The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-02-05
LEBRATE KONOHI NEW LABOR BUREAU
SUGAR PLANTERS ESTABLISH OF
FICE on SMITH STREET.
Attempt to Centralize Unemployed
Japanese-More Leaving the Country
Than are Coming Here.

Labor Office Of the Hawaiian Sugar
Planters Association" This is the sign
displayed in English and Japanese
characters outside a rOOmy Office 1n the
corner of Smith and Hotel streets. The
Office has been established, with A. *
Ozawa i'm charge, by the Planters Asso-
citation under the direct management #
r.. d. Mead, the secretary of the organ
iZatiOn, and is designed to take adVap-
tage of the present situation ana act as
a center whereby newly arriving or
wandering Japanese in search # enI-
plOyment may COngregate and De snip
ped to the plantations according to the
needs Of the latter.
There is at present no fear that the
supply Will be greater than the demand
and there is plenty Of room for aDpli-
cants who are not confined to Japanese.
Men of any nationality who are willing
to work at the wages offered have an
opportunity Of employment and will be
promptly shipped to the plantation
whose needs are the greatest. While it
is possible that plantation cooks, car
penters and others may be handled
through the labor Office its object pri-
marily is to gain regular plantation field
labor from the unemployed japanese IN
the country.
Mr. Ozawa in charge, a we'll known
japanese who speaks the most fluent
English, states that the Office has been
open some ten days and tina. while re-
suits are not startling as yet he thinks
that it is only a matter of advertising
the fact of the existence of the Office IN
order to make it most successful.
Mr.. Mead cOrrObOrates this idea but
adds that the chance of employment on
roads, building and "ther projects where
the pay is thirty dollars "a months pro-
hibits and keeps the japanese away in
great numbers from the Dlancation
where they only get from eighteen to
twenty two dollars. 1t wOuld seem
that the average Japanese would rather
take his chance at occasional work for
the higher wages than steady employ
ment at a lower sum. The Japanese
largely are an unsettled class and pre-.
fer working but a short time a any ore
place or position. they enjoy trave',
ling and visiting from place to place and
the philosophy of saving money by
steady work never seems to occur to
them.
There has been a false impression
lately said Mr.. Mead, ''aided by lncOr =
rectly reported statements in an after
noon paper to the effect that the TGpo.
nese are coming to this country in large
numbers. / wish you would nave TINS
matter Strengthened out by putting the
facts in your own columns. There have
been several hundred more Japanese
leave this country for Japan in the last
five months than have immigrated here
from that country. Many of those that
have returned are coming back for the
second time They are japanese who
came over here alone to see what the
country was like and, having saved a
little money, returned to Japan and
brought back with them their families
I'VE are securing some of these
through the labor office. We pay a
mans fare to the plantation with that
of his wife and children if he possesses
them, deducting the fare from the first
months salary If however they work
| three months we refund them their fare.
1 think the office will be successful as
soon as it gets sufficiently exploited
| Mr.. Ozawa is emincntly the man for
| the position and the establishment Of
! the bureau is an attempt to cope with
| the present conditions of labor and
make the best of them"