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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1906)
If Jfifc-JV ir fT TW :2 ' k ''"cnflt of Honolulu, and Guam, aomo fifteen hun .Vdrod mllca from the main land of Asia, are cen- &' tors of loss Importance. j&t .. i. t..i r.riM-kiniti nrtvr nn -I lift mnrn- Ji r m. 1. 1 VHii iiflv nnf nnri wn had breakfast JIIK il uiu nijvwn u; . --v. . . - ,,,, 'Aon tho Island. The Hawaiian Islands (inuauucui ' number eight and extend from the southeast to the northwest, covering about six degrees of longi '' tudo and nearly four of latitude. Of these eight " Islands, Hawaii, the southormost one, is the largest, having an area of 4,200 squaro miles and a population of nearly fifty thousand. Hilo, Its chief city, situated on the east shore, Is the second Hawaiian city of Importance and contains some so von thousand inhabitants. Tho Island of Oahu, upon which Honolulu Is situated, Is third In sizo but contains tho largest population, almost sixty thousand, of which forty thousand dwell In or near tho capital. Tho Islands are bo small and surrounded by such an area of water as to re- ; mind ono of a toy land, and yot there are great mountains there, ono piercing the clouds at a holght of 14,000 feet.' Immense cane fields stretch no far as tho eye can reach, and busy people of different colors and races make a large annual , addition to our country's wealth. On one of tho Islands Is an active volcano which furnishes a thrilling experience to those who aro hardy enough to ascend Us sides and cross the lava lake, now grown cold, which surrounds tho present crater. Each Island has ono or moro extinct volcanoes, one of these, called tho punch bowl, being within tho city limits of Honolulu. On ono of tho islands Is a lopor colony, containing at times as many as a thousand of tho afflicted. During campaigns the spellbinders address tho voters from boats anchorod at a safe distance from the shore. Ab the Manchuria lay at anchor In the harbor :, I rt. oil ilnv Vir nnaanntrnri) nrnnf nulinin nrwl 1f vlllnn p;- Into groups, Inspected tho various places of in terest. By tho aid of a reception committee, com posed of democrats, republicans and brother Elks, we wore able to crowd a great deal of Instruction and onjoyment into tho ten hours which wo spent In Honolulu. Wo were greeted at the wharf with tho usual salutation, Aloha, a native word which means "a loving welcome," and wore decorated with garlands of flowers for tho hat and neck. T While theso garlands or lois (pronounced lays) aro of all colors, orange is the favorite huo, be ing tho color of tho feather cloak worn by the Hawaiian kings and queens In olden times. The natives aro a very kindly and hospitable people, and we had an opportunity to meet some excellent specimens of tho race at tho public reception and at tho country residonco of Mr. Damon, one of tho leading bankers of tho island. When tho islands were discovered in 1778 by Captain Cook, the natives lived in thatched iff huts and wero scantily clothed, after the manner f.QUj.ne iropicai races. Tney wero not savages & or cannibals, but maintained a deirren nf nlvil order and had mado considerable progress in tho primitive arts. In their religious rites they offered human sacrifices but they welcomed tho white man and quickly embraced Christianity. Amorican influonco In tho islands reaches back some seventy-flve years, beginning with New Eng land missionaries, many of whoso descendants have made permanent homes here. Some of these, mingling thoir blood with tho blood of the natives form .connecting links between tho old and the new civilization. Foreign ways and customs soon began to manifest themselves and long before annexation tho nativo rulers built public build ings after tho style of our own architecture. The Capitol building, erected twenty years ago for the kings palace is an imposing structure, and the Judiciary building is almost equal to it. The parks and public grounds aro beautiful and woll Kept, and tho business blocks commodious and substantial. In short, Honolulu presents the ap pearance Of ft WOll built nlftflTllv n,1 L Amorican city, with its residences nestling among . V- palm trees and tropical plants. Good hotels aro W .. abundant. The Alexander Young hotel is built , u of stone imported from tho RtnQ n.i ,..,.,.,. $TV Cr0!it t0 a clty of nalf a mllli"N. The Royal Ha SfrW wai,Ian hote1' .ven mo Picturesque thouBh nnf bo large, anu tno Moana hotel, at the beach vio with the Young in popularity. ' V e The nrocrrnrti fnt rnw .!,. -.-. . Jlf a AVPn mTl nufnl "TC" W. UGn With nricc rvnv -iiOii-VI, 41. u . . . x "" l"G '-"" '- nuiv.il mu uuuvea crossed to tho fnrtiim. lit S?n nf th i 1?land' W road is of macadam 'and W ' win("ns alonS a picturesque valley rises tn! height of about 1,200 feet. At this point the eye .ls upon a picture of bewitching beauty w " a precipitous cliff over which a conoS -ehameha tho First, about one mm- o. drove an opposing army ' ruler of the isl- of the cliff, a utiful valley and beyond, BWWtfiv v The Commoner. a coast lino broken by a rocky promontory around whoso base the waters reflect from their varying depths myriad hues of blue and green. There aro ocean views of greater expanse, mountain views more sublime and agricultural landscapes rmoro Interesting to a dweller upon the prairies, but it is doubtful whether there is anywhere upon earth a combination of mountain, valley and ocean a commingling of the colors of sky and sea and rock and foliage moro entrancing. Twice on tho way to Pali we passed through mountain showers and wero almost ready to turn back, but the members of the committee, knowing of the rare treat ahead, assured us that Hawaiian show ers were of short duration and "extra dry." When we at last beheld the view, we felt that a drench ing might gladly have been endured, so great was the reward. Tho committee next took us by special train on tho Oahu railroad to one of the great sugar plantations of the island, a plantation outside of the trust, owned and operated by a San Francisco company. This 'company has built an immense refinery upon tho plantation and the manager showed us the process of sugar making from the crushing of the cane to the refined product, sacked ready for shipment. The stalks after passing through the mill are dried and carried to the furnace, thus saving some sixty-five per cent of the cost of fuel an impor tant economy when It Is remembered that all the fuel for manufacturing is brought from abroad. Until recently several hundred thousand dollars worth of coal was brought from Australia, but California oil is now being substituted for coal. The refuse which remains when the sugar mak ing process is completed is returned to the land as fertilizer. The economies effected in fuel and in fertilizer, together with the freight saved on impurities carried in the raw sugar, amount to a considerable sum and to this extent increase the prolit of the business. While at the sugar plantation we were shown an immense pumping plant used in the irrigation of the land. The water is drawn from artesian wells ,and forced to a height of almost six hundred feet, in some places, and from the summits of the hills is car ried to all parts of the plantation. Some idea of the size of the plants can be gathered from the fact that the pumps used on this plantation have a combined capacity of sixty million gallons per day. Speaking of irrigation, I am reminded that the rainfall varies greatly in different parts of the island. At Honolulu, for instance, it is something like thirty inches per year, while at one point within five miles of the city tho annual rainfall sometimes reaches one hundred and forty inches The sugar plantation visited, while one of the largest, is only one of a number of plantations, the total sugar product of the islands reaching about four hundred thousand tons annually. Next to the sugar crops comes the rice' crop many of the rice fields lying close to the city! Pineapples, bananas, coffee and cocoanuts are also raised. Attention is being given now to the development , of crops which can be grown by small planters, those in authority recognizing the advantage to the country of small holdings. wi i T !i r ?pobIem is the most serious ono . which the people of Hawaii have to meet At present the manual labor is largely done by Japa nese, Chinese and Koreans-these together con siderably outnumbering the whites and natives Several housand Portuguese have been brought to the islands and have proven an excellent addi tion to the population. On the day that we were there the Immigration commission authorbed the securing of a few Italian families with a Sew to testing their fitness for the climate The desire Damon which was once a royal habitaTlon Th Still nearer the town we visited two SlendS chiefs. The boys and Kirk L , the nativG well dressed and intent groS npportfaedf to be studious and excellentlv hoK. ? a.re sai(1 on the islands interested u m?P thf Nothi"S t ive children, illustra tmg as lv T UlQ lla" the possibilities of tlieipg race but tn nly progress mado In a little 1L tho imenso years of contact wUh the wXth a hmiGa the gift of Mr. Bishop nov of Pnm T,Seum' married the widow of oZ ?Trf tn- rnia' who Bald to contain t&Z. - VOLUME G, NUMBER 1 work of the natives of the Pacific Islands to. be found anywhere. ; The public reception at tho Roval Hawaiian hotel gave us an opportunity to meet not only the prominent American and native citizens and their wives, but a large number of the artisans and laborers of the various races, and we were pleased to note throughout the day the harmonious feel ing which exists between the whites and the brown population. Political convictions produce the same results .here as in the United States, sometimes dividing families. For instance, Prince Cupid, the present territorial representative in congress, is a repub lican, while Ms brother, Prince "David, is an en thusiastic democrat The luncheon prepared by the committee in cluded a number of native dishes cooked accord ing to the recipes which were followed for hun dreds of years before the white man set foot upon the island. The health of the guests was drunk in cocoanut water, a nut full of which, stood at each plate. Pol, the staple food of the natives, was present in abundance. This is made from a root or tuber known as taro, which grows in swamps and has a Jeaf resembling our plant, commonly known as elephant's ear. This tuber is ground to a pulp resembling paste and is served in polished wooden bowls, in the making of which the nitives exhibit great skill. Next in interest came the fish and chicken, wrapped in the leaves of a plant called ti (pronounced like tea) and cooked underground by means of hot stones. The flavor of food thus cooked is excellent. . The crowning glory of the feast was a roasted pig, . also cooked underground and a toothsome dish, it was. Besides these, there were bread fruit, alligator pears and delicacies made from the meat of the cocoanut. The salt, a native product, was salmon colored. The invited guests were about equally divided between the American and native population. But for the elegant surroundings of the Young hotel, the beautifully appointed table and thq modern dress; it was such a dinner as might have been served by the natives to the whites on the first Thanksgiving after" the New England missionaries landed. After a call upon Governor Carter, a descend ant of the third generation from missionary stock, we visited the aquarium. When we noticed, on the printed program that we were scheduled for a visit to this place, it did not impress Us as pos sessing special interest, but we had not been in the building long before we were all roaring with laughter at the remarkable specimens of the finny tribe here collected. - Language can not do this subject justice". No words can accurately portray what one here sees. The nsb are odd in shape and have all tho hues of the rainbow. The tints are laid on as if with a brush and yet no painter could imitate theseshall we call them pictures in water color? Some were long and slim; some short and thick. One had a forehead like a wedge, another had a very blunt nose. Some looked like thin slabs of pearl with iridescent tints; others had quills like a. porcupine. One otherwise respectable look ing little fellow had a long nose upon the end of which was a fiery glow which made him look like an old toper; another of a deep peacock blue had a nose for all the world like a stick of indigo which it wiggled as it swam. There were convict fish with stripes like those worn in penitentiaries and of these there were all sizes; some moving about slowly and solemnly like hardened criminals and others sporting about as if enjoying their first taste of wrongdoing. One variety wore what looked like an orange col ored ribbon tied just above the tail; the color was so like the popular flower of Hawaii that we were not surprised to find that the fish was called the lei. In one tank the fish had a habit of resting upon the rocks; they would brace them selves with their fins and watch the passersby. At one time two were perched side by side and recalled the familiar picture of Raphael's Cherubs. ZtTtft theflfh,1s there were claos of several vailetes, all brilliant in -color; one called the hermit crab had a covering like velvet with as ueiicato a pattern as ever came from the loom. And, then there was the octopus with the under sido of its arms lined with valve-like mouths. wKSf hi(1I1ng1uder the rocks, and when the at tendant poked it out with a stick, It darkened ,V,S, witl atn inky fluid, recalling the ' uso made of the subsidized- American newspapers by tho trusts when attacked. " nnilf! vIsit,r t0 Honolulu should fail to see tho hn &fnEJe.riy,eflort t0 lWt these.-flBh has thus far failed. To enjoy the dudes, clowns trirrwaferf1110111 0nG St ihem " th iSlfnh?11'! f fte lslaml olos0(l with' a trip to hall 12 n in1 a rIde n ty, boats' -Th&native l?oat is a long, narrow? deep canoe steadied by -Cj X