Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-07-25
Laber nnd Pepnintlon

,pithet, with anything Ike sufficient emphasis,
my heartfelt appreciation Of the noble ideas
expressed in your last issue, on Labor, and
Of the laudabIe abnsgation with which YOU
acknowledged having once been in the wrong
on the subject
You say that "you do not believe in cheap
labor" that cheap labor is DyH,ios every
where, that the eon,mc, system Is 5O,ong; and
that there "never can be a happy hopeful
progressive Hawaii until labor is t,rr and T.
ceivs, It's fair proportion Of wealth and pros.
perity
shall 60 a step further, and say that, IN
my opinion, great deal Of the evils which
have prevented Hawaii from attaining that de.
gree Of prosperity and happiness which was
promised TO her and might have now been her
lot, are due to the adoption OF contract labor
and to the insane harping after Cheap labor
introduced in the earliest day, by planters,
temporary adventurous settlers who only
wanted to make Of sugar means to rapid
fortune and early departure, but did no, car.
for the future Of the country.
Con,rc, labor is only disguised slavery,
however kind and humane may be most Of
the masters who employ it, and especially rs
| said, in ono OF my studies on the Population
Question, if contract labor can be acceptable
to degenerate races like the Asiatic, it cannot
and will not be supported by vrte laborers,
by intelligent men.
Further, cftap labor, however cheap it may
appear to the impatient but thoughtlcss master
who asks for it, has always proven in-lhe long
run to be atdr, dearer than free aud apparently
costly labor would really be. Let any one
fond Of statistical studies find out what has
been paid here in wages for cheap labor, what
has repeatedly been paid on, to get that cheap
labor here and in som, instances to send it
back, what losses that cheap labor has caused
the country in shape of earned savings sen,
away and cash withdrawn from our momentary
circulationi and after all this let our mathc.
matcan compute that huge fa-tor Of wealth OF
ruin, the difference between the money gained
through the free, earnest, willing laborer, who
heap, up work with the hope OF an appropriate
recompense, and the money lost through the
lazy, mechanical automatic, unwilling con
tracted laborer. Then we shall see il the appar.
cnt and much touted cheap labor" has not
resulted more dcarlyto the employer than would
| have done the dearest free labor Now, If to
this, we add the social difference between, on
the one side cheap labor, which does moi
| g.tfi. has ~, I,n,ily briu,r. f,rfb M r,r.ler.s
sors or consumers to the nation, which hastes
away from the country as soon as weary of the
contract, and, on the other side "lree labor
which generally settles down tc rear a family
and keeps its earnings in the country, thus in,
creasing the nation and its wealth. think
that no one will deny that the cheap-labor
craving has been a curse to these islands.
Also do believe and agree with you that
"we never can even approach solution O
our labor difficulties until we foreso immigra
ton for labor only, and abolish the contract
system" Brave and true words, which indeeC
require a courageous conviction for you tC
utter in your situation, but which anticipated
when your columns kindly gave hospitality Il
my repopulation scheme. When asked fo
$4,000 families Of free immigrants and settlers
and when foretold the forthcoming departur,
of our costly Portuguese best OF our work
ing elemcnts-as soon as their contract ex
pired if not properly induced 20 remain.
What the county wants is population, from
which will naturally result free labor. Blu
when the Hawaiian Governtnent applies 70
immigrants, what inducement} do 2hey cher
The contract system and Siter that agail
the contract A man coming here for betterinI
his situation has thus only great chances q
remaining slave ali his life. Is that a stat
OF things to encourage Immigrants and TO in
sme the repopulaton of the kingdom Tn
inducements required-and which ean b
offered if there is unanimous will for it, ar
, that every man with a family, who comes her
with good will and strong arms, shall not onl
fnd labor with a chance oil reapins its fair pre-
portion OF the common harvest of wealth, bu
will also have promise, a possibility
acquiring land and wealth, OF becoming HI
l own master and Of being able to rear up iairl
5 his children For all this all that is needed
land facilities. We'll the government sti
owns about 100000 acres of land, uniortt
nately most of the worst kind, but some POI
ton of which may be found available IL
the Homestead law be applied as soon as po
y sible. Then the crown owns about 10000
acres of the best lands, many OF which Al
leased at mere nominal figures +: let those /
S divided up-and claim being the tr5f he'
: to make that suggestion and leased on II
crcasing rates, to bona hde settlers. on Ior
l terms, so as to augment the crown revenues
the same time as the population would ncreas
and am sure that His Majesty King kal
o kaua is to ointelligent and magnauimous N
j TO favor the idea. Then, again, private ind
+ viduals who have srasped good deal OF lan
IS some in immense tracts now kept useless ar
waste, ought to assume their share of soci
. duties by throwing open hundreds OF thousan'
/ Of good acres, either for easy sales, OF und
} leases on terms similar to those proposed Il
selling the crown lands, and think, from e
amples cropping out, that already in that III
= healthy stir has been produced. Finally let q
government, through a special loan OF hna
cial institution, help immigrants and settlers
the necessary advances, secured by mortgai
a on the grants OF land then, think the e
Y, will very soon dawn of solving both our lab
d and are population problems.
4 But, il petty, narrow, ego'ls,ie'l inleres
= interfere with such a law and make Il fail,
y all events the Saturday Press and all tho
y who, like myself, agree with your views on .
matter. will have done their duty to ,h'
adopted county, Hawaii. A MARQUES
A, Honolulu, July 20, 1885.
: The San Francisco Argonaut say
y In the trial OF Adolph Spreckels io' I
C. assassination OF NJ. II. de Young, the law h
is again been violated and justice has again m
ri - 4 IL