The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-03

as ot p1 1SSSAI, anu IndI the Governor
of the Territory should be empowered
to remove these inspectors at his dis
cretion. This recommendation was
embodied in the Governors report as
finally printed, and Secretary Hitch
cock makes a note of it in his annual
report, which will be out now in a few
days.
THE PORTO RICANS.
Some weeks ago l mentioned the
essential facts in Governor Dole's re-
port to the Interior Department about
the alleged ill-treatment of Porto Ri
cans in Hawaii. Since then, and a few
days ago, the Department has made
public the text of Governor Dole's
letter. The entire report will be for
warded to the Governor of Porto Rico,
who made the complaint on which
Governor Dole was requested to report.
Mr.. Dagatau, the commissioner from
Porto Rico, was made acquainted with
the facts Of the situation long before
the complaint with the governor of
Porto Rico was filed and told promi-
nent people here that he was entirely
satisfied that his countrymen in Ha-
waii had no just cause to complain.
The latest phase of the controversy
is an attempt by the Federation of
Labor to stir it further. That organiz-
alton has passed a resolution author
izing an investigation and asking that
Congress be asked to appropriate
money for transporting the Porto
Ricans back to their former homes if
the complaint is shown to nave fcun-
dation.
Governor Dole's letter of transmits
sion presents the case of the Porto
Ricans briefly. He says:
after the receipt of the complaint l
instructed my private secretary, Mr..
a. G. Hawes, Jr., to proceed to the
Paauilo plantation, the locality in
which most of the recent complaints
have originated, and investigate such
of the Porto Ricans of that plantation
in regard to the proposition of being
returned to Porto Rico.
Il enclose his report and other papers
as described below"
Of the several Enclosures noted by
Governor Dole one or two are of mark
ed interest. The original complaint
was sent to the Governor of Porto Ri
co by Pedro ]. Agostini, the father of
one of the workmen, and Governor
Dole incloses copy of Agostini's
letter
"Take into consideration the prayers
of these unfortunates, petitions Agos-
TIM the elder, "and help them, and
may God reeompense you for it with
an eternal blessing for you and your
family
The original petition is written and
signed in one hand. Its phrases are
very general. Among other things, it
sets forth:
1--WE Porto Ricans that happen 20 be
here, find ourselves more than tram
pied on, even to the point of wishing
ourselves deau; we are here like slaves,
and we beg you to see if we can obtain
it from your goodness that you should
take measures so that we can return
to our own country, SO as not to be
maltreated. because we do not deserve
it. They treat US like one who is in
prison, to the extent that it is good
policy to take US away from those that
we meet in the said plantation, so it is
that, being terrified. we send supplica-
ton to our honorable sir, that he may
illumine the way with favor to see that
if we cannot return to our beloved
Borinquen, which for the first tine e
have left, to seek our prosperity, and
have met our perdition in the terrific
ries of Oceania, which, although un-
der the dominion of the stars an j
stripes, we do not consider as under
yolr orders.
I'VE are more than slaves here, and
we cannot resist longer the savagery
that is coming to every one of us Porto
Ricans; they are every day iHficting
more barbarities upon US. The first
thing is that the pay is small; IL is
not according to what was offered Us
before we left Porto Rico; the second
is that the store stand us for half our