Hawaii To-day and Yesterday.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, 1 December 1915, Page 34

Hawaii To-day and Yesterday.

(By

A. P. Taylor.)

Hawaii lias undergone many changes, poLtically and socially, since the first New England missionaries located at Honolulu, nearly a hundred, years ago, but the most important changes have taken place since 1898, the year when the Hawiian Islands were annexed and became a fullfledged territory of the Uinted States. The little opear bouffe kingdom succumbed to the law of destiny in 1893, when the reign.ng queen was deposed and a republic set up. The old cabinets of prime ministers and ministers of bureaus disappeared, and m their places were appointed heads of departments. All the romance of government disappeared with the furling of the old Hawaiian flag and the raising of the Stars and Stripes. But—the old moonlight nights still remain; the same incomparable climate still enthralls, and the tinkle and strum of the ukulele and gu tar are heard beneath the cocoanut palms as the native Hawaiians sob their ear-haunting melodies. No longer is the old Palace filled with diplomats of foreign stations; distinguished generals, admirals, writers and playerfolk are no longer leceived in tne old throne room by a Hawaiian king or queen. The same throne room now resounds with the oratory of elected legislators from the slopes of Mauna Loa, the rock-ribbed fishing villages of Laupahoehoe and Hamakuapoko; the quaint towns of Lahaina and Lihue; the important port of H 10, as well as the silkstockinged districts of Honolulu. Of all the old regime, there remains now only the deposed queen, IHuokalani, living out the event.de of an eventful lite m Washington Place, the home of her late husband, the Prince Consort; a home filled With relics of the days of royalty; rem nders of the days when King Kalakaua was the merry monarch, the queen herself during her brief reign of two years, each year one of trouble. The queen, reared in semi-luxury, proclaimed successor to the throne of Hawaii when her brother, Kalakaua, came to the throne, was educated .n the English schools. Her mind was receptive, and when she grew to womanhood she possessed a fair education and devoted much of her time to musical composition, and to writ ng, her latest work being “Hawaii, by Hawaii’s Queen.” During the long reign of her brother, she was a prominent figure at the court and often dominated it; during the absence of her brother on his visit to the United States and his tour of the world, L liuokalani was regent, and was capable in the handling of State affairs. In her own reign, when the crown rested upon her own head, an inclination to be absolute, instead of a constitut onal ruler, encompassed her fall and the loss of her throne and crown.

To-day, however, the queen is honoured in Washington Place and elsewhere as though she sat upon the throne of old Hawaii On Hawaiian

holidays, on her b.rthday and many other occasions, she receives in semiroyal state; the guests are ushered into her drawing-room by the same officers who officiated when she was in the Palace; the introductions are made by the same courteous gentleman who officiated as chamberlain dur.ng her reign; her attendants are the same women who attended her in the brilliant days of the monarchy. In the drawing-room are seen the old s Iken royal standard of Hawaii. In the trams of guests are the highest federal, Territorial and city officials; there are jurists, generals and admirals, statesmen and writers. Soc al life in old Hawaii still centres in Washington Place, and all delight in honouring the beloved queen. The people of Hawaii who overturned the monarchy still give s ncere homage to this woman. That is one side of the social activity of Hawai . The monarchy made its impress upon the people and their customs in the past, and many of these customs of habit and precedence have not yet been overcome, for the etiquette of the Court of St. James preva led at the Palace during the reign of King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani. The levees, at which presentations were made, were based in form and style upon those given in Buckingham Palace. With the change of the Govern-

In the old days the opera house would be 'filled w.th beautifullygowned women, and men always wore conventional evening clothes. The formal affairs were, and are, characterised by such toilettes as are seen in London, Paris and Berlin. The army now forming a large part of the population of Honolulu, their brilliant uniforms are seen at all formal affairs; in fact, the companies that assemble in Honolulu are often far more brilliant than are to be met in mainland cities.

The shops are filled with large assortments of fabrics suited to the climate. The stores are not of the “village” type, are far from antiquated and are quite as up-to-date as those in big cities. Both men and women dress in excellent taste n Honolulu, but the man who wears limp clothing is not a painfully conspicuous object. The social code of Honolulu is yet strict, and formal ty demands a regard for the rules that have been found necessary for the common good of society everywhere. The city of Honolulu is divided into social districts, all the ladies of the same neighbourhood receiving on the same day. The stranger must needs yield reference to entitle him to entry into the conservative circle of social Honolulu. The stranger, however, is not held aloof. Every opportunity is afforded, wherever possible, for the stranger to mingle on equal terms with the residents. The outdoor life favours such mingling, the life around the hotels, the sea beaches, the homes with the wide-open porches, or “lanais,” as the Islanders term them; the town club and the country clubs; the army posts, the varied form of public amusement, all tend to bring the stranger into the midst of the social life of the capital. Trips to other islands on the little steamers cause friendships wh'ch mean week-end opportunities at some of the beautiful homes of the planters. Even the voyage from the coast to Honolulu in the splendid steamers which now ply across the smooth expanse of ocean, makes opportunit es for new friendships on the six-day trip, which give social opportunit’es later on.

ment and the setting up of a Republic, the President of the Republic, Hon. Sanfod B. Dole, became the arbiter of. official social life in Hawaii. His wife was the social hostess of Hawaii; around them were the descendants of the early missionaries, New Englanders mainly, whose culture, educational and religious training have brought Hawaii to its high state of civilisation in the past hundred years. There are beautiful gowns seen in Hawaii as in our own cities. In former days, when Hawaii was an independent country, silks and satins and the finer fabrics were easier to obtain than now.

There is much in Honolulu to give charm to luncheons, dinners and garden parties. The pleasant lanai, cool and airy, looking out into an enchanting garden, the wealth of flowers and ferns with which' the table may be dressed, the palms and crotons and orchids with which the house may be decorated, are all poss’bilities in Honolulu, to be realised at a very slight cost and with very little trouble. In nine houses out of ten, the Chinese or Japanese cook deserves the decoration of a cordon bleu; he is an artist whose salads and entrees, cakes and ’ces, are simply perfection. With all this there is a list of fresh fruits to draw upon that bewilder the stranger by its wonderful variety. While 'n many of the best houses in Honolulu wine is never served, a moral principle inherited from the early miss’onaries by their descendants, in others it is an influence surviving from the old days of the monarchy. This is also due to the number of Europeans Tving in Honolulu, who are among the most hospitable and delightful of entertainers. Where a luncheon is given at a seaside villa, it is often preceded by a sw’m in the ocean, reappearing after the dip, again accoutered ; n proper habiliments, and as though they had just come in after a stroll in the garden. MoonPght swimming parties are common, for the water is always of a comfortable temperature. The garden party dinner served on the lanie; moonlight motor trips, around the ’sland; dances at the beautiful Countv Club, launch trips to an island in Pearl Harbour, where the greatest naval station under the Arne: .can Flag is being constructed; a dance or dinner party at one of ihe numerous army posts, all comb’ne to make a round of festivities with which Honolulu seems never to lack. There is the smart set; there is the conservative set; there is the royalty set: there are many soc’al circles in Honolulu. Among the most act’ve entertamers are the Princess Kawanakakoa. a beaut’ful part-Hawaiian woman of culture and brilliant accomnVshments: Pr'nce and Princess Kaffiiranaole (Prince Cupid for short, thev sav). whose delightful old villa at Waikiki is the scene of many and wonderful parties. Golf and polo are played all over the Islands, tennis courts abound, even at the remote villas of sugar planters far from town; the motor car is everywhere, even going now to the very edae of the liv’ng molten lava crater of Kilauea on the Island of Hawaii. Baseball is played the vear round. At the famous Honolulu Country Club, in Nuoanii Valley, is a splendid 18-hole golf course. Isolated as Honolulu may be geographically, ’ts society, otherwise, is in close touch with the great world, and is in no sense insular. It is ready to do its part, with credit, to the distinguished strangers whom it may receive, and its representatives are at home in any land wheresoever business or pleasure may take them. The Hawaiian Islands to-day enjoy the distinct : on of be’ng “the only safe insular tourist resort in the world.” A glance at any war map will show how distinctly Uncle Sam’s latest annexed terr’tory comes within this

meaning, and will also indicate that Americans who have adopted the slogan of “See America First” must naturally include the Hawaiian Islands in that category.

At the Hawaiian Islands are full legal territory of the United States and have been since 1898. they have developed rapidly along agr.cultural lines, with the result that the exports of sugar amount to 50,000,000d01. a year, while pine apples, tobacco, coffee, sisal and other products run up several million more. At the present time no crop other than sugar, and, to a lesser degree, p neappies, can be recommended as a sound, economic industry adapted to produce a staple on which the population of these Islands can rely for maintenance. The following are the more important grounds on which this op nion is based. From an agricultural point of view, Hawaii is not a tropical country, and the strctly tropical crops do not find optimum cl matic conditions. Hawaii has not a temperate climate and the staple products of the temperate zone cannot be relied on. Distance from mainland markets imposes a serious hand cap, and both inter-Island and inter-community transportation is difficult and expensive because Hawa i is a group of comparat vely small mountainous islands, with very few harbours. Practically all tropical industries demand a plent ful supply of cheap labour. Labour in Hawaii is neither cheap nor plentiful. In this respect Hawaii s at a marked disadvantage compared with nearly all tropical countries.

Not only must the above cited adverse conditions be met by any new industry, but t should be borne in m.nd that the area of cultivated land in Hawaii is very small, the amount reclaimed still smaller, and the needs of a growing population must be met, and this means intensive cultivation and a high average rate of wealth production per acre. In the ten-year period 1900-1910, the population increased 24.6 per cent, and the area of cultivated land 3.6 per cent. The census reports also clearly show that Hawaii is cult vating its land far more intensely than the mainland states; for example, supporting twenty-two times as many persons per acre of improved arable land than the agricultural State of North Dakota. Clearly the problem ; n Hawaii is pecuiarly difficult.

Being a territory of the United States, goods received from the American mainland are not classified as “imports” as are foreign goods. At the same time the Hawa ian Islands spend a very large part of 60,000,000 dollars for its “imports.” With the opening of the Panama Canal, the Hawa'ian Islands are now in the d.rect path of steamship lines running from the Atlantic Coast to the Far East.

In anticipation of this Canal and other traffic, the harbours have been enlarged, new wharves built, a floating dry dock installed, the Honolulu harbour channel widened and deepened, breakwaters built at Hilo and Kahului, modern freight and coal handling apparatus provided and fuel depots established.

Communication with the outer world is now amply provided by the establishment near Honolulu of a million dollar station of the Marconi Wireless Company, wh ch now has direct communication with the American mainland and is in process of extension to the Philippines and Japan. The Federal Wireless Company operates between the Hawaiian Islands and California, while each of the Islands is I nked with an inter-island wireless telegraph system.

The Commercial Pacific Cable connects Hawaii with all parts of the world.

Five steamship companes operate modern steamships which connect Hawaii with New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Pago Pago, Sydney, Auckland, Yokohama, Hongkong and Manilla.

The electric street car system in Honolulu is as up-to-date as any on the American mainland.

The hotels of Honolulu are palatial, splendidly appointed, one of these being a 2,000,000d01. building.

In Honolulu alone there are 2000 automobiles. Every island has a splendid system of automobile roads. The active volcano of Kilauea is now easily accessible by motor road and has become in reality a “sat'n slipper trip.”

On the Island of Oahu there are now five forts and army posts containing an aggregate of 8000 soldiers of all branches of the army. Pearl Harbour naval station is being completed as the most important naval base in the Pacific. The naval dry dock to cost 4,500,000d01. is now under construction. The Hawaiian Islands are a winter and summer tourist resort, as practically every month of the year s the month of May. While Chicago is shivering all winter, Hawaii is warm; while New York is burning up with the heat of summer, Hawa.i is cool. The tourist swims at the famous Waikiki Beach in December as well as ;n June.

Mark Twain said lately that the Hawaiian Islands were “the loveliest fleet of islands that 1 es anchored in any ocean,” and they are geographically and sentimentally “the Heart ol the Pacific.”

Bob Burdette, in a letter written from the Islands to a ma Eiland friend, said, “This climate of Honolulu, soft and fragrant, just ‘mothered’ me through my convalescence.” Hawai is the land of Aloha —the land of Welcome; the land of flowers; the land of good fellowship and hosPxtality, for the latchstr ng always hangs invitingly on the outside in the Hawaiian Islands.

Conjure up a memory of the most perfect May day, when sunshne, soft air and the fragrance of buds and smiling nature combine to make the heart glad, multiply it by 365 and the result is the climate of “Hawaii.”