The Labor enquirer., 1886-08-14
A Plain Statement From the
Pacific Coast Fed
GRAFTON.
The Inhumanity of the Spreckles
Sugar Monopoly
Exposed.
The Public Asked to Support Just
Demand Of American Citizens,
The Scab Engineers.

OTRdulZdIlUuS vi Guo hCluC OOdSt, udNc
commenced and are just entering into a
contest of principle with the Oceanic
Steamship company, of which, though
promising to be of protraeted nature,
we have counted the cost, have entered
to stay, and are determined to win.
That our position may not be misun-
derstood, we submit to ell short his
tory of our adversarIes, the origin, pro-
gress, and present condition of the diff
Guilty, and our demands in the matter.
The above company has for its president
and secretary and soul two scions of a
house whose establishment in America
commenced in years gone by, by the
landing here of Young German Claus
Spreckles--who set about carving for
himself name and fortune through the
medium of the staple sugar.
THE SUGAR swINDLE.
By the use of labor-saving machinery
of a maximum effect. and the appropria-
tion of ideas and processes created by
men of inventive genius, who, as usual I,
had thought their business faculties into
imbecility, and invented that others
might profit, the founder of this house
finally and few years ago amassed suf-
fcient wealth to succeed with a combi
nation-how We leave to our readers
in inducing the autocratic portion of our
national legislature to effect reciproc-
ity treaty with the Hawaiian kingdom, a
large sugar producing locality. AS usual,
this treaty had precisely the contrary
effect expected, for while it was pre-
tendedlY intended to cheaper the price
of sugar in America and cement to-
gether the two countries, bY the intro
duction there of democratic ideas, it has
resulted in bolstering up shoddy mon
archy, while the price of sugar has been
effected only through Eastern competi
tion, it being finally discovered that the
promoters of the treaty had built better
than the people knew. ihe person
mention d controlled the trade of the
Islands by Indirectly having lien on
ma aoritY of the plantations that he and
bis company did not own. The effect of
this treaty was merely that the duty on
raw sugar, of about 2t cents per pound,
instead of being retained, as formerly,
by the United States, is now retained as
an additional profit by its importers.
The demand for this free trade sugar
consequently increased, and from this
demand has sprung the company with
which we are now engaged. The sons
of the sugar monopolists are at its head.
Thew first owned sailing vessels; then
American steamers to carry their dis
criminated sugar then, to further mo-
nopollze the ira lie to the monarchy
mentioned, they subsidized line of
steamers. Eventually, to further assist
their monopoly, they bought off foreign
steamers by purchasing them at bar
gain, refusing thus to patronize Ameri-
can ship-yards and mechanics, although
the largest proportion of their patron
age comes from that direction. These
steamers have been placed under the
banner of the kingdom mentioned-a
country without navy for mercantile
protection, or proper maritime laws for
their regulation.
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION.
The treaty and the monopolist exclu-
sively benefited have been justly criti-
cised by our local press with the result
of the endsjustifying the means plan
being adopted by one of the officers
mentioned True to his nature, he shot
a local paper proprietor, an unarmed,
defenseless and fleeing man, in the back,
a short time ago, for truthfully stating
the proceedings of a directors meeting
of one of their numerous companies,
when some of the stock holders objected
because they discovered they had been
fleeced. After the usual delays and a
carefully bolstered insanity plea, a SO
lected jury declared that by reason of
insanity" he was not guilty Of the Of
fense. His recovery from insanity"
was speedy, for Immediately thereafter
he resumed his duties, and has ever
since been engaged thereat.
THE HELL-HoLEs OF THE "MARIPOsA.
The unskilted labor on their steamers
have, since their first employment. suf-
fered numerous grievances, and have
been subject to petty annoyances and
exactlons, some without parallel. The
steamers which preceded theirs in car
rying mails to Australia, though burn
ing forty eight tons of coal per day, with
a fire room temperature Of 1902 TO l4O0,
carried twelve fremen and twelve coal
passers for years, and the work and heat
frequently led to exhaustion and some
times death. This company, although
their ste amers were burning sixty tons,
,hought nine coal-passers and nine fire.
men sufficient, but positive declara-
ton from the men, after the first trip,
that they were unable to do the work
led to an increase of three coal-passers.
INHUMAN TREATMENT OF DEFENsELE Ess
SAILORS.
As an offset to this, when the men