Evening star., 1901-07-29
Serious Problem Confronting Hawaii
an Sugar Planters
COMMISSIONER RODENBERG TALKS
Cinnamon Are the Only Satisfac-
tory Workers.
PROGRESS ON THE ISLANDS

'"The labor question Is the serious prob
lem which Is confronting the Hawaiian
sugar planters at the present time. said
Civil Service Commissioner A. W. Roden-
berg, who arrived IN Washington yesterday
afternoon after an extended trip In the
islands for the purpose Of putting the civil
service law into operation there.
1.-The proper kind Of labor is scarce al
ready, and future agricultural develop
ments will be greatly retarded unless some
provision is made to supply this element
In the community. The Chinese are the
ideal sugar plantation workers. They are
better workers than either the Japanese
or Portuguese, and, besides, they give no
trouble. They are quiet and always live up
to their contracts. Since the islands were
annexed, however, no more Cinnamon can
be secured, and sugar planters are very
much exercised regarding this question.
Effort for Legislation.
II am informed that strong effort will
be made by Hawaiians at the next session
of Congress, when legislation on the Chi
nese question will be made necessary by
the expiration of the Geary act, to have
clause in the new law providing that Chi
namen may be brought from China to the
Hawaiian Islands under contract to do
purely agricultural work for a period not
to exceed ten years, when they will be de-
ported. Under the terms OF such pro-
vision 1t is believed, that no conflict would
be precipitated with organized labor. as the
law would provide that the Cinnamon
should do nothing but agricultural work
and this class of work in Hawaii white
men cannot do on account Of the climatic
conditions.
There Is also another contemplated So
luton of the question which is receiving.
aer fiQattOn
present time. and that Is to import native
Filipinos to work on Hawaiian sugar plan
tations. This idea, I believe, has never
been made known here, but several large
planters in Hawaii have investigated the
proposition sufficiently to predict that the
Filipinos may yet solve the perplexing labor
question of those islands.
Porto Ricnns Not Satisfactory.
THE Porto Ricans who are now In the
islands as an experiment are not proving
generally satisfactory. They have to a
great extent the disposition of the native
Hawaiian and love ease a great deal more
than work. 1t is not likely that an effort
will be made to increase by importation
the Porto Rican population of the islands"
Commissioner Rodenberg is very enthu-
siastic over the islands. He predicts that
their future commercial development will
surprise the world. Last year the islands
produced 800 600 tons of sugar, and the
labor can be secured this amount can easily
be increased to 10000 tons year. There
is also a lack Of money in the islands This
is occasioned, according to Mr.. Rodenberg,
by the rapid development of the islands. No
money loans for less than per cent and
the majority Of the loans are made on an
interest basis of 10 and IL per cent, with
the security gilt-edgsd.
Paradise of the Pacific
The islands have most certainly been
correctly named the Paradise Of the Pa
cific,'" continued Mr.. Rodenberg "The
nights are too gorgeous to describe The
maximum temperature OF the hottest day
is not over 81 degrees. A trip down the
islands will absolutely convince any per-
son Of the wisdom Of the policy Of the
present republican administration. You at
once realize that we have something very
valuable in the Hawaiian Islands, and the
same condition applies as well to the Phil
ippfne Islands. They are becoming Amer
icanized SO rapidly that 1t is only a uucs-
tion of very short time when on visiting
there you will see no difference between the
United States and the acquired territory.
Tho proposition that has been advanced
to make the Hawaiian Islands into coun-
ties and annex them to the state OF Cali
fornia does not receive the Endorsement of
the natives. They want to be an independ-
ent state, and there is no doubt that they
will be making application to this end as
soon as their population Is sufficient