Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1884-05-24

s6satotsss sa.oo,os Co. thsu js'uesurp
SATURDAY. MAY - ga,
rHE coNrRicr LtHoR rRoHIEU
The number vi dcseuions nom bound
service during tho last hienniel period
was $50 less than lot the previous per
iod. Tho total however IS Nlll large
being los. Probably this represents
about twenty hvc per cent ot the whole
number ol contracted ahotcw IN the
country That this represents rc
duccd total oi two and quarter per
cent Is an encouraging feature Pro
badly this is due To greater attention IN
the matter ot housing lahotcrS and
otherwise providing Tor their comfort
and to greater wisdom gained 10y en-
pericnoc IN avoiding the collisions that
arc So easily cngndctcd among the
classes who work on ouf plantations
Doubtless, too. hbotcr have discovered
that their own best interests arc not tor
wardcd by Sullcn reusals to work, OF
hy turbulence The fact remains how.
ever that the proportion Of descrtions
to the whole number ot laboters is un-
wauantably large These dcscrtions
ot course were not all for similar rca.
sons, and the difference IN degree OF
rfiminaltics is undoubtedly great
They do however represent just so much
4.
ployer and SO long as the figures keep
up So high among the thousands, there
is not only warning in them but occa-
sion for legislative enactmcnts that will
in a measure reduce the grounds of
friction and satisfy equally both parties
to contracts II isIgmarkablc that no
suggestions appear in the chief Justices
report relative TO needed modification
in our labor contract system. Such
suggestions coming from such an i'm
partial source would have great weight
with our legislators, and might lead to
cnacuments that would amply protect
employers while at the same time re
moving some of the present sources of
discomfort among laborers, 1t is in
tcresiing to note that while the largest
area OF disconten,ent during 1851
was a, Hilo, during 1888 it had
shifted to kuai This latter fact, in
the light of the German rebellion on
the latter island, suggests fact which
undoubtedly accounts for several hun
dred cases OF desertions each biennicl
period, viz: that discomfort acts like
contagious disease inoculating quite a
class OF innocent men with the virus
flowing in the veins OF certain vicious
men who are always and everywhere
bound to make trouble where they
fail to find 1t reaey-made. Contract
laws cannot be charged with the occa-
sion of many such offences, and it is
Just that so much, and much more that
could be noted, should be said in be
half of our present contract system.
That system is more humane and ac-
cords greater comfort and liberty to the
laborer than probably any other con
tract system in sugar lands the world
over And that is sufficient reason why
il should be made as little obnoxious
to the laborer as the peculiar con
dition of plantation labor will justify
The Contract Labor Problem is
chiefly consideration of how to get
on with the Chinese plantation hand
That indispensable toiler has been the
subject. OF much Incidental current com
ment, of some unjust aspersion, of con
siderable sentimental over consideration.
When all is said, the fact remains that
we could not get on without him. II
kept within bounds he is not only z
plantation laborer whom We cannot do
without but is, so far, the best develop
er Of our auxiliary industries. Rice,
bananas. taro-how little of each would
be grown without the Chinese And
yet, If these Chinese are not regulated
the advantages which their cheap
labor under contract brings to the coun-
Try will be Offset by the difficulty OF
holding them under contract and of
controlling them after their contracts
have expired. Both difficulties are
encountered by planters. The extra cost
OF plantation labor--eNtra, because un-
forseen and unjustly put upon plan
,ations by desertions or strikes-has
aggregated several thousand dollars.
The proposed new law to register
Chinese provides remedy for one part
of the existing difficulty-the desertion
part. We think the bill ought to be
amended so as to exclude from its
operations all those Chinese who now
hold licenses Ifit can be made to work,
then it ought to do much good. Such
a law is surely needed.