The San Francisco call., 1897-05-15
THEY PREFER
WHITE LABOR
Labor Commissioner Fitz-
gerald's Official Report
Issued.
He Reviews at Great Length
the Condition of Hawaiian
Affairs.
Unier Certain Conditions He Thinks
thu Japanese Wou d Control
the Islands.

til. Islands.
Labor Commissioner E. L. Fitzgerald hrs
finished his official report of his visit TO the
Hawaiian Islands, which will be printed in
pamphlet form and distributed by the
Cham ber of Commerce. 1t is as follows
has brought my attention many conditions
and phases of labor, the most i'm port ant of which
Is the Asiatic horaes tnat now lpiest the ISLANDS
and predominates In numbers upon the planta-
tions i have seen about 200U0 barefooted la
borers half OF whom work under penal contract:
have seen a reward offered for their arrest when
they violated their contract and deserted the plan
tation and their number prinied across their pho
tograph, in convict style: 1 have seen four five
hundred Japanese walk ten miles TO back up the
position Of one man when only a few days work
was nvolved; l have seen murder upon
the plantations and riot; / have heard the
Japanese say that their people have brought
the sugar industry TO the position which 1t
the confronting influence upon thu islands at any
hazard: l have sten them demanding tha. white
men should be discharged and japanese taken in
their place; have seen one OF our American men,
Of war anchored in the hsrbor for the purtO of
def ding the planter against his own labor, and
have seen the warship OF Japan anchored at its
side simply to encourage the Japanese upon the
islands in their arrogant and Ia so ent behavior
and 10 further demand taat mere snould be sdded
to the ALREADY overbuidened condition, That m ore
fuel be added 10 the fame'' L have seen the Gov
ernment deport ll7O OF the lowest grade of these
serfs upon a Iechnicalty; have seen the overn-
ment discriminate in its last contract in the build
ing OF public highway against the employment
of n,ore than one half OF Asatc labor upon the
same and have found q ma iori.y OF the planters
eager to welcome an change that may bring the
Anglo saxon into their mid t. The Government
is unqualifeily the champion of merican iator;
the press and the peope OF the islands nearly to
man are struggling to belt back ho;d which
threaten their unco ng-trying TO free themselves
II the grip OF u monster.
The only question with them regarding the
chan e of Their labor for American is: Can they
stand the climatic conditions? viii they work
faithfully, and at such wages as will guarantee TO
the planters reasonable divldeGd upon their
stock"
There is nothing in the climatic conditions
against white labor performing the work and
drawing the three or four million dollars that Is
paid annually the AS atics, as the temperature
on The Plantations runs no higher than ninety, and
Chinese fill the positions OF storekeep rs, clerks
in the hotels millmen, teamsters etc. On the
plantations The number and nationality of labor is,
BY the report: 1915 Hawaiians, 226S portu-
guese 1888 Japanese, 62Se Chinese, and abb
7l6 OF other natoBaliteS-a total of 23, 7S0. The
Hawaians are the best workmen: the Portu-
CUE Sc rank next. ana to-day considered the
bone and sinew" of the Islands, as they are in
dustIious, quiet ana peaceabie; the Chinese next
00O white people Will do the work OF The 25,0UO
Chinese and Japanese now working upol The
plantations. The Japanese are SOW careless and
they work much after The style Cf Il convict.
Now, regarding the supplanIing of those people
wi Americans and their families, there Is moth
ing to HINDER the same, 10 ueing ques ion OF "a
cd days work for a good days pay but it must
be done Systematically and gradually, there
mus, be great changes wrought before this can be
accom- piished inasmuch it necessitates The
planters to build homes for them, etc. There Is
one cond zion uuder which American labor should
be introd uced and which the plant rs are u lree-
ab.e to, and that is on a prof-sharing basis-giv-
ing to labor certain field where ten to 100 can
comparatively Gu tivate The same II takes be-
tween fifteen and eighteen months in which to
harvest the crop, and the planters are perfectly
vi ling 10 edvan e them monthly allowance Of
say between $l6 and $40. to be deducted, without
interest, when the sugar is marAeted This IN
cludes a home, with land enough for garden pur-
poses, free fuel water, and in many cases pa stur-
age for COW, with free schools, etc Nothing
can better demonstrate how eager the planters
are to bring In worthy class of Americans than
the tact that they are willing to maintain epart-
ment in America that this change may be brought
around systematically, so hat only those who are
willing to WORK and work faithfully sh ould go to
the islands; also that no one should go OIL a "wd
goose chase" to find no WORK for him. there
must be place made in advance for ali who CO.
Ihe under ra. OF wages per day Is somewhat on.
set b. the fact that the WORK goes on day in and
day out, year in and year out and the toiIer need
never miss q lay unless ne so desires have been
assured by the Government and by President pole
that it is their desire tand 1 have douot but
that /; viii be Included in his recommendation
that the Leg. .sialure should create adepartment
for the introduction Of American labor.
L could have taken orders for many hundred
men, but deem il thoroughly unwise In the in
Ierest or labor and the planters TO undertake this
In a slip>hod, haphazard way. However 1 Will
fill one orders for about fifty men with
families. had the pleasure OF picking out the
site for their homes ana assisting TO draw plans
for their houses-a beginning that may mean The
end of the controlling position occupied by the
Japanese upon the islands I would not advise,
under any lrcums ances hat lab + be sent there
to be paid by the day at present, a. it may neces
State heir competing vi. the penal contract la
Dorers; but If they can be sent under profit
sharing proposition. which said before the plant
ers are agreeable to. and if the apdard Of wages
eau b mai attained so as TO it an object 10
American LABOR, Hawaii to-days opens the greatest
in he world a
Garner as GU side or tne Canefeld, the coffee IN
dustry, which Is only In It's l'sipency. Is one Of
The mos. heathful and rem uneraiive occupatiops
There about 5000 acres coming under
cultivation and that 5000 &C es has done more to
bring in the Ango-SaAon han al the other indus
tries CON bined. 1t is naturally the pursuit OF .
man With family, ss the Ia 10 OF labor inc
in he picking time from ABOUT to 8 and 8, and
as The ls poc upon the plantations In other indus.
tries Is being used at The same time the coffee
should be picked, there is no sup us upon the
islands from which TO draw-the scEool-children
not In numbe enough To save the crops Ths
coffee industry has an uncertain future unless a
change in the labor system is brought about
Ihere are 80 600 or 4e,0LO acres on one island
alone Of the finest coffee lands, much of which has
been taken up under long lease iIom the Govern
ment or purchased outright all OF which be-
ieve will be III cIffe In very few years. and the
amount of help necessary TO pick this crop for
TWO OF three months in the year will be enor-
nous.
-Regardlng what effect the abrogation of the
treaty will have, will triefy stat that in my
min the same would mean q deAthblOw to the
ntroduct OF Americans into the Ha-
waiian Islands, for the fact that the only thing
that remains between the absoiute assurance Of
the mericans suppant,ng asiatic labor. provided
the former proved satisfactory, is the wages 10 pc
paid and IL 40 per cent CT any portion thereof
should be taken from the present PROFITS, / should
advise the laborer TO stay at home, and the
planter will undoubtedly turn again to the Asst s.
There IS an appropriation OF $4,000 ..to assist
i'm M ra lon other man static" pay the pas
sage OF tus women and children taken under 1.-THE
40 pei cent clause" in other words there
Is a regulation which eomprls the planter to I'M
mort 10 per cent of all contracted labor from
america or Europe. The Government assured me
that they wonid gladly spend the money in bring
ing the FAM les OF the Americans, and they now
stand ready: besides Inc planters Will advance
1t is useless for the people OF this country TO
tempt to blind themselves to the fact that every
country has its quota OF unemployed persons; it is
useless for the theorist to insis. that de pressed
economic conditions do not exist and vainy pro-
pose measures far beyond the grasp of thos. prin-
cipally affected by way OF remedy. Therefore, in
the interest Of age-earning multitudes OF this
country simply suggest means by which from
10 OOU to q much greater number may be trans
formed from non-producers to pr ducers and con-
sumers to greater extent, and even If they now