The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-05-25

The neeu OF ketllhB plAhatioh hano
from Utner countries tnan Japan Ma
been sseited' Tor iUng Time I,sl-sI
Whenever aeid hands Oi any one IA
aionanty Uesin 10 pieponde,ate In tncs'
Islands tney grow uhe.,sy and OVs,i ep
erous, ana strikes ana otner iUi nis u
mutmy lesuiL Onginany the Jdpan'
ese we're introduced to counteIaot TINS
Chinese; now IL becomes necessary, hc
the pi.lliLeis tnink, To nnd iaDOieIs wnC
wall counterfeit tne japanese. 1ne lat
ter aie 90 numerous ANA nave become
50 "cocky," as the pnritse goes, Lnat
they are LuOUsnt by some 10 ne poleh-
tial source Vi Danger. IL is MOI ques-
ton OF the supply De.ng cut OH. DOUBT
less an enuIeSs supply could be hdu, ior
coones wnI come mere as Tree laDorers
so long as WORK is offered, but tnAt is
not the point with the pIantels. People
OF duierent soII are wanted.
Where snail they be found? Europe
has been searched wlthou. much avail
for suitable whlte labor. We nave mad
Gallclans, but want no more. Italians,
despite MIR. Damon's earnest persuas-
ions, prefer gong to Mainland ci..es
OF the. United states or to Argentina
Not much Is expected of the IyI olese'
Perhaps more portuguese could he co.,
but the planners are apparently not con-
sideIdng them. lnsteau we hear that
they are about to investigate the supply
of Porto Rlcan labor, with view of
bringing some thousands OF Spanish ne
groes here.
This source of supply is not so far oil,
measuring the route from here to Porto
Rico via Panama, and it would be easy
to get at. Doubtless the Porto
Ricans are cheap and not ambitious Tor
crea .ure comforts; but there are SO
many drawbacks named DIN connection
with them .lat we hope sincerely that
the planters will be aDle to find a better
class OF labor, and thus escape the ne
cessity of making rash experiment.
IF there is a worse racial comDina-
ton anywhere than the Spamard and
the negro, history does not reveal IL,
said recent Englis.. writer. The
half-breed inherits the vices of both
ancestors, and the vices of the Spanish
slave driver and the slave from the
Guinea coast left very little to make
the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomor-
rah exceptional" The two points local
~ cited in favor of the Porto Rican la
borers are that they have worked in
sugar fields at home, and that they are
in distress But when we consider that
the cane fields of Porto Rico have al
ways been wretchedly titled, and that
distress does not make an undesirable
neighbor any the less undesirable, we
see that very much remains to be sad
to attest the wisdom of the mooted ex-
pertinent 1t is certainly grave mat
ter when we propose to add to the COM
posite population of these Islands a
class which has kept the West Indies
in ferment for three hundred years.
During all that time the Porto Rican
has had to be held down with troops"
says the authority quoted. He Is Sc
ditious, revengeful, suspicious, i'm
moral and dissolute, and his one re-
deeming point is the laziness which
keeps his vicious propensities from al
ways striking twelve" If he were to
do as badly in Hawaii as he always uId
at home when the vigilance OF the
troops was relaxed, he would be the
worst investment in labor that Ha-
waii could make.
One special objection to the introduc-
tion of the Porto Rican Is political. He
may at any time be adjudged an Am
erican citizen; indeed a late Western
decision veers strongly that way I'm
der our educational test he could not
vote; but when one large class of Am
erican citizens is kept from the suffrage
and another class is permitted 10 eXer-
else it, we have the beginnings of
bloody strife.
The Advertiser admits the difficulties
of our situation. The sugar business
must not lack for hands TO carry it on
and there are some unpleasant things
about japanese, preponderance. But let
us have a care that We do not Jump
from the frying pan into the fire. There
are worse things than scarcity OF di-
yersified field labor; easier remedies
for japanese overplus than an influx of
West Indian poems. For ourselves we
do not despair of the white cooperative
method of filling cane fields; certainly
there are some propitious signs OF
success in the small Eva experiment.
Why should it not be wise 10 test lie
full capabilities of the cooperative
plan before going farther afield? AS
suredly white men WAC can endure
farm work in the interior OF California.
Arizona and Utah would find the eli