The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-01-14
IGNORANT Of THEIR WAGES TO BELT The BIG ISLAND'
PORTO RICANS AND EMPLOYERS
WAITING FOR IMPORTATION.
Immigrants make Varying Statements.
High as $50 a Month and Board

Some Claim They Were Promised as
High as $50 Month and Board.
LAHAINA, January 12.-The Porto
Rican laburers who have been here sew
eral weeks, employed by the Pioneer
Mill live i'm houses on the sea shore near
Lahaina, so close to the water that the
waves at high tide come within d0z
en- yards OF the buildings. The latter
are the ordinary plantation buidiugs-
a series OF rooms under one root AT
present the quarters are supplied with
1 fair amount of beddiug-W Wuefuliy i'm
need OF attention nom a laundry iu
some Cases-With Dedsteads or ham
mocks, with pots and pans and stores
! of BEANS flour, ETC., according To- the
occupants tastes. The Porto RlCaus
/ have their general cooking house,
/ though some rig up stoves of their own
at home. They place heap of sand
on the wood floor and surround it by
rocks and on the sand they build a fire.
| the surrounding rocks making "a
stove"
/ Many of the rooms of the Porto
/ Bicans are decidedly bare Of furniture.
/ In these the men are sleeping ON the
/ board floors because they have no
/ mattresses. The Porto Ricans say they
We're told they would be provided with
]
! in other cases, was simply free rent.
Some of the Porto Ricans expected
| furnished lodgings.
| Women and children are q goodly
proportion of the Porto RiC8n impor-
tation. In a total of 80 there are only
/ % men for work The women and chill
dren stay at home AN day. In this the
1 Porto Ricans differ from the Japanese.
/ The women from the Land of The Chry-
| santhemum Wields her cane-kmife in
! the field as iudustIIously as does her
/ lord and master-perhap often more SO
/ for she has not the privilege of spong-
ing on other members of her race
1 The most interesting story told by
/ the immigrants from Porto Rico was
| that of the luna Raphael Immanes
/ Morales, who brought the Porto Ricans
| here, and it dealt with the troubles be-
( tween New Orleans and the Golden
/ Gate Mr.. Morales arrived here with
| two revolvers, with which he proposed
/ to defend himself against the blood
| thirsty population of the Hawaiian ISL
! ands and, if his story is true he might
well come armed.
"The men who ran away in San Fran
| cisco were taken off by their luna, said
! Morales "He was Amelio Marsan. A
| farmer from California told him that
there We're bad people i'm Hawaii that
he and his men would all be killed II
stay in California They all stopped,
but 1 had promised to come and bring
my men, so | came.
Morales said he did not know who
had given the warning that caused de-
sertions in California, but called the
man a farmer" The luna said that
he was formerly a luna on a planta-
ton in Porto Rico receiving $l.50 per
day. He was promised $500 to come
to Hawaii. All the others under him
had been offered 80 cents a day. Mo-
rales happens to be the only one of
the Porto Ricans about whose wages
word was sent here. He arrived with
a letter stating that he had been en-
gagged as a luna at $50 per month.
The first men seen We're at work as
firemen in the mill. There We're three
of them, Isador Serano, A. Acosta and
Manuel Serano. The two SeranOs said
they had agreed to come to Hawaii for
SO cents a day. They had made a dol
lar as rock-crushers at home Now
that they were here they liked the
work, but they had one complaint tC
make-they did not know they were
; going to get so cents. Someone had
told them that they would not get it
Z The manager had not said anything
about the matter, but they were afraiC
the wages expected were not to be paid
Isidore and his wife formerly lived il
Poro Rico for about $l2 or $l3 month
a They did not know what was to be the
) expense of living in Hawaii. Aftel
joining his namesake or brother il
these statements Manuel Serano came
back from stopping away to work, t
announce that he had been Offered
wages of $25 month to come here.
$ Acosta said he had been a watch
:, man at a police station. He had beel
l offered more" than he was getting t
co1oa to Hawaii A home he had M
regular wages, but everybody CAV,
him a quarter" BY this means he mad
L Sc or 81 a week. When asked why h
n left he said he was told he could max
: more money in Hawaii.
: /. Serano was asked about none.
and clothes for the journey. He SAT-
that he and the others had been giVel
$500 each and some clothes, in New
Orleans or before they arrived there
On being asked If this was what h
a had been promised he said it was, bu
S he was, worrying over report tina
n the plantation was going to charge
o to his account.
The next lot of Porto Ricans see
We're cutting cane, under the lun
y Morales. This lot included a majorit
f of all who came. They worked stead
o lily and slowly, just about the sam
as the Chinese, Japanese or Portu
guese laborers in other gangs in dif
= ferent parts of the fields. They ha
: evidently learned how to WELD can
knives and they cut the tall stalk
like veterans at the business. Her
were r. Passania and Penaro Rosie
These are the other two men said
have been getting S1.0O a day at hom
Penaro Rosio spoke for several VIII
crowded round him and nodded al
proval. The gist of his remarks as
what he was offered was the same q
in the cases already quoted. The fore
man Morales added a few more state
ments
"I like it here" he said, "only m
home is too far from the work" Tt
Porto Rican camp is about a mile {
ri more from where the Porto Ricans al
working at this time.
n "Do you live here as well at hom
L or better?" was asked.
"T like it better than home" sal