The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-04-02
Mates on Strike
Steamers Are
Tied Up.
WANT BETTER PAY;
"SCABS". SCARCE
The Tug Eleu Abandons Scows at
Sea and Steals From
Fearless.

THE mates, second mates and third
mates of the Inter-Island Steam
4 Navigation Company and Wiiders
Steamship Company are dissatis-
fed and have gone out on strike for
higher wages. They went out yester-
day afternoon.
The result is that many of the local
steamers viii be tied up and Will be
unable to leave port. Two steamers,
scheduled to leave last evening, were
unable to get away, having no mates
aboard. The Re Au Hou was the first
vessel affected She was to have sail
ed for Lahaina yesterday afternoon bat
did not get away. Her mate and her
second and third mates refused to take
her out and it was impossible to get
men TO go in their places.
The probabilities aye that, unless
other men can be secured in time, the
Kinau and the Claudine will not sail
on their regular runs today. Licensed
men are extremely scarce in town and
it will be impossible to fill the places
: of all the strikers. A few men have
already been engaged but they, for the
most part, have been taken out of tha
carpenter shops, though they hold Ii
icenses for just such emergencies
They and all others who take the po-
sitions left vacant by the men who have
walked out viii have a very unpleas-
ant time of it, according to the strik-
ers, for, while the strikers are a peace
able lot Of men and do not contemplate
creating any disturbance or preventing
other men from working their many
friends among captains, engineers and
pursers aboard the vessels of the two
local steamship companies have taken
/ pains to spread around the hint that
| they will not welcome "scabs'' aboard
the steamers of the two fleets.
! The mates asked the steamboat COM
panies for an increase in their wages.
They We're refused, according to their
statements, without the proposition be-
/ ing entertained for a moment.
For some time past the mates Of Ho-
nolulu have been quietly organizing
and talking over the matter of wages
among themselves. On the 18th OF
March they addressed a communication
TO President Wight OF Wilder's Steam
ship Company and to President Ena of
the Inter-Island Navigation Company.
In this letter they drew the attention
of the respective companies to the fact
THAT while the work of mates in these
waters was very much more difficult
than the work of mates on the Coast,
they were receiving less remuneration.
They respectfully asked that the com
lpanies consider their case and that
wages be raisad until they were the
same that mates were receiving on the
Coast
y couple OF weeks passed and there
was no sign Of an answer. Nothing had
been said about raising the mems
wages and no reference was made tC
the communication from the mates
Every mate, second mate and third
mate had signed his name 10 the first
communication.
/ On the last day of last month, no an
.swer having been received from Presi-
dents Wight or Ena. the committee OF
two appointed by the mates to lool
after the matter addressed another
communication TO the two companies
to the effect that unless an answer tC
the original communication was forth
looming by noon OF the first day of the
present month the men would walk out
A little before noon yesterday, there
fore. the committee of two represent,
llng the mates of this port. composed Of
= Mate Tut of the Claudine and Mat,
] Grafton of the Hanalei, were sent fol
by the presidents Of the two companie:
: and a consultation was held
J. According to the statements of on,
~ of the striking mates, Tut and Orator
we're discharged from Wilder's com
pany as soon as they entered the Office
OF President Wight. One of them, II
r attempting to discuss the matter, mad
? some reference to the long hours tn
men were supposed to work and tn
= small pay which they received. n
vas Informed, so says one of the strik
!. ers. that the mates were supposed t
2. work twenty-four hours day for sc
- Gays In the year. Hot words were ex
changed after this and the comnitte
u ana the managers of the two compan
r les parted with no pleasant feeling
n for each other.
y The rate Of wages paid on the Coas
= 70 mates is as follows: First mate, 50
- per month; second mate, SIS per month
thrd mate, $50 per month. The wage
received by mates on these Islands ar
h as follows: First mate, for larg
steamers, $3.50 per week; for sma
- steamers, S15 per week; second mat
ana third mate, $40 per week.
Yesterday afternoon, after the com
panies had refused to consider tn
proposition of raising wages to tn
4 coast standard, the majority of .th
mates struck. A few of those who ha
a. sworn to stand by the rest of tn
M mates got cold feet and changed the
minds but most of the forty or fit
- mates in this port are out.
Inc Inter-IsIand Steam Navigate
company was particularly anxious
get the steamer Ke Au Hou away Il
A-ahalna yesterday afternoon, as or
OF Two passengers were in a hurry
= get to the bedside of one who is in
. very critical condition on Maui.