The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-12-16
Translation.
DECLARATION

In several German and Austrian newspapers
which have come to hand by late mails, we find de-
with shame and dismay every just and honest man,
and especially us who live in this country.
Among others the Daily Rerieao in its No. 203,
of August 81, 1882, produces an article headed
Modern Slavery" from which we quote "That
the trade in human flesh on the Sandwich Islands
has latterlv become quite common, and that il oc-
the value of a good strong man was considered to
be 5000, and that of a smart pretty girl $500, and
that sales were made at such rates. At the close
of this article our countTyman. Mr.. j. c.. Glade,
the Swedish-Norwegia Consul, who is at the same
time Imperial German Consul, is accused that in
his former quallhcatlon he had placed under arrest
and fasting Norwegians working on tho Island plan
tations who had asked his advice and assistance.
The Daily ReUe,c bases the above article on the
statements of two Norwegians, who in company
with about four hundred Of their countrymen, had
left Norway in December, 1880, and bound them
selves by contract to work three years on sugar
plantations here. against free passage to the Sand
witch Islands and a monthly pay of $500 about 3S
marks), with free lodgings and board for them
selves and their families. 1t is understood that
only the men are bound to work the women and
children, however, may demand work and receive
for such remuneratiye pay.
The above two Norwegians, named Ratzhorn
and Anderson, soon after their arrival, broke their
obligations by desertion, absconded to San Fran
cisco, and have found there a willing ear with the
San Francisco Chronicle, a newspaper entertaining
ill-feeling towards the Islands. Their malicious
slanderings were published first in June, 1881, and
from this source, which in all justice may be termed
an impure one, are derived the reports concerning
the disgraceful state of affairs on the Hawaiian
Islands which have lately been copied by many
European newspapers.
We, the undersigned Germans, after having been
obliged to make the disagreeable experience that
even respectable newspapers do not hold il incon-
sistent with their dignity to represent to their
readers the malicious inventions of runaway adj
venturers as facts, and to bring before the public
the names of well-reputed persons in a manner cal
culated to harm their honor, declare hereby, that n
state of affairs as described in the Daily Repie1o is
neither possible at present nor has it ever existed
during the past twenty-five or thirty years.
Personal freedom is, thanks to a well-regulated
legislation, as secure here as in those countries
which claim the highest civilization, and the legal
DEGREES concerning the relation between employer
and wOrkingman are entirely just and founded on
those now in existence in the United States of
America.
There occur here, as well as everywhere in the
world, disagreements between employer and work
ingmen, which needs hardly to be mentioned and
much less to be enlarged upon. But such disagree
ments are carefully inquired into by our Courts
and decisions given in a like manner. Not only is
every facility granted to the nottingham to OBJ
tain justice, but the Government has also taken an
initiatory step by creating an office with the duty
to protect the interests of the immigrated working
men. This Office (the Board of Immigration with
the Minister Of Interior as President, takes care
that the immigrants who arrive here are distributed
among the plantations with a view to their family
relationships. A high salaried official of the Board
of Immigration visits, several times during the
year, the entire number of plantations, in order to
convince himself that the wOrkingmen are provided
with good and ample lodgings, good food, and
with everything else which they are entitled TO.
The article in the Daily ReUieac, referred to
above, contains the following passage: at occurs
daily that workingmen change their owners"
There can be no dispute about such change Of en-
ployers, because the law provides especially that
under no circumstances can a labor contract be
transferred by the employer alone. Even the agree
ment of the workingman is not yet sufficient, be-
cause the law requires that in order to validate
such transfer of contracts, there is not only neces-
sary the agreement between employer and work
ingmen, but also the sanction Of the Board Of I'm
who in the time of the first engagement
has acted as protector Of the laborer, who was then
unacquainted with the circumstances on these
Islands.
1t would require too much space to consider
every point of the libel, but We wish once more to
that the description Of affairs as spoken
of by the Daily ReUie1o is untrue.
We require in no way the assistance Of news
papers at home, but we demand that they will be
truthful and conscientious when speaking about
us, and that they will not in a frivolous manner
publish untrue statements which must damage our
moral and business character.
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