The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-08-14
THE LABOR QUESTION
\ paper read before the Honolulu
Social Science Association June IS,
1897, by w. f. Frear.


(ConcludedD
II is not strange that our first im-
preston is one of doubt as to whether
the greater efficiency of white labor
ers would make up for their higher
wages. But whether we can see how
it is or not, we may feel assured that
it is so. And yet, aside from the scien-
tific reasoning which leads to certain
ty, Il little reflection will show that
the idea is at least not absurd. In the
first place, the wages of white labor
ers are not so high as is generally
supposed. Some of our Chinese field
laborers receive more than the aver
age wages paid agricultural laborers
in the United States. The difference
between the average wages paid Asiat-
les here and those paid agricultural
laborers in the United States, where
they are about as high as they are
anywhere, amounts to less than half
a cent a pound upon the sugar pro-
duced per laborer. In the second
place, we are very apt to confuse the
number of laborers with units of la
| Dor and so to depreciate the differ
ences in efficiency and especially to
underestimate the mental and moral
! qualities even of unsklled laborers.
On the Eva plantation Chinese labor
ers do 25 per cent more work under
the purchase system than under
the ordinary system-such is the eff
feet of their increased hope and in
terest, without any change in their
physical strength. In the third place,
we are inclined to assume uncon-
sciouSly that most white laborers are
mechanics, business men. or profess
sional men to whom the wages of
those classes would have to be paid
in order to induce them to work in
our cane fields, or lazy or dissolute
men who would be dear at any price.
But there are millions of industrious
white agricultural laborers who are
working in the same industries (and
| under similar climatic condtions) as
are the Japanese from whom we now
| draw our labor supply. This brings
us to the third phase of our labor
problem, that relating to the supply
of labor. This, as might be expected,
has in fact always been the point of
greatest difficulty to our planters.
With given supply of labor, it
would be immaterial to the planters
so far as wages are concerned whet-
her the laborers are white or Asiatic.
for the difference in wages would
necessarily be fully accounted for by
the difference in efficiency. But i'm
so far as there might be scarcity
of labor, there would be scarcity
value, and this would not be made up
in efficiency. This would be the same
whether the laborers are white or
Chinese. AS between these classes of
laborers the only question of uncer-
tainty is whether the scarcity value
Il 1,.a -, |, r
as in the case of Chinese laborers.
In the first place, in so far as the
number of laborers is bound to be
limited to certain extent. there
would be an advantage in obtaining
white laborers and especially the
most efficient ones, because then the
scarcity value would be less per-
centage of the whole value. or. to put
it another way, there would be less
of scarcity of labor. For example,
if plantation should need 1000 units
of labor and could get only 500 labor
ers, there would be no scarcity of la
Dor at all if each of the 500 laborers
could perform two units of labor;
while if each could perform only one
unit, only half the required labor
would be obtained and there would
be tremendous scarcity value. In
this connection it may be added that
much larger percentage of the
wages of white laborers goes to pro-
duce efficiency, and this is one reason
why they are more efficient. \ Jap
anese who receives fourteen dollars a
month saves half his wages to take
back to Japan, and portion of the
rest is often expended for sake and
other things which not only do not
increase, but actually destroy eff
cheney. The white laborer spends Il
much larger percentage of his wages
in food and clothing and in main
| tanning high standard of living. and
it is largely because of his determine
ton to maintain the higher standard
that he eXerts himself more, mentally,
morally and physically, and so is
| more efficient.
In the second place, there is much
| reason to believe that white laborers
may be obtained in as large numbers
as Asiatic laborers. Two things are
| to be considered First, how to get
| the laborers to come and stay here:
| and secondly, how to keep them from
leaving the sugar plantations to en-
gage in other occupations in these
| islands. Under the present system
sufficient number of Asiatics come to
these islands every four years to sup
ply all the unsllilied labor required
on all our sugar plantations, and dur
ing the same period about half this
number return to the Orient and half
go into other pursuits here.
There are both obstacles and in
ducements to migration. The princi-
pal obstacles are the following: First,
distance. In these DAYS of steam
boats, railroads and low fares, this is
but a slight obstacle. So far as it
exists, it applies to Asiatics as well
as to whites. Secondly, climate. We
boast of one of the finest climates in
the world, without the extreme heat
and the fevers of most other tropical
countries, or the extreme cold of most
higher attitudes. Our climate is an
inducement rather than an obstacle
to immigration. 1t compares with
many of the climates in which white
laborers now live about as it does
with the climates from which our