The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-04
Planters Now ReIy
On the Porto
Ricans.
h. p. BALDWIN
ON SITUATION
Believes in That Glass of Labor
Unmarried Negroes are
not Wanted.

Senator II. P. Baldwin. one of the
largest plantation owners in the Ha-
waiian Islands, says that the importa-
ton of Porto Ricans has, to a great
extent, solved, the labor problem here.
and that thousands of them will be
brought in TO perform field work on
the various plantations. Negroes are
only on trial and 1t will be several
months before the planters can deter
mine whether or not they are worth
while.
| Instructions were given the agents OF
the Hawaiian Planters Association,
when steps were being taken toward
Offering work to Southern negroes, to
employ only such as were married.
Men of family were the ones mostly
ldesired. Instead, however, many young
unmarried men were sent here, with
the result that the plantation managers
are kept busy in watching them and
preventing them from straying or.
THUS far the married men have behaved
lwell and are content to remain on the
loriginal plantations to which they were
sent.
"The married men amongst the ne
groes are all right, sald Mr.. Baldwin
Hast evening. The unmarried men are
irestless and after a few weeks they de-
lsire to. make a change. AT Spreckels-
iville plantation we experienced this
and It became apparent to Manager
Lowrie and myself that If negroes were
to be employed they must be men Of
family. we can tell more about this
class of labor In two or three months.
i,,;4 III two tIrn
merits and demerits of negro labor in
general would not perhaps be proper
. The married men. SO Manager Lowrie
tells me, are doing very well.
THE Kohala plantation imported ne
groes and many We're imported for
:. wailuku by Brewer & Co. The greater
number of them were brought here by
3 the Planters Association. The last lot
: 'of twenty-three negroes which arrived
: on the Peking are mostly unmarried
men. The instructions primarily given
the agents of the planters was to Sc
t cure married men, but this has been
n difficult.
Our main energies have been and
are in the line of importing Porto Ri
cans The last lot is doing very well
and we have decided to bring in many
l more In fact, several thousand more
: are to be brought here as fast as they
= can be procured. The experience of the
plantations regarding the first lot OF
= Porto Rfcans that arrived here is that
they don't take hold very well at first,
but these have been pretty well fed UP
, and the reports are coming in from all
the plantations employing them that
5 they are doing their work as they
should, The last lot which arrived is
? much harder class than the first and
they have gone at their work in a COM
mendable manner. The largest percent
/ age of married people came with this
last batch.
LAS for negroes. besides being mar
ried they should be used to field work.
The majority of the darkies at work on
the Spreckelsvifie plantation are from
the country districts of the South. They
are hard to procure and whereas in
: Porto Rico the agents can obtain help
for the mere asking the negroes have
to be sought out.
''Mr McPhee, who brought the Porto
Ricans here. says he can get all we
want and as they have proven enough
of a success to warrant the plantations
employing them in large numbers, he
has been given instructions to send US
all we need. Those now here seem to
: be content, and the novelty of living
in a house, eating regular meals and
having bright prospects ahead OF them
; has appealed to them strongly.
1T is not generally known that the
. planters have ordered italian laborers
; from Louisiana to come to Hawaii.
There are seventy-five trained Italian
[ field hands somewhere between Louis
! lana and Hawaii-they may probably
come here on the next steamer. The
plantations in Louisiana for the greater
part of the year do not employ these
men and they often go North to work
in the mines. Here they can get steady
work the year round and large num-
Der of them have made known their de-
, sire to come to this country. 4
/ Again. the Porto Rican authorities
are glad to have their people come TO
: these Islands. So you can readily see
that we are not wanting for sources
Of supply"