The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-04-01
Mr.. L0WRIE AGAIN
Portuguese Have Been
and are Still Prospecting.
All Can Buy Land If They save
Their Earnings-He Believes FOR
tuguese VIII Stay

tuguese VIII Stay.
MR.. EDITOR:-With further reference
TO your leader Of March 22i, headed
! Driving away good men, and also 10
my reply thereto, and your reJolhuer'
would say that l beg 10 differ entirely
ibotb with what you did infer and with |
| what YOU say you meant to infer
! The plantations are not driving away /
good men, but on the contrary are an
xious to keep them, and are offering tIlelil
great inducements to remain in this place. !
where as you admit they have pros
pered," and where 1 will speedily sho"
they are still prospecting. On this piah1a-
ton alone are nine Portuguese 1ahlIlles'
the heads Of which are receiving not less
than $40 per month cash, some oil llleli'
considerably more. Besides this, they
have house, garden, water, and fuel Tree
THE Government maintains free scnool
for their children; and the plantation
company has built, equipped, and pays
running expenses of a kindergarten ioL
their little ones. Their children over
school age are given suitable employment
a+ q liberal wage and have every chahce
+o become lunas, engineers, or skilled ar
tiears at a high rate of pay. AS TOT
what Won saw about them being only te-
oants-at-will; that does not apply to the
Portuguese alone, but to everyone else
on the place, from the manager down
wards. Also, it is only temporary state
D of affairs; for good Portuguese can
in a few years, save up enough money u
become a land owner himself-as so many
plantation employees, both are dong anu
have done in the past. Especially Is tllS
60 when YOU come to consider the faclll-
ties the Government are offering Tor eV-
ervone who wishes to own and cultivate
land of their own. Look around in other
countries and show me where the Portu-
fruese can go to better themselves. Ihere
!, is nothing in this country, after they
have shaken off their clannishness' ahC
showed capacity to amalgamate theih
selves with the general community; there
is nothing. I repeat, to prevent them from
having just the same chances as ANYONE
else. There is no discrimination agains
them simply because they are Portuguese
but the great law of supply and deman'
has freer play in this country than II
almost any other; and if man shows
canacitv TO do anything better than othe
Ipeople can, employees will give him tn
nraference in spite of his nationality
Look at the slopes of PunchbOwl, look a
Kula and many other fair spot on thes
r. Islands where the Portuguese are flour
ishing, and remember that nearly all o
them got their start out of what the
saved on the plantations. l Will oW
many of them do not save but L af1r1
that is in most cases entirely their oW
fault Right here, I will give the state
ment of one of our men made to mysel
K. He said: when I was living in CaIlfol
- MA [ was getting a dollar and a half
day-when I worked, but am doing be
ter here at $1S per month, with the othe
help l get, than l could in California
My work was very unsteady, and ha
q to pay rent for house and had to HAY
n warmer clothing and pay for fuel; an
a taking one thing with another am qu
content to stay in Hawaii, because l a
better off,
! Now, Mr.. Editor I do not believe yC
~ yourself think that the Portuguese al
If about to leave this country, or that an
one wants to drive them out. L give yC
credit for knowing that there is no pla
for them to go to better themselves. "
or ask me for Tight" on the subject We
do not quite see why I should help "
only object in writing to contradi
and dsprove the glaring mis-stateme
that any Portuguese with a wife and far
lily was expected to maintain them
$3.50 per month. [ do not quite unde
stand what you are driving at in worki1
up g. fictitious case against the plante
and the Government. 1t may be his
politics, but it is certainly too deep f
Ss me, so L give up the conundrum and W
conclude by answering your questo
whether 1 mean to intimate that &c
cent Portuguese can take care of l
wife and children plantation wag'
with a most emphatic-Yes he both C
and does, and he saves money besid
1t is going under my own Eyes a
facts are stubborn things. which
amount of differences or newspaper Il
can disproVe.
l remain, yours truly,