The San Francisco call., 1898-11-22
CONVICTION
 OF CROAT|AN
 LABORERS Plantation Strikers Are Fined. MUST WORK OUT THE TIME HARDsHIPs OF THE PENAL CON- TRACT SYSTEM.
MUST WORK OUT THE TIME
Additional Deaths Among the Volun- teers in Camp on the Hawaiian Islands-Woman Aged
 Over 127 Dies.
BY HORACE WRIGHT.
Special Correspondence of The Call.

HONOLULU, Nov. 14.-The trial of the Creation laborers who struck from work on the Oahu plantation is drag ging it's weary length along. So far only three out of the sixty-three have been tried, and each was found guilty of vio- lating his labor contract by refusing to work. They were ordered to return to work and on declining to do so were fined the customary amount, $3 20. They refused to pay the fine, and were sent to jail to work 1t out at the rate of 50 cents a day. So far they main tain that they will not return to the plantation to labor, but prefer to spend their lives in prison working on the roads as they are cumulatively fined for refusals to labor. The remaining sixty are to be tried in patches of ten. The trial is necessarily slow, as the proceed ings have to be translated from Croa- tian into Hawaiian by the way of Ger man and English. The poor men are sorely handicapped, for not only is their own Consul connected closely in business with the plantation, but they, being poor cannot employ fighting" counsel, and have furthermore the united press, except the little Inde- pendent, on the side of the planters and against them. while the plantation counsel is eX-Minster Hatch. The only hope the poor laborers have is that their position may be called to the at tention of the Austrian Government by friends, and that the United States Government will cause the wiping away of the nefarious penal contract system. While that system is Hawaii's ruling law, although the American flag flies over us, the Judges, whatever may be their sympathles, must enforce It. It is only necessary for the prosecuting counsel to prove the contract and the fact that the men refused to work and they are railroaded to a fine of $3 20 for the first offense and $5 for the second, and so forth at an increasing rate. IT they work out these fines, then at the expiration of their three years con- tract they have to work out for the plantation the number of days they have spent in prison or on the roads. So far these men have not proved any gross cruelty, which, Of course, would be partially taken into account in their defense, but they complain of general ill-treatment In many minor ways and especially in the non-fulfillment of promises as to their accommodations and comforts. Of course, the planters claim that these men are merely heW- CTS of wood and drawers of water from
 
 are far higher than they could ever gain in their own country and their home comforts of a better character, but the men don't regard their situa- tions from the same point of view. After divorcing themselves from feudalized Europe they feel more like freemen under the banner of liberty and clamor for equal rights with other white men. They object to being classed as coolie serfs and half slaves. It is quite possible. but not yet proved, that labor agitators, speaking their own language. have been at work among them, for there are one or two openly avowed ic-anarchist newcomers in town who have essayed to call meetings, to which no response was made.
 Unless something is promptly done we shall be flooded with Japanese con- tract men before our American laws come into operation.
 The Pennsylvania and the City of Puebla. have arrived and the boys are all healthy and enjoying themselves hugely without any impropriety.
 The two companies of the New York Regiment write from Hilo that they are being splendidly treated there and that they much prefer Hawaii to Oahu for camping ground. The Honolulu bar racks have been changed to new grounds higher up. and so far the inn provement in health has been much marked. Death however, is unhappily still claiming it's due from those who fell sick at the old camps, and the fol- lowing must be added to the list of those who have died for their country during the past week:
 Private Burton Woodbeck, Company G, First New York Volunteers.
 Private Hayden, Tenth Pennsylvania Volunteers.
 Private George Coneles, First New York Volunteers.
 Private Robert Wands, First New York Volunteers.
 Kapoalele Apau, probably the oldest habitant of the Hawaiian Islands, died last week at the ripe old age of 127 years months and g days. She was born at Keahialaka, Puma Hawaii, and remembered many incidents of the days of Kamehameha I and his war with the rebel Keana and the passing away of idolatry.