The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-01-21

augurate to remove such people
from the country"
S. Ozaki, the president of the
ly and one who cares little OF
nothing for politics unless it be a
measure that would conflict with
any of the terms of the convention
between the two countries. He
came here in 1891 when all Of the
business in Japanese provisions
was in the hands OF Chinese mer-
chants. He is interested largely
in his brothers mercantile business
in Yokohama Regarding the future
of the. japanese in Hawaii, that is
the merchant class, he said:
The greatest obstacle in the
way of the japanese is the freight
rate from Yokohama to Honolulu.
We anticipate a large influx of
japanese laborers during the next
year and, with those who are now
here the supply will probably be
larger than the demand, and
laborers' wages will be reduced to
a figure that will prohibit their
buying the goods we handle to the
extent they otherwise would.
To meet the reduction in the
wages we must economic in some
way and probably the only way
will be in freights. A few years
ago, when / came here the rate on
Japanese provisions was fourteen
yen per ton. The shipments by
the Coptic few days ago was
lao per ton, a very satisfactory
figure but, unfortunately, not one
that we can depend upon having
permanently. The Commercial
Union, of which l am president,
will endeavor to make permanent
arrangements with the steamship
company for a rate, failing in this
we will communicate with our
Yokohama agents and instruct
them to charter a steamer.
There are very few OF the Japan
csc dealers who are not members OF
the union which, by the way, while
it may be considered a protective
organization, it is not such in the
sense that a member whose bust
ness methods were questionable
would receive either support or en-
dorsement by the union. We have
plan now Whereby each member
contributes a certain portion, say |
two dollars on each ton of mer-
chandise imported, to an emer-
gency fund. Should any mem
Der violate any of his obliga-
tons to the union, he forfeits
whatever sum he may have paid in.
But if he should, on the other hand,
decide to retire from business and
return to Japan, after settling his
affairs honorably, his credits are
paid over to him.
This emergency fund is not large,
but it is growing. | believe we
have about $4,000 on hand at pres71
ent. This sum will be increased to
$4,000, unless there should be a
repetition of the difficulties of last
summer, when the cholera pre-
vented our getting goods from
Japan. 1t nearly always happens
that the steamship companies pre-
ferred through freight because
the class was cleaner than
that shipped here, which is
mainly soy and vegetables. Now
we will be enabled to make con-
tracts and to have more vessels
calling here. We do not intend to
depend upon any particular line of
steamers to carry our goods. The
Hiroshima immigration Company
of Yokohama has made contracts
with a steamship company to bring
immigrants to Honolulu, and un-
less the number is large we would
get our goods by the same line.
We will make some arrangements
that will benefit us, of that you
NAV be assured. In the past so
much damage has occurred to our
goods through being carried on
deck and the adjustment of claims
so unsatisfactory that we feel that
something should be done. Until
quite recently there has been little
demand for the finer articles OF
Japanese manufacture that our
goods have been accorded inferior
positions on the vessels.
"There have been complaints
regarding the competition which
the Japanese have given the white
merchants. ] believe this to be a
mistake to a certain extent. We
cannot compete with them in goods
OF American manufacture, nor can
they compete with Us in products
of Japan. There lie much in the
buying Of the goods, but more in
the expense in selling them. II;
believe the average Japanese store
keeper can conduct his business at +
an expense Of one third Of that of
the white men
We save wherever We can. Wei