever. Its' pleasing memory never fades. FREDERIC' J. HASKIN. an actor, not a fighter and a bad actor at that. It's the bad acting that didn't pay. I am not anxious to pluck any medals from Jeff. Wear them early and often, say I. Of courso I am soro that he put me aside and made a suro thing of it by hopping out of the game. But no man who ever saw me fight will say he was ever in my class. I always put my body where" an opponent could reach it. if he got that far, and I never invented any serpentine dances and couchee houchio crouches to make it so the other fellow couldn't get a run for the money. Every man I ever fought found me erect In front of him, man fashion, and I've met men who- could make a monkey oi Jeff the best, day he ever saw. Jake Kilrain. Charley Mitchell and a dozen others I could name were better boxers and better fighters than Jeffries. It happened well for Jeff that he came at a time when there were only selling platers claiming to bo able to stand the gaff in the heavyweight class. Fitz, who didn't belong in the heavyweight division, has done up everybody there was, which shows how shy the country was of the real thing In the fighting line. Those who remember the times when there was fight ing that was fighting will not go daffy ever the record of Jeff from the time he fought with a coon to the time he refused to meet a white man, able and willing. It's pretty tough that a country as big and sporty as ours can't at this stage produce a champion with zlpp enough to give all white claimants a chance at him. That Is where I think a champion should be at, arid I proved It for 12 years to the world, and as Jeff takes his place as a has-been he Is welcome to my opinion of his performances. Yours truly. JOHN Ia. SULLTVAN. Not Bothered for a Hhyme. Japan Mail. Your true poet is never bothered fer a rhyme. Addressing a stanza te .his inamorata, a young writer was for a moment puzzled about a rhyme for 'nightingale,",but got out of it thw; "ACy love to a c&rysaBtiteattMR And I aR Hke th (xMtBgaIe. I Maz Her verses alt tb Bigs.