The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-05-26
REPORT ON LABOR
Commissioner Fitzgerald Talks On
Hawaii.
He ADVOCATES WHITE LABOR
Climatic Conditions Are
Favorable.
Comparison Between Cane SUI
gar and the Product of
the Beet Fields.

Labor Commissioner r. L. Fitzgerald
has finished his official report of his
visit to the Hawaiian Islands, which
will be printed in pamphlet form and
distributed by the Chamber of Com
merce, says the Call of May 18th. The
report is as follows:
MY investigation through the Ha-
waiian Islands has brought to my at
tention many new conditions and
phases of labor, the most important of
which is the Asiatic hordes that now
infest the Islands and predominant
in numbers upon the plantations. I
have seen about 10000 barefooted la
borers, half of whom work under pen
al contract; [ have seen a reward Of
fered for their arrest when they vio-
lated their contract and deserted the
plantation and their number printed
across their photograph, in convict
style; ] have seen four or five hundred
Japanese walk 10 miles to back up the
position Of one man when only a few
days work was involved; I have seen
murder upon the plantations and riot;
I have heard the Japanese say their
people have brought the sugar indus
try to the position which it now occu-
pies and that they propose to hold the
controlling influence upon the Islands
at any hazard; 7 have seen them de-
handing that white men should be dis
charged and Japanese taken in their
place: I have seen one of our Ameri-
can men-of-War anchored in the har-
Dor for the purpose of defending the
planter against his own labor, and I
have seen the warship of Japan an
chOred at it's side simply to encourage
the Japanese upon the Islands in their
arrogant and insolent behavior and to
further demand that more should be
added to the already oVerburdened
condition, that more fuel be added to
the fame / have seen the Govern
ment deport 1, 40 of the lowest grade
of these serfs upon a technicality;
have seen the Government discrimi-
nate in it's last contract in the build
ing of a public highway against the
employment of more than one-half of
Asiatic labor upon the same, and
have found a majority of the planters
eager to welcome any change that may
bring the Anglo-Saxon into their
midst. The Government is unqualified
ly the champion of American labor
nearly to man are struggling to beat
back a horde which threatened their
undoing - trying to free themselves
from the grip of a monster.
''The only question with them re-
garding the change of their labor for
American is: Can they stand the eli
matte conditions? Will they work
faithfully. and at such wages as will
Ola T,a ntaa tn tho nj rpa Sons HE
dividend upon their stock?'
There is nothing in the climatic
conditions against white labor per-
forming the work and drawing the
three or four million dollars that is
paid annually to the Asiatics, as the
temperature on the plantations runs
no higher than 90. and stands at an
average of about Is
Chinese fill the positions of store
keepers, clerks in the hotels, millmen,
teamsters, etc. On the plantations the
number and nationality of labor is, by
the last report: 1,615 Hawaiians, 2,268
Portuguese, u, 1873 Japanese, $3.50 Chi
nese, and about us of other nation
alities-a total of 23,780. The Hawai-
ians are the best wOrkmen; the POrtu-
guese are next, and today are consid-
cred the bone and sinew' of the ISL
ands, as they are industrious, quiet and
peaceable: the Chinese next and the
Japanese last. 1t is my opinion that
$4,000 white people will do the work
of the $4,000 Chinese and Japanese
now working upon the plantations.
The Japanese are slow, careless, and
they work much after the style of
convict.
Now, regarding the supplanting of
those people with Americans and their
families, there is nothing to hinder
the same, it being a question of a good