The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-08-28

LAND MONOPOLY AND THE CHINESE

The depression in California, despite
its enormous crops and apparent
prosperity, is attributable to two
causes. One is that the best part of
the directly available land of the
State is in the hands of few land
owners, or the agents of absentee
capitalists, and that ten per cent of
the profits arising from the cultiva-
ton of wheat on the vast areas so
held does not go into circulation.
For example, the late DIR. Glen loaded
from ten to thirteen square-rigged
ships with his own wheat every sea-
son for series of years, and he did
not employ score of white men all
told. except during harvesting, when
Chinese labor was not so profitable as
gangs of "blanket men," that is
white men who tramp for living
the balance of the year, unless they
obtain chance employment when the
Fanchers are seeding their land.
There is no settlement worth speak
California, and none is possible under
existing conditions. It's immense
harvests, therefore, are enriching a
few individuals, most of whom are
absentees, living either in the East
ern States or Europe, or at least non
resident so far as the districts in
which their estates are located are
concerned.
The other drawback is Chinese
labor A Massachusetts working
man writes from Pasadena, Cali
fornia, to the Boston "Globe," a let
ter which brings this factor into
prominence. He says:
It is impossible for white person, either
man or woman, to obtain employment. The
Chinese work for seventy-five cents per
diem and feed themselves. All the garden
truck is raised by Chinese. Every person
that is worth S4.O 900 or $4,000 prefers Chinese
labor to white for all work. They work in
the field, and the lady of the house can
call them in TO do the Homework. The
Chinese have crowded out white labor.
White men have to beg for bread and sleep
out. The press on this coast is paid by
capitalists to lie in the interests of real
estate agents in order to attract Eastern
people out here The railroad companies
discharged all their white help and hired
Chinese. The fare on the railroad is five
csnts per mile. This State is no longer a
place for the white mechanic or white
laborer I do advise such to remain at
home in the East.
There is doubtless strain of eXag-
geration in this, but the main facts
are correct Chinese labor is crushing
out competitive white labor all over
California, and establishing industrial
conditions which, unchecked, must
result in giving them complete con-
troll. The California press and mer-
camille men have awakened to the
Importance of this question The
"Post'' goes straight to the point
when it states that the settlement of
California has been delayed to the
great indirect loss of the very classes
who sought most to profit by the
labor of the coolies" through the en-
pleyment of this very class of labor.
Chinese are producers but not con-
sumers, and therein lies the secret of
the failure Of capitalists to make an
ultimate profit from cOOlie labor 1t
has taken California thirty-six years
to get a population of 100000, the
"Post'' remarks, while Iowa has in
creased 800, 900 in the past five years,
and will have population of about
1920, coo at the close of 1885. Anyone
can perceive the vast difference in
trading and economic conditions be-
tween Iowa and California as pre-
sented by these figures.
Precisely similar conditions as to
land monopoly and Chinese labor
exist In these Islands as in California
with this difference, that here the
Cinnamon have got astride the coun-
try while they are not so securely
dxed in the Golden State. 1t will take |
very judicieus management, and a
patriotic and enlightened policy on
the part of the Legislature and land
owners of this Kingdom if the Chi
nese incubus is to be removed. 1t /