Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-04-20
They Extend Hope for the Restora-
ton Of the Monarchy.
ROOM FOR WHITE LABOR IN HAWAII
Tremendous Fertility Of the Best
Sugar Lands.
USE OF ASIATIC LABOR
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Mr.. b. l.. Fitzgerald, state labor COM
missioner of California, arrived here four
days ago. He at once entered upon a Sc
rfes of active Investigations into the con-
ditions Of labor in these islands, with par
ticular reference, to opportunities for the
employment Of white laborers. In Cali
fornia his bureau Is systematically sending
out large numbers of such into the har-
vest fields and vineyards. Great numbers
OF the unemployed are constantly finding
work through that agency, with very sat
isfcatory results. Now, Mr.. Fitzgerald
comes here to ascertain by personal in
spection Of the systems of labor on our
various sugar and coffee plantations, what
arrangements are practicable for obtaining
employment in Hawaii for their surplus
of unemployed white laborers.
The final conclusions which Mr.. Fitz-
gerald may arrive will be of deep interest
to all of us who desire to see these islands
settled UP by Europeans rather than Asiat-
les. Ihere would seem to be no doubt of
hts speedily being convinced that there
Is abundance of work here well suited
10 White laborers. He will readily con-
Guide that 1t is much easier to do field
than picking grapes in California at 10
degrees In the shade. Sunstroke is un-
known In Hawaii. For one-half the year
our temperature is that Of your May, and
Gays IN those months; and the other half
is only moderately warm, and softened by
the cool, sweet trade winds. AS matter
OF TACT, large numbers of white men are
actually performing full daily labor in
the fields, without inconvenience
The doubt lies in what obstacles the
commissioner will find in the general en-
ployment of Asiatic laborers in field work
rev white laborers are now actually EN-
pioyed In the cane fields, which furnish
three-fourths of the outdoor labor For
one thing, whites and Asiatics cannot well
labor In the same gangs. Then the planter
naturally tends to be something of a
de1pot and can more easily handle men of
an inferior race. who will accept treat
ment OF which white men would revolt, so
that many planters would be unwilling to
take On white laborers. Several of our
plantations. however, are now cultivatins
their cane on some system of shares Eva
plantation, which Mr.. Fitzgerald has al
ready visited, has been very successful
in assigning various fields to be cared
for by certain small companies of either
Japanese or Portuguese, who receive a
nxed sum according TO the amount of cane
taken OF. | believe that the land is
ploughed and planted by the company
and the work of the share laborers is coli
hned to cultivating and irrigating, the
harvesting again being done by the COM
rany over years care by the laborers
lntervenes between the two processes Evil
IDENTITY white laborers might easily find
satisfactory employment by some such ar
There are very few owners or managers
OF plantations in Hawaii who have the
disposition apparently shown by Mr.. c.
a. Spreckels, the chief owner of the great
SpeckeisVille plantation on Main. He is
reported few days ago to have dis
charged nearly every white man employed
on the plantation and mill, filling their
places with Asiatics. His precise motive
can only be surmised. OF course, he is
quite Indifferent to the opinions of men
OF his own race. The sons of multi-million
aires often have an exalted sense of their
own superiority. not felt by their more
l praeucai fathers. The majority of our
Asiatic laborers replaced by white farm
ers working their fields on shares But
under present conditions they must take
.ne KIND OF labor that is most available.
and that Is Asiatic laborers, brought in
uncer previous contract to work three
years, and then be returned to their own
country. They also hire free laborers al
ready In the country, Asiatics and Portu-
guese, constituting over half their force
Chance for White Labor
On the whole, in the present state of
things, IT. seems probable that Mr. Fitz-
gerald will be able to make satisfactory
arrangements with some Of the plantations
to employ quite a number of white labor
ers, especially Germans. There can hardly
De doubt that some could also be worked
on upon the coffee plantations, which are
rapidly increasing, and SO far take their
laborers mostly form the numerous Japan
csc. Such are the present conditions. But
these are liable to an early and material
chanse, unless the present tendency to n
large and increasing influx of japanese can
be checked Otherwise these Asiatics will
crowd all the avenues of employment and
make Hawaii a poor place for white men
to come to even employers.
Let fe repeat some facts stated in pre-
V1ous letters, In order to point out the very
critical position in which we now find our
serves. we nave country capable of
easily feeding 100000 upon the products of
proved methods of modern skill, very prob
ably million could be so fed. Even with
their ancient, rude agriculture a fair liv-
ing was made here by not less than 400
They had occasional famines in dry sea-
sons, but were well enough fed to devotion
a very stalwart race. Now there are onlv
3l'Oo pure natives left, with $500 Of mixed
race. Hawaii Is deserted of its ancient
den1Zens and the country Is emptlv seeL
ing for new owners. The question now is
what race is going to send in that other
nan nan million, VINO must inevitably occupy
thls group during the next half century
and probably much sooner? What begin
n1ng nave we made in replenishing the lost
population, and which way does the pres
ent progress in replenishing tend?
well, We have colony of north Euro
peans, which has been slowly growing for
sixty years, composed of about Z. 500 BRIT
Ism, Germans and Americans the LATTER
800. Then, We have 1850 Portuguese a
desirable population, created here mainlv
during the past sixteen years. This is ali
well. But there are, besides 1900 Chinese
mostly arrived in the past twenty wears
and 23UO japanese, mainly come in with
In ten years. The increase of the Chinese
Is less formidable, because, in some meas
ure, we can and do control, it being un.
hampered by any treaty with China. The
increase OF Japanese seems to be quite he
yond our control, as we are bound Inv
treaty with Japan to give them the same
privileges here as to other nations. II is
the immediate prospect that thew viii
swarm in upon us at the rate of tens az
thousands every year. They are now begin
ming to come at such rate with everv
prospect of acceleIa alton.
Japan Is only ten days steaming from
us. They have q crowded population Of
forty odd millions. Their annual increase-
clamoring for new country to- occupy. can
not be less than half million They own
200 ocean steamers and are getting q sccra
more built OF the largest size. They arr
reaching out with vigor to estabaish strnnr
lines Of steamers to America. One suci n
already running to Puget's sound. It costs:
so, all told. to land one Of their laborers
in Honolulu Last month they brought
here over one thousand Japanese imnni-