The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-12
PAID SLAVES OF HAWAII
-&-
Sugar Plantations Cultivated BY
Contract Labor.
THIS SYSTEM MUST GO
~
INTERESTING TALK WITH COM
MISSIONER sHINGLE.
-%-
He Says the Planters Won't Fight
the change-Regard This Leg
islation AS Important.
Especial correspondence.,

portant or more interesting legislation
will come before the present congress
than that bearing upon Hawaii the new
Tnid-Pacific possession Of the republic,
and Of this legislation none will attract
more serious attention tnah t&at relating
to the employment of contract labor
there.
The contract labor problem, indeed. has
been one of the greatest stumbling DOCKS
an the way of Hawaiian annexation LOT
years. The employment of contract or COO
lie labor. which is in effect limited slave
labor is not only contrary to the spirit of
American institutions, but is specifically
forbidden by the constitution ana the
written laws of the republic. Yet the ma
jor part of Hawaii's material prosperity
has been built up on this system, and IL
has been assumed by many in considering
the annexation of the islands that its
continuance would be urged by the Ha-
wailan planters. This fact has aroused
the bittereSt opposition to annexation IN
several quarters, especially among trade
unionists and discussion of the anticipat-
ed Hawaiian fight against compliance
with the law will take up a conSlderble
part OF the time of the Federation Of La
Dor convention at Kansas City on MONDAY
next.
The truth of the matter. howeve-, lies
in exactly the opposite direction Instead
of preparing to fight the contract labor law
of the United States, the Hawaiian plant
ers are getting ready to obey it. AS long
ago as 1892. when annexation. under the
Harrison administration. was thought to
be as good as accomplished, the planters
1oreSaw that the end of the system there
must come as soon as the Islands were
made part of the republic Ever since
then they have been studying the problem
Oh its abolition in all its bearings. and last
summer. when word was sent TO HaWall
that annexation might come at last, as a
war measure, they renewed their dill
gence Today their preparations to sub
stitute free for contract labor are well
under way, and according to Robert w.
Single, Hawaiian commissioner to the
recent Omaha exposition, these prepare
uons are of the most thorough and prac-
teal nature. Mr.. Single is native of
the United States. Until few years ago
his home was at Cheyenne, Wyo. His par
entS now live in Denver.
CONTRACT LABOR IN HAWAII
Mr.. Shingles relations with the authori-
ties and the planters of Hawaii are of
the most confidential nature, as is abund-
antly shown by his official position; he
has been in constant communication with
much of the information which follows is
taken from letters recently received from
there by him.
ut is not only true that all the plant
ers are preparing TO obey the contract La
Dor laws of the United States said Mr.
Shingle. in a talk with the correspondent
yesterday, but it is also fact that the
majority would prefer free labor, and
would have put ii in the place of contract
labor long ago had such a course been
thought feasible. At the same time it is
who fear the greatest trouble from the
free labor system. They are in a small
minority, however, and are naturally the
most conservative men on the Islands.
There is much larger party Of those who
believe that it might be a good thing to
introduce free labor at once. These. hold
that while white free laborers demand
and must be paid at least one-third more
than virtually enslaved orientals, the
change would In the long run. be profit
able One white man, they say, VIII or
dinarily do as much work as two Asiatics
and if this should prove true in Hawaii
there would be an actual money gain in
the substitution. Besides. 1000 Anglo
Saxons would be preferable as residents
to 1000 RENTALS III any part of the isl
ands.
lone of the greatest objections to free
labor in the past has been the danger of
strikes. Sugar is not like coal. Coal can
be dug at one time well as another,
hut when sugar cane is. ripe it must be
cut. A delay of two or three days might
cause q total loss. This fact has always
been considered of great weight in consid-
ering the substitution Of free labor for
contract labor on the Hawaiian sugar
plantations. Naturally. efforts VIII be
made to provide against danger of en-
forced stoppsSe of work in displacing con-
tract laborers with free men. and 1t is be-
lieved that this viii be possible under the
United States government though II
would have been inpracticable under the
Dole administration, and stil more so
under the monarchy
MOSTLY ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS.
AS matter of fact. there are now
thousands OF free laborerS in Hawaii.
Rice taro coffee pineapples and bananas
are all among Hawaiis staple crops, and
few contract laborerS are employed III
cultiVating them. The great ma joritY of
these are to be found OF sugar plaDta-
tons though thousands OF free laborers
(both natives and whiteS-GermanS Scan
dinavians and Portuguese chiefly, work
in the cane also. The contract laborers
are all Japanese and Cinnamon. [ cannot
make an accurate statement as to their
number. but should say that there are
about 20 600 Japanese and as many China
men, or 10000 in all.
CONTRACT LABORERS' EARNINGS.
''They get SIS a month in gold, the. labor
erS finding themselves in food ana clothes.
and their employers furnishing living
quarters and fuel. Every month S.50 is
deducted from the pay OF each man and
deposited in the government postal saw
ings bank. where 1t is allowed to accu-
mulate for three years (thirty-slX
months), comprising the term CT the con-
tract. The S54 thus placed to each man S
credit is used to buy his passage back to
his native land. AS the average China
man or Jap can live on $2.25 a month,
most Of them save up from $500 to 500 in
gold while IN hawaii, and, this being
~ changed TO Chinese or Japanese yenA(Sil-
FNVer), becomes from $500 to $500. Either
of these sums are large enough 10 sup
port q lOW-grade oriental for the re-
mainder of his natural life. AS matter
OF fact, there are large numbers of re-
turned contract laborers both in the
Flowery Kingdom and the Empire of the
Rising Sun who are now Subsisting on the
interest of their savings in Hawaii, put
away in three years.
You can see. therefore, that the lot OF
the oriental contract laborer in Hawaii
is far from hard, according to his view
point. He may undergo some priVations,
TO be sure. but they are OF his OWL chooS-
ing, since he is not Obliged to save as he
does and when his contract is up he is
ready to go home and pass the rest of his
existence in idleneSs, like any other cap
italist retired on his money. IT should al
so be understood in considering the pay
of the Chinese labarer in hawaii that he
averages a better net income than any
officer under the rank Of captain in either
the japanese or Chinese army. Such Off
GERS get about the Same gross sum as the
laborerS but out OF IL they have 10 bear
many special expenses, such as the keep
of horses club dues, snowy uniforms, etc
Instead of SlO or Whereabouts net, realized
by the iaborcr, the japanese army officer
OF low grade is lucky to have any net at
all a. the end Of the year. and the ma
jority run little deeper in debt every
year, waiting for the better pay that
comes with promotion before they can
pay up.
THE RAWHIDE IN HAWAII.
ct would be altogether impracticable
for the Hawaiian sugar planters TO de-
pend on the orlentals as free laborers, for
the simple reason that We're they privil-
eyed 70 work or not, as they please al
any given time they might easily ruin
the planter through sheer laziness The
oriental contract laborer is unquestion-
ably the most indolent, most obstinate
human being alive. He doesn't propose
to work at ali if he can help it, and
e. he possibly can. The treatment that Is
accorded him In Hawaii may be harsh
according TO the ideas Of American la
borers, but the adoption of other tactics
Il. 49, T.a4.r