The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-23
UNION HAS
No PULL
Judge Wilcox Gives the
Seamen Loafers
a Jolt.

"When you came to Honolulu you
didn't find loafer's paradise" said
Judge Wilcox yesterday afternoon In
sentencing a quintette of waterfront
trarnps, four of whom We're seamen
and one was a Hawaiian. You fell
lows may have very fine union and
NAV get promises of work from it. but
the union hasn't any pull in this court.
The union has no strings here"
The uuintette evidently did not con-
slider 1t was much of paradise when
the judge gave each one six months in
Oahu prison for vagrancy. All five
were found at 1880 Monday night
sleeping In a lumber pile on the Fish
market wharf where 'vag'' quarters
had been fixed up, mats. pieces OF sail
cloth and seamen's bags. The arrests
were made by Captain Harry Flint OF
the harbor police, who has been watch
ing the men for several weeks.
It was a case of five men who didn's
want to work and even when it was
offered to them they refused 1t like
gallant knights OF the road" They
preferred cumming on blue-jackets and
seamen on the boats, occasionally get
ting a "handout" lunch from Sympa-
tnetic members of the fo'castle. None
of the i've have had any money that
the harbor policeman has known of for
couple of weeks. They slept on the
wharves and in lumber piles, begged
occasionally for dimes and nickels and
declined every offer of honest work.
The men answered to the names OF
II. Smedley. J. Pierce, G. Butlers Z.
Johnson and Keawepamahoe. Three OF
the white men were young fellows, ana
the other was about so years old. Cap
tain Flint said that when he told the
| old man to go to the Oceanic dock and
get work he drew himself up haughtily
and remarked: ''I didn't come here to
work amongst Cinnamon and L won't
work You've got to send me back to
the coast" Flint told all the men at
various times that there was work for
them on the wharves, on the Rapid
Transit road, and many other places
where manual labor was needed. but
not one had accepted his suggestions
Butler had said: Il belong to the
union and L can get all the work |
want and money too. They'll take care
of me till 1 get ship" Flint went on
to say that whenever he arrested a
man ne always had a. story of having
just got a job. Every one OF them
however, fell back on the union. but
notwithstanding their statements they
were generally compelled to sleep in
the open and had every appearance OF
being '.vags.
That's the cry that 1 hear all the
time" said Flint. The union will give
me work-its the old story. There is
plenty of work for these men but they
won't take it,
| The old man said he didn't object to
work if it was not too hard. I'm get
ting old and can't work like those big
| fat Hawaiians."
| Pierce said he had had money ever
since he left the steamship American
4 - - ia inf Ics-
charge for So. He had not done any
work since that time as he had money
to keep him going, although when ar
rested there was not a cent in his
! clothes.
Smedley said the union was to take
care of him and had promised to give
/ him first chance when there was a
place on a ship open. He admitted
later that he was not union man
when he first came here, but the union
| induced him to leave his vessel and
afterwards he joined the organization,
being promised 1.-The first chance.