Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/703

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. of labor. At an earlier date the unsettled political conditions and the uncertainty of the continued favor of the United States discouraged the investment of capital. Thus far, sugar-cane is the only plant extensively raised. The sugar industry dominates the entire industrial life of the islands. Over half the population is engaged in the industry in some capacity. Any cause that lowers the price of sugar injuriously affects the general prosperity. Sugar-cane has long been grown on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu, and has recently been introduced on Molokai and Lanai. There are over 60 great plantations now in operation. The acreage in sugar in 1900 was over 65,000 acres, and the annual production, about 225,000 tons, varies considerably from year to year.

The sugar industry involves large outlays of capital, and is, therefore, not suited to a system of small proprietorship. On the contrary, the system of cultivation resembles in some ways the old plantation system of the South with its gangs of laborers and overseers. The scarcity of labor led to its importation under contract, especially from Japan and China, and the greater part of the labor force has been thus secured. To those under contract, labor is compulsory and enforced through the courts, violence being forbidden. On the west side of the islands irrigation is required, but under irrigation the cane grows more quickly and yields more abundantly than on the east side. Water is conducted from the mountain streams through flumes, which also often serve for the conveyance of cane to the mills. Rice occupies as yet the second place in area of production, and in the value of the product. The lowest flats close to the sea are used for rice. The home consumption is so large that only a few million pounds are left for export. It is cultivated almost wholly by the Chinese. Coffee is a young industry, and though it is cultivated on the four larger islands, it is not yet important. The prospects of the coffee industry are regarded as most favorable, as the coffee-berry is a natural product of the islands, where it grows wild. Little progress has been made in the raising of most fruits, vegetables, and cereals; but bananas and pineapples are raised in export quantities. The finest pineapple is a small native variety. The bananas are known for their good quality. Recent experiments show that American maize grows and matures perfectly. The natives raise very few vegetables for the market, only taro and a few Irish potatoes coming from the country districts. Honolulu is supplied with vegetables almost wholly by the Chinese, who occupy suitable lands around the city.

Owing to the uncertainty of rainfall in the pasture area, and to the horn-fly nuisance, the stock-raising industry is but little developed. Almost every native possesses from one to three horses. According to an arrangement made in 1848, the greater portion of the land was divided between the King, the chiefs, and the Government. The portion received by the chiefs has passed almost wholly into the hands of foreigners. The crown-lands and the Government lands, amounting to about 1,750,000 acres, were assumed by the United States. In 1895 a land act, passed to regulate the disposal of this land, was carefully drawn with a view to preventing its monopolization by

speculators, and to securing its division into homesteads for actual settlers. It may be acquired by individuals for ‘homestead lease,’ lease with right of purchase, cash freehold, etc., the amount that can be acquired generally being limited in a manner that prevents capitalists from acquiring permanent control of the land.

. The lack of fuel and of metals will permanently limit the scope of Hawaii's manufactures. Sugar manufacture is the only branch of this industry which is at present important. No molasses is made, nor is the sugar refined within the Territory. In 1900 there were 44 sugar-making establishments, with 2369 hands employed, $7,991,000 capital invested, and an annual product estimated at $19,254,000. The combined product of the three fertilizer establishments and that of the four foundry and machine-shops each exceeded $1,100,000. The capital invested in the islands came almost wholly from the United States.

. The islands are favorably situated for purposes of communication with the rest of the world, inasmuch as they are on the line of traffic between the United States and the Southern Asiatic countries and Australia. They are a convenient midway station, and many vessels renew their supply of coal at the islands. The port of Honolulu is one of the best in the Pacific. It is protected by a coral reef, through which a channel 30 feet deep has been cut to admit large vessels. The harbor facilities have not increased as rapidly as has the commerce, and the limitations are such that recourse may ultimately have to be taken to Pearl Harbor, five miles to the north, which offers unlimited facilities, and requires only the cutting of a channel through the reef for a passageway. In 1900 the tonnage of merchant vessels entering Hawaiian ports was 786,800, of which 363,160 was American. Regular steamboat communication is maintained between the larger islands of the group. The principal railroad extends along the coast of Oahu from Honolulu northward and east to Kahuku. Other short lines have been constructed, chiefly on the sugar plantations.

. The limited home market for the principal product of the islands and the lack of home manufactures give rise to a very large export and import trade. The following figures show the development of the merchandise trade with the United States:

Imports from Hawaii to the United States, 1880, $4,600,000; 1890, $12,313,000; 1900, $20,707,000.

Exports from the United States to Hawaii, 1880, $2,086,000; 1890, $4,711,000; 1900, $13,500,000.

Uncorrected estimates for 1901 place the exports and imports respectively at $28,000,000 and $20,000,000. The exports are almost exclusively sugar, and the imports principally machinery used in the sugar industry and other manufactured products. The trade of the United States with these islands is more than four times that of the United States with the Philippine Islands. Our large trade with Hawaii has developed almost wholly since 1876, the year of the reciprocity treaty, which made possible the growth of the sugar industry. Practically all