Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-22
.LABOR[RS IN HAWAII
Comparative Valueof Various
Nationalities.
CHINESE ARE FAVORED
JAPANESE ARE SPREADING BUD
DHIsT RELIGION.
Porto Rican Immigration Not q Sue
cess-Jananese Are Radical, While
Chinese Are Conservative.


cess-Jananese Are Radical, While
Chinese Are Conservative.
classes of labor employed in Hawaii is
| treated very fully in bulletin recently
published by the Department of Labor. 1t
| treats Of the men Of various nationaltties
| that have been taken to the Hawaiian Is
lands to work on the plantations there.
This bulletin was prepared in accordance
to provide a government for the territory.
Present Plantation Labor.
1.-THE present plantation labor Of Hawaii. -
| the bulletin states, exclusive of skilled
labor and superintendent. Is composed of
a few Europeans and Portuguese from the
Azores, Hawaiians. American negroes.
Porto Ricans, Chinese and japanese. The
Europeans include few Italians who have
come into the country from louisiana
(where they work for the same wages upon
the sugar plantations and live in the same
quarters with the negroes). Galicians and
Slavs from east Austria. and few Ger
mans. The latter are almost entirely upon
one or two plantations on the wtndWard
side Of Kauai. the northernmost island OF
| the group, where the climate and general
conditions are favorable to outdoor work
by Europeans.
1.-The owners and managers are also Ger
mans, and the men are allowed the use OF
| a garden and Of sufficient land to keep a
cow-what would be almost a small farm
| in some parts of their own country-in ad-
dition to the fuel and quarters that are
regularly furnished field hands. Aside
from the Portuguese. however. the number
of Europeans employed in actual field labor
is very small In the autumn Of 1902 1t was
but 80 in total force of 1886 men.
Employment Of Portuguese.
"The Portuguese are largely employed In
the semi-skilled occupations Of the planta-
ton. though 1,183 Of the 2.66S on the pay
rolls are listed as field laborers. These peo-
pie are an exceedingly hopeful element OF
the population. They are both Industrious
and frugal. and their vices are not OF sort
to injure their efficiency as workers. They
make good citizens, and though those OF
the frsG generation are usually flliterate
and averse to sending their children to the
public schools, they rapidly become Ameri-
canized.
I'm fact, the town Portuguese that one
meets in Honolulu or Hilo differ in no es-
sential respect from intelligent foreign born
citizens of the United States Their edu-
schools II they are Of the younger genera
ton. under system Identical with that OF
the mainland. and they have acquired the
habits of thought and action that dtstln-
take an active part in local politics and
are prominent in both commercial and pub
lie life.
Life Of Country People.
1.-THE country people become homestead
ers, cultivate small crops and fruits or
coffee, and raise enormous families OF
bright, sturdy children-the most desirable
c1cp of all In a country like Hawaii. 1t Is
rather significant. however, that they are
not classed with white men on the plan
tations. They form class apart, some
VIII ere between Asiatics snd the other eau
casians. This is probably because the
white man has always been sort OF
aristocrat in the islands. and large body
of immigrants who lived in ordinary plan
tation quarters and worked with hoes could
hardly aspire to that rank In popular esti-
nation. Portuguese or HawafianS are
usually employed as teamsters, plowmen
or cultivatOrs where animals are used. IL
is rather interesting that the portuguese
like the Italians in Louisiana today, were
formerly considered inferior for this sort
Of work.
Five Thousand Porto Ricans.
There are about 5000 Porto Ricans on the
IL,
tory as workmen nor contented with the
life they have found there.
OF the Chinese. however. that since the
exclusion law went into effect with annexa-
ton most of the younger and most vigorous
workers have gone back to China, leaving
behind the gamblers and opium smokers,
and those who. on account OF age and de-
crepitude. cannot accumulate funds to re-
turn to their own country. The best work
oil 1ro Tod off
to the rice fields by employers Of their own
nationality SO that altogether only rem
nant of the poorest hands remain as day
laborers on the plantation. The Porto RI
cans are melted to regular work by a spe-
cial bonus of 50 cents a week for every full
week of labor. which inducement Is not Of
fered to Asiatics.
A Steady Glass Of Employees.
There has been practically no change in
the number of Porto Ricans working on the
plantations during the year 1902, though
there was a rapid decrease previous to that
time which would tend to show that after
the naturally vagrant and criminal classes
were once eliminated the remainder form a
reasonably steady class Of employees.
OF the ffty-fve plantations in Hawaii.
thirty-four had Porto Ricans on their pay
rolls in the autumn of 1902. One thousand
seven hundred men, or slightly more than
50 per cent of the whole number Of men i'm
ported, were then employed. and were earn
ing an average monthly wage. without bo-
nus. of $17.52.
Effect Upon the Japanese.
From the planters point of view an i'm
portant result Of the Porto Rican immi-
grafton was the moral effect that their
arrival had upon the Japanese. The latter
had begun to fancy that with the enforce
ment Of the federal Chinese exclusion and
Inv tow, fI,axy
complete masters Of the labor situation In
Hawaii. They formed temporary combina
tons for the purpose OF striking at critical
periods OF the planting and grinding sea-
ing up wages. s
This is sufficiently shown by the rise In
the average wage of field hands from 60
to 70 cents a day, or an increase, of over
irasn fia< df,,1e I,,uo