The Hawaiian gazette., 1899-04-18
TIT CONSTITUTION AND con.
TRACT LABOR

How far should President Dole ~
in observing the provisions Of the Con.
.iitution OF the United States which
bear ON the status Of contract labor.
srs? Can the government actively be-
come party TO any contract for labor
immigration u the contract Is pro-
hibited?
Article Kill Of the Constitution
reads: Neither slavery nor inyOlun-
tary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, sha" exist within
the United States, or any place sub
jcct TO their Jurisdiction"
What Is Involuntary servitude" has
not been fully defined by the Supreme
Court of the United States. In what
is known as the Sailor case, where
seaman was imprisoned for not
fulfilling his contract the court held
that the trainers Of the Constitution
did not intend TO bring seamen within
the reach Of that provision, but 1t
plainly minated that any other con
tract for service which carried with
it the penalty OF imprisonment was
illegal and unconstitutional.
The court has not passed any judg-
ment upon facts precisely similar to
those involved in the Hawaiian penal
contracts for labor, bu, the opinion Of
f.l q t,.H nj
hesitate to declare the Hawaiian con
tracts void
The Executive. under the circum-
stances. should not attempt to inter
fere with or regulate the immigration
Of alien laborers. under our municipal
laws. While 1t Is impracticable to get
at present any judicial determination
in the matter, is not the Executive
upon notice to observe the constitu-
tional provision that has been cited,
and allow the planters to get alien
laborers in their own way, and at their
own peril?
The Executive Is not dealing with a
question of morals, but Of legal rights.
It is, in a Z, neral sense, no longer tn"
caretakcr Of the people.
with annexation It ceased to have
any concern with national policy, and
the members Of the government stepped
down from their high estate and be-
came merely the agents of President
Mckinley. Whether we are or are not
so be absorbed by the Asiatics Is an
affair that will be settled by Congress,
IL it has not already been settled here
in past years, by ourselves.
So long as the government in Wash
ington permits the planters to pro-
mote alien immigration, the Executive
is not justified IN making itself a party
10 an Illegal or unconstitutional aCr.
II the planters. following their own
methods. bring in immigrant laborers
in violation OF any law Of the United
States, which does not apply to thee
Islands, Congress has only to extend
the laws to these Islands and forbid IT,
Mr.. w. o. Smith presented valuable
paper at tn" Thursday conference on
the subject OF labor.
But he and his former associates in
inc government sun seem u W "i'''
rhe impression 'n'' we are sun q ia
'ioh' ana '""' me r'N''"'.'' '''"'''
ENFORCE "'''"""' po"'I, :" '',' ",
arc "nH ''''''"'! Vi ''' II. w
State anu me power mere ~ ''s"','''
our Ior''E" '''"'''"S ""'S w.
ihe 4Ar.u.l mere is ""'! ''',''
wheel microscope wheel III '"'
enorhouS poI'tica! machinery Vi '"'
American Republic.
NO territory can regulate 'n'''''S'"-
ton. We may as wei accept TINS pro-
adopt any policy for policy OF the