The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1900-09-21
NEGROES
FOR HAWAII
John Kinds Opinion Of
Them.
ARE GOOD LABORERS
Believes That Large Numbers Could
Be Brought Here for Plan
tation Work,

After spending several weeks in the
Southern States investigating the ne
gro labor question John Hind, the we'll
known planter of Hawi plantation,
Kohala district, Hawaii, has returned
to the Islands thoroughly convinced of
the feasibility and the ACCESSIBILITY of
bringing negroes to the Islands as field
hands.
My trip through the South said
Mr.. Hind yesterday, was largely Tor
the purpose of looking over the s.tua-
ton, studying the negroes and ascer-
tanning what their personal feelings
were in the matter of emigrating TO
the Islands. From my Investigations
am satisfied that the plantation man
ayers of Hawaii can do no better than
to secure a large number of these men
for work in the cane fields here. l went
through Louisiana and Mississippi and
Kentucky going among the negroes ana
to many plantations and talking with
the employers. The almost universal
opinion OF the latter was that the ne
groeS were a most excellent class Oh
laborers. They are faithful, industrl-
Gus, and for the most part intelligent
and ambitious.
"On the plantations of the South the
laborers are employed but for short
time each year. They receive about fi.-
ty cents to seventy-five cen0 day =
their work during the planting ana
cutting seasons but the rest of the year
there is little for them to do as 1t takes
but a small force of men to do the
wedding during the growing of the
crops. So it is that the laborers. as
rule come to the plantations simply
during the seeding and cutting seasons,
living in the fields most of the time and
working fifteen hours a day for their
small pittance.
THE best class of the laborers are
those who live in the country. In the
city there are thousands of them whom
we could probably get without much
difficulty, but they are not the kind of
men we want. The country laborers
are as a rule men of family and are in
dustrious and faithful while those in
the city are a drunken, shftless lot
which we would not have here at any
price.
"TEe negroes with whom / talked
seemed quite pleased with the idea Of
coming to Hawaii. If they were brought
over here they would demand that we
permit them to bring with them their
families and household goods, for they
would come with the intention to colo
nize here. The plantation managers
with whom ! talked did not like the
idea of our taking their laborers from
them. They would prefer to have us
take negroes from the cities ipstead of
the men who are attached to the plan
tations, but that is exactly what we do
not want to do.
~, B. Collins. of Kohala plantation,
was with me for time in Louisiana
and he had made arrangements for
thirty-fve families of negroes to come
to the Islands from that section when
l left for San Francisco, but I after
wards heard from him before I sailed
for the Islands and he stated that there
was some doubt whether he could get
the families to come after all.
IF some one were sent to the States
under authority from the large planta-
ton owners. some one who knew the
negroes we'll, there would be little diff
ficulty in securing a large number Of
them and once we get a number OF
them here and their friends learn of the
local conditions. I think we can get as
many more OF them as we want"