The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-04


present time there are only three OF
The Wilder company's men who are
out and that no difficulty had been ex-
perienced or would be experienced in
the matter of keeping the vessels of
the company running on schedule
time. The strike had necessarily
caused considerable Inconvenience at
first. as men had TO be secured in a
hurry in order to get the Kinau and
CIaudine and other boats of the line
away on their regular runs on schedule
time.
Wilder's company, however, had sus-
pected that there was likely to be some
trouble several weeks before the strike
occurred and arrangements were made
for licensed men who were working
ashore to take the places OF any men
who might go out on strike.
The whole trouble" said President
Wight, lis that we had a few men in
our employ who came on recently,
since it was necessary for all mates
and other officers of steamboats, to ear
~ licenses in these waters. They had
no aloha for US and we entertained no
particular aloha for them. They came
down from the Coast, where they could
have secured positions on Coast steam
boats at Coast wages. to accept posi-
tons here for less money. They knew
the rate of wages here before they
came and yet they preferred these Is
lands TO working on the Coast.
Before it was necessary for the men
70 have licenses we never had any
trouble. The majority of our mates
are Hawaiians and they were always
faithful to US and could be depended
upon. Any man who had been in our
employ for a year or more we looked
after when he was sick OF in trouble
and sometimes advanced him money
without interest. The consequence was
that those men had an aloha for the
company and would stand by us. But
| there are only three men on strike as
far as this company is concerned. and
as nearly as l know there are only
about eighteen men out in the Inter
Island company.
Il would like to say here that Cap
tains Whitney and Lehners. the inspec-
tors of hulls and boilers. who were re-
Gently here examining the men, treated
the men examined with the greatest
I consideration possible and that even
they went out Of their way to see that
Everybody, Hawaiians and haoles, had
an even chance. 1 say this because
1 there was something said to the con-
trary in morning paper The item
| was to the effect that the examiners
I had been anything but considerate in
/ the examination of Hawaiians for
mates papers. 1t must be remember
I'd that there are many words in the
English language which have no
I equivalents in English. 1t is a fact
that when the examiners first started
1 in with the natives they experienced
Ia great deal of difficulty in examining
them for this very reason. But as soon
as It was seen where the trouble lay
the inspectors went to work TO remedy
the difficulty ana make il so that the
iHaWaiians had an equal chance with
me white men. AS an example of this,
lone Of the questions of the eXamina-
ton was: What are the marks on a
lead line?' Now, when this question
was translated into the Hawaiian Ian
guage. there being no word in Hawaii
an for lead line the question ran:
What are the marks Oh a tarred rope? p
Naturally, when the question was put
ITO the natives in this form they were
unable to answer it, and I doubt wheth-
rr il could be answered by anybody
else
But TO return to the strike This is
, particularly bad time for the men to
demand an increase of wages. We
nave contracts to carry sugar until the
hrst Of October at a certain figure,
When We made these contracts coal
was selling here at $3.50 per ton, poi
NJ q
was selling at nine cents pound. Now
prices have advanced about one-third
: ana We are carrying sugar at the same
: hgure. 1t was a year ago when we
made our contracts and then coal poi
= beef and so forth were very much
eheaper, Now we have to pay over 81
: per ton for our coal, three cents g
. pound for poi and twelve and hall
= cents pound for beef. The fact of the
matter is that we are not at present
III condition TO advance wages
n Ihen, again, we do not intend tc
y ".ho ourselves to pay any fixed amount
}. u wages TO all men of the same rank
= aiiHe' for the simple reason that we
nave found through experience that al
men are not alike, and that som,
, mates for example, are worth $50 pei
e,Sd IN while others are worth perhap!
80 per month. We are perfectly will
: IL 10 pay man what he is worth
\ - ne can earn a hundred dollars
.-oIlh We Will pay him that salary
JHle men we can trust implicitly
n oSIeIs we have to watch. We treat on
I'm, TSH entirely according to their merits
NgSe strikers, who have come dowI
fI.ll the Coast, and who are demand
.-s coast wages, are asking altogethe
R. r.o much. They had only been wit
- ior short period, and had not be
~ 90 get acquainted with the work
81 s"s coasts of the different Islands, an
m - 7Ieat many other Things with whic
~ should be familiar befor
- icy begin to demand higher wage:
uhey can get the money they as
on rhe Coast. why did they nc
T..aln on the Coast and get position
IN reference to the letter written
> us company by a committee appoint
{. hg the strikers. asking that W
r,sloer the raising the salaries {
Is to the Coast STANDARD
would say that TIE con
'-'uHlcation very clearly led US