The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1881-05-04

WILL it. or will 1t not. astonish the quiet, stay
at-home, church-coing portion of the Honolulu
world whom we tell them that gambling under its
very lowest aspect Is one Of the vices to which
large section Of the youth and alas the riper age
OF this town is addicted The authorities have
very rightly been making raid upon the gambling
houses, and revelations as to who frequent them
have been made, which MAXWELL surprise even
those who are accustomed to the ways of man
kind in large cities and who are not too easily
shocked at the slight :. aar pas of their fellow
creatures: but we must say that with men who
frequent such low dens We have little sympathy.
We all know the Chinese. we know his style Of
life, and it VIII not require q large stretch Of
imagination for any Of our readers to form some
idea Of what a Chinese gambling hell IS Men
who habituaily 90 to such places certainly have
gone far astray they have lost most of their self
respect. There are degrees even in vice, and TO
sink down to a low Chinese gambling hell Is Ger
tainly to reach pretty near the bottom rung Of the
ladder Thus far for reprobation Of what all, even
thoss who participate. viii acknowledge Is a very
vicioas habit and subversive of all moral char
actsr Now let rs look upon the other side Of the
picture.
In this city merchants and stovekeepers employ
a considerable number Of clerks. Most of these
young men have no chance of enjoying home
life : they engage single room, usually destitute
Of those comforts which make home attractive !;
they GO to their work early in the morning, eat
their meals in a restaurant, and return TO their
room say about SIX or half-past. What are they
to dog One in fifty-a liberal allowance-may
be Of a studious turn Of mind, and in spite of
the discomforts of his room. and any outward
allurements that may be spread before him, he
will keep at home, study FOR some object or
merely improve his mind by reading; but he Is
after all one in fifty, and very frequently not
the best ont Of the fifty. Now it certainly is
the duty of the employer Of labor to do what he
can for the well being Of the employed. Do our
employers make any effort in this direction Let
Us ask how many clerks habitually visited and were
entertained in their EMPLOYERS houses during the
last six months The employer may reply, But
in other countries have little or no need to troa-
bic myself about the amusenents of the young
men employ" Very true; but he must remem-
Der that in other countries innocent amusement Is
cheaply obtained. A man can while away an
evening at the theatre for twenty-five or fifty
cents: he can so to hear lecture for a less sum
he has usually a number of houses owned by men
OF MS own Class II society WHO are OILY 700 HaO
10 welcome him But here things are changed.
There Is seldom any theatre lectures and such
forms Of amusement are very rare; men who have
houses of their own are usually engaged in trying
TO court the society Of those who are not neces-
sarily above them IN the social scale, but who
above them in means; and the young men are, rs
a rule, left to their own devices. We would
arraign the business men Of Honolulu upon this
point. We feel disposed to say, gentlemen, if
your young men gamble: If they take inordinately
to drink if eventually they rob your tis, II is II
a great measure your own fault, What have You
done for thsse young men beyond paying them FOR
the work they do ? Have you tried to fathom their
characters Have You tried TO make their lives
more pleasant to them Have YOU tried to direct
them IN the night way 10 become honorable men
The answer Will in a majority o< cases come back,
No. We have never interested ourselves IN their
home life We have simply employed them for their
work during the day; and even when We knew
they were men Of loose lives, as long as they
suited Us we vinked at IL no matter what our own
moral views might have been
These are hard tnings TO say. but they are based
upon facts which have come under our own
knowledge. We do not propose, and indeed we
know too much Of a considerable portion Of the
Young men Of Honolulu TO make a strong defence
for them; but two wrongs do not make right,
and if many Of our young men are astray, their
employers bear a certain share Of the blame for
this state Of affairs