The San Francisco call., 1898-04-23
JAPANESE YET
 BLOCKING IN Over Eleven Hundred Are Landed in Hawaii by
 One Steam CT.
Facts to Show Annexation Will Not Remedy the
 Labor Problem.
President Dole Believes That the Islands Must Be Uncle San's
 Ally During the War.
Special Correspondence of The Call.

HONOLBLU, April 14.-Eleven hun dred and seventy-six Japanese entered the port of Honolulu yesterday to work as contract laborerS on plantations. Surely that is rather a startling num- Der for Hawaii to receive in one day. Of this number 576 were brought by the steamer Braemar and 600 by the Rio Janeiro. They equal in number just double Hawaips civil and military forces, and out of this horde only one fifth are women. And still they are coming, but the white laborers are not in spite of the contract of the planta- tion managers to import certain per centage of white labor in proportion to the coolies brought here.
 Moreover, the penal contract labor law, which was introduced merely to catch annexation votes in Congress, is practf- cally pigeonholed in the Legislature, for 1t has the strenuous opposition of wealth and influence, both social and political, and is doomed.
 In the face of the untruthful statements Of the subsidized annexation press, The Call Is doing excellent service in calling the attention of Americas Workingmen to these facts. Let them remember that annexation will not remedy the labor problem in Hawaii. It will only remove the responsibilities, with their opportuni- tiessof indirectly and illegitimately amass- ing wealth, from the Dole Government to that constructed by Congress, and to be composed, probably. of strangers to the necessities and conditions of the country and of men who will eventually be guided very materially by plantation influence.
 The news of imminent or impending war Is received here with intense interest, and there are two factions, even in the cabinet, in the consideration of the duty of the Hawaiian Government in the event of war being declared. It is gen. orally understood that President Dole holds that as the Hawaiian Senate has practically ceded Hawaii to the United States he must be guided by the advice of the United States Government. through Its resident Minister In his actions, and that he must not issue the customary neutrality proclamation. He appears to consider that We have. in our dealings with the United States, become her ally, offensive and defensive, and lost our sov- erelgn rights as an Independent State III dnis 5 IS @ probably Lorrin A. Thurston's
 They who demand, in the event of war. the issuing, of proclamation of neutral lty, pointed out how defenseless we are, eye even 1- at the present moment, with only the U. ;. 5. Bennington and Mohican in port, Tn the event of an inimical fleet attacking us. We have no fortifcations and only a few hundred of armed men; but worse than all we are not food pro, ducing country. Our supplies are almost entirely drawn from abroad An effective blockade would practically starve us out NilHiA SlA UT elBHL months. The horrors or war would be supplemented as in Cuba, by the ravageS of starvation Of course, we all feel until the war begins that the god of battle would never per init the American forces to meet with even temporary reverse, and that with the rapidity of the lightnings flash the Hawaiian Islands would be promptly sur rounded Con paper) by an invincible United States naval force and springing up mysteriously like Cadmean teeth.
 As the Cabinet has not decided upon any action, and is waiting for news, we also must await their decision
 The coaling of the United States war vessels at this port is an interesting question. It Is noticed that seriously ex- aggerated statements have appeared in tity on hand. There is enough for a few months to supply the wants of our local inter-island marine and our trans Pacific steamers. and a small quantity belonging to the United States Govern ment, but no one can correctly say that there Is large surplus over our require ments. The Calls correspondent has heen furnished with an estimate which Is ap- proXimate, but not quite accurate That gives the figure at 12,000 tons, all told in the country. There are three vessels on the way with about $500 tons, but they may not reach here. It Is secretly under entered into a conditional contract to supply the United States all that it con trols-about 5000 tons-but even that amount, in conjunction with the quanti- ties disposable of by others. will not be sufficient to make this reliable coaling depot for a fleet in active service untfl the supply is greatly increased