The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1897-06-15

San Francisco, May 90. 1891
Ed Rosenberg. Esq, Recording Secre-
tSry. San Francisco Labor Council,
1883 Mission Street. San Francisco.
CAL,
Dear Sir;-Yours OF May ed at
hand and contents noted. and In an
swer permit me to state that I should
be very much pleased 10 meet the Ex-
ecutive Committee OF the Council at
my Office. where all statistics. etc. will
be at my command. at any time that
may be agreeable to that body. Furth-
er. permit me to state that am
pleased to find that the Council agrees
with me upon many points relative to.
the sending OF American labor 20 the
Hawaiian Islands, and would respect
fully refer TO the following words in
my official report which YOU undouht-
edly have not read:
II would not advise. under any cir
cumstanceS. that labor he sent there
10 be paid by the day at present, as Il
may necesSitate their competing with
the penal contract laborers. And.
further. IL must be done Systematically
and gradually"
As far as my advice upon the mat
ter is concerned. fail to find anything
that justifies your Council 10 interpret
my advising "a wholesale emigration
TO foreign country" Nor do I now.
nor have at any time advised Ameri-
cans TO be sent there under contract.
l thought that | made myself clear
upon that point in my last letter that
they cannot be sent there because Of
rhA 81 h. ~,
mission of Hawaii: and further. that
the planters do not want them under n
contract system, so the only point that
I can see that we disagree upon is that
your Council holds that all labor that
may go from America will be subject
10 penal labor contract. Such is not
the facts. and the entire action of the
Council upon this matter seems 10 be
"a tempest in teapot" Permit me TO
state further that I have found labor
enough to advise itself when
the truth has been told. and when the
facts and conditions are made plain TO
them. This I have at all times en-
deavored TO do. and shall continue to
do. Further, as far as have seen. the
press of the State. with the exception
of two papers in San Francisco. has
held the actions of the Hawaiian peo-
pie. in turning to America for help as
a step in the right direction and have
literally said: $50 far. so good"
Scores of letters are being received
at this Office from all classes encour-
aging me TO continue in this work. and
hundreds are calling personally, de-
string the first opportunity, so that
every position that may be obtained in
the Hawaiian Islands will have 50 ap-
plicants who will be disappointed at
not receiving il.
In all friendship and good feeling.
pardon me for SAYING that any edict
issued 70 the American wage-earner.
warning him against going to Hawaii. -
by any body representing labor. will
only tend TO make the labor of Cali
fornia ridiculous in the eyes of this
anv many other nations, and can only
impress the people that the same judg-
ment was used and the same injustice
done by the Council in this instance. as
was exercised when your body passed
resolutions censuring me for having
two doors to my departments which
labor might enter. instead of one.
Yours very truly,
(Signedl E. L FITZGERALD.
Labor Commissioner.