The San Francisco call., 1897-10-17


own "Slave States" Supplementary 10
this are laws providing Imprisonment for
debt and preventing any debtor from leaY-
ing the islands. Thus it will be seen that
even in the absence of contract 10 serve
the taborer has no alternative OF lnVolun-
tary servitude.
The advocates of annexation argue very
plausibly that since the treaty provides
that no law OF Hawaii whit h is contrary
to the constitution OF the United States
shall remain in force, and since involun-
tary servitude is prohib ted by tie consti-
tuition, therefore the objection 10 the con-
traci-labor law is removed. Here two
questions arise: Is the slaye-iabor law of
Hawaii contrary to the constitution of the
United States? II il is not what will be
the result upon the country at large from
the annexation of a slave State or Terri
tory? The answer to the first question is
contained in the decisio on OF Ihe United
States Supreme Court in what is known
as the "Arago Case" This was ascase in
which seamen were chiefly concerned, but
it bears upon the matter now under dis
cusslon by virtue OF significant allnsion
10 the law governing labor on land. In
the Arago case four seamen of that vessel
were arrested for desertion, W.: quitting
work.
They took habeas corpus proceedings on
the ground that the statute under VIII ch
they were arrested was unconstitutional,
inasmuch as it provided for involuntary
servltude and was therefore contrary to
the thirteenth amendment. The writ was
denied ana an appeal was taken to the
Supreme Court. Ia deciding agalns the
seamen the court declared that service
under n contract was moi involuntary serv-
itude as long as The contract was volun-
tarliy entered into; that the thirteenth
amendment was not intended to introduce
any 'novel doctrine with respect TO GER
tain descriptions of service which have
always been treated as EXCEPTIONAL; that
the seaman's business was "exce ptional," ,"
and that there mieht be possibly some
others" against whom the same exclusion
would operate.
Thus" says the Supreme Court, eff
one should agree, for n yearly wage, to
serve another in particular capacity dur
ing his life, and never 10 leave his estate
without his consent, the contract might
not be enforceable for the want of q legal
remedy, or might be void upon grounds
of pubic policy, but the servitude could
not be properly termed involuntary"
The court declared further that the
thirteenth amendment was we'll under
stood at the time of its adoption 10 apply
only 10 the negro OF the South, tue Mexl-
can peon and the Chinese cody.
1t will be seen that according to the
highest judicial authority involuntary
servltude has been abolished only in par
icular cases; In other words, that con-
tracts TO labor may be enforced provided
the Legal remedy" exists. This legal
remedy consists in the case of the Ha-
wa.ian laborers, by virtue of the statutes
here cited, hence the cOntract-labor sy stem
OF the islands IS not contrary to the consti-
tuition of the United States.
That thi- system will be continued
may be taken for granted. Secretary
Sherman, in his report accompanying the
M at ion 11ol-a te
1t leaves Congress free 10 deal with such
especial regulations OF the contract la Dor
system as circumstances may require"
What are the circumstances Lorin a
TnursIon, one of the signers OF the treaty
on behalf OF Hawaii, says in a pamphlet
recently issued by him: THE people OF
Hawaii as whole energetic and IN
dustrious. They are annually producing
and exporting more per capita than any
other nauon of the world. Moreover their
chief export, sugar, is an article which
has 10 com pete in the markets OF the
world on the smallest possible margin OF
profit and can be produced only by a
com pinatlon of industry, economy and
keen business ability"
Again Mr.. Thurston says: at may be
claimed that Europeans and Americans
can hold their own III com etition with
the japanese. The reply 10 this is that
experience has demonstrated there can be
Americans on the one side and Japanese
or Chinese on the other. The only possl-
bic result is the absolute substitution of
the Asiatlc in place of The white man. bv
reason of the fact that the Eastern
standard OF civilization and living Is so
muc lower than the Western that the
Aslatic can ex st and prosper on a margin
OF profit which means starvation and
destitution TO a man who attempts to feed
cIothe and educate family in accordance
with the American standard"
These, then, .are the circumstances"
which Secretary Sherman had in mind
when he lett Congress free 10 deal viii n
such especial regulations" as they might
require.
1t is acknowledged by a favorable au-
thority that the chief producer, sugar, can
only be produced by combination OF
Industry, economy" ETC., and that the
Asiatic can produce on smaller margin
of profit than the white man. Under
these circumstances Congress would be
bound 10 do every thing favorab e 10 the
retention OF a system which would insure
the cheapest prod uction, and to that end
the contract-labor system is The only one
properly adaptable.
the probable results OF such a system
upon the United States at large are so
multiform that it is impossible to deal
with them in the present article Ii is
suiflclent here 10 say that the test of z
free people is the political power of the
agricultural class. Where these are en-
dowed with an untram n eled franchise and
the intelligence TO u c 1t in their own be-
hall we may safely rely upon a strong and
just government. The contrary is tn
case where the workers on the land are
dIsfranchised or ignorant. 1t is not pro-
posed, even by the friends of annexation,
that the Japs, Chinese, or even the Portu-
guese labofers of Hawaii shall be vested
with the franchise.
property qualification is necessary at
present, and probably that will remain as
one OF the especial regulations" sug-
gested by Secretary Sherman. Accepting
as permanent the apparent inevitable
condition of cooly la Dor it follows that the
islands will continue to be governed as
now by the commercialists and politicians.
Such condition suggests an evil not only
IN its immediate effects, but in its ex-
ample to other States in which similar
Industrial conditions prevail and should
be avoided at all hazaros
PRESTOa SLHOOL 4FF4IRS