The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-07-25
NEGRO LABOR FOR HAWAII
WAY TO GET IT, AND THE BEST
AT THAT.
Correspondent Shows Fallacy of Send
ing Agents, and Suggests a Scheme
That Seems Promising.

EDITOR STAR-Much is being writ
ten and said about labor for the plan
tations, and the negro is being discussed
by many people who know nothing
about him. In fact, it has been my OBJ
servation in the past several years that
the less a man knows about labor con-
ditions in the southern states and the
negro in general, the more he has to
say about both. The result has been
that most of the information thus far
educed from local sources has been err
roneous.
There are classes or gra les Of negroes,
just as there are grades of white men,
of Hawaiians or of japanese. One e'e-
ment, which is happily the majority, is
the plantation laboring class. This is
the mainstay of the labor situation in
the South. The people composing this
class are competent field hands, are in
dustrious and moral, are not wanderers
and have families. Another class is the
criminal element This is met with
chiefly in the towns, but not strictly
confined thereto. In it are found the
brutes that commit the worst of crimes
and make lynching necessary; in it are
such fellows as stabbed Toya Jackson
in the streets a few weeks ago, and as
shot the poor boy on the Australia last
autumn. The plantation darkey does
not mix with this element, and invaria-
bly, sides against crime. A striking In
stance of this was noted in Louisiana
in the fall of 1892, when plantation ne
groes fiayed a member of their own race
for outraging a white woman.
In the past twelve months the writer
has met in Honolulu a number of plan
tation negroes with whom he was ac-
quainted years ago. They were on their
way to Manila with various regiments.
After looking over the situation here
and learning something of plantation
wages and conditions they, without ex-
ception, expressed the opinion that the
plantation darkey of the South would
come to Hawaii if properly approached.
They did not hesitate to give the warn
ing not to accept those who offer to
come, but to select the men required
leaving the anxious ones where they
now are.
Desirable labor from the South cannot
be procured by agents from Hawaii.
w. o. Smith was we'll received in South
Carolina and Georgia by the upper
strata; but if he had attempted to get
upon lower strata for time to enlist
laborers for the Hawaiian cane fields,
he would have left that region in more
than ordinary disgust. FaXon Bishop
would meet with the same fate.
The way to get at the proposition is
to select responsible men in the black
belts of the South, and entrust to them
and sending them to Honolulu. Such
men can be found in every community.
They should first be brought to Homo
lulu, given view of all the plantations
and insight into conditions and then re-
turned to their homes in the South to
take up the work and carry it on. The
plantation negroes have confidence in
their responsible whites, and would not
hesitate moment to come to Hawaii
on their recommendation. This is not
only sound theory, but is cold fact. A
half dozen agents in their own homes
in the South, talking to the negroes
who know and look up to them, would
ensure the country all the labor
it requires, and the very best kind at
that.
There is no other way under the sun
to do it. The planters may go ahead
with their special" agents and what
not but the result will be a failure, and
such efforts will continually fail Might
Just as well pick up the darkey boot
blacks and toughs of San Francisco and
Kansas City as to send an agent from
Honolulu to the South for laborers.