The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-07-27

the work that would here be required.
1t is we'll enough TO talk Of white labor
from California, oregon and the wheat
fields Of Kansas and Missouri; but sup
pose this labor can be procured, which
is stnl uncertain. A chasm of uncer-
tuinty, involving the future of our prin-
cipal industry opens out ahead of this
question Foreign labor is absolutely
tabu. VIII you go to Porto Rico in
search of help? Porto Rico is not yet,
and may never be, an integral portion
of the United States to the extent that
its laboring classes may come and go
as they choose. What then, can be
done?
On the great cotton and sugar estates
of the South is the one answer to the
problem. In parts of the Carolinas,
section of Georgia, all of Alabama and
Mississippi, and the river sections of
Louisiana. are hosts of first class la
borers that do not receive anything like
the wages the plantations of Hawaii
would most willingly give. They are
the plantation" darkies, the element
the Stars correspondent refers to as
industrious, moral ETC." In the cane
fields of this country they would find
their natural home, and, transplanted
here by colonies from different sections,
would be happy and content, and give
the very best of service.
Now comes the unique feature of the
correspondents ideas. 1t is to have the
laborers selected by influential men In
their own communities in place Of by
agents sent from here. 1t is proposed
that these leading men be brought out
to the Islands to study the plantations
and conditions here, in order that they
may explain to the negroes the facts in
detail. The wisdom of this suggestion
is plain Suppose Honolulu had an over
supply of labor and a stranger arrived
here in search of thousand families
to go to Massachusetts. Responsible
people would Immediately feel preju-
dice against the scheme; the laborer
would become suspicious, and the re-
suit would be that the laborer would
enlist only an element that the COM
Massachusetts, would receive a popula-
ton she did not want. But suppose
Henry Waterhouse, or c. M. Cooke, or
]. o. Carter, or a dozen other men to
be thought of had gone among the la
borers and said: This project is all
right. You will receive the money
promised you, will be well treated, well
taken care of, and the climate of Mass
achusetts is all you could desire. 1 have
been over the plantations there, and
you can take my word for it that every
thing is all right" The best of laborers,
and in any number, would Immediately
/ consent to go.
| 1t is the same way in the South. In
! fact, negroes are more leery of the
agent" than many other peoples. They
/ have been bitten several times. Twelve
years ago 10000 blacks emigrated from
! the South to Kansas, and have been
strolling back in all sorts of ways ever
since. About the same time immense
colonies went to the Red river near the
Texas line, and to Arkansas. The re-
suits of all these schemes have left an
everlasting impression upon the ne
groes.
/ The way to proceed intelligently and
correctly is this: Select good men at
Georgetown, S. c.: Brunswick, Ga:
/ Quincy, Fla. Mobile, Ala, and Jackson,
Miss. Let them be men of wide planta-
ton influence, such as the negroes call
reverently BOSS man." Bring them to
Honolulu. Let them study conditions.
/ The rest should be left to them. 1t is
not to be questioned that the laborers
they would send would be of the kind
required here. Moreover, the field
would be opened in a practical way for
all time, and the labor problem would
| be a thing of the past.