The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-28

I and more a tendency to become per-
manent settlers in the islands. They
are also bringing over a larger pro-
portion of Japanese women, and their
children are attending the Hawaiian
schools along with white and Hawaiian
children and are thus being brought
up amid surroundings and with ideas
that would make them practically
aliens if they should return to Japan.
The Japanese make fairly good plan
tation laborers. though some of the
planters would prefer Chinese. The
Chinaman is usually the more steady
and reliable, but the less energetic
laborer of the two, and is preferred
for irrigation and cane cutting. The
Japanese has greater physical strength,
and is the better man for leading or
for general roustabout work in the
mill. He is more clearly about his per-
son and tidy about his surroundings
and adopts more readily all the super
fetal tokens of Caucasian civilization.
He wears European clothing, carries
a watch and seeks most eagerly for
variety in life. He is constantly visit
ing new places and trying his hand at
new trades. He represents the radical,
the Chinaman the conservative side, of
oriental character His vices are more
Occidental than those of the Chinese.
He does not fall a victim to opium or
the unnatural practices of the latter,
but is fond of intoxicants.
The Japanese makes more demands
upon plantation manager In the way
Of quarters and general conveniences
for living than does the Chinaman.
Many of them have families and ac-
quire individual apartments. They
prefer to board in small companies,
upon a cottage system, while the Chi
nese like to herd together in large bar
81
ne5e insist upon above everything else
is plenty of water for their daily baths.
and there have been many clashes be-
tween them and the Porto Ricans en-
ployed on the same plantations largely
because the Japs object to the disre-
gard for cleanliness shown by the Por-
to Ricans and because the Japanese
on the other hand, have a naive disre-
gard for proprieties of costume ind
occasionally walk about their camps in
an absence of attire that was charnc-
teristic of Adam and Eve in the Gar
den of Eden.
In concluding his report, Mr.. Wright
says: AT present a laisses faire pol
icy is being pursued, which--so far as
present tendencies indicate-will re-
suit in few years in making the ISL
lands practically Japanese. These peo-
pie are settling in the country with
their families to greater extent than
formerly, and, though hitherto tran
silent, show a tendency to become a
permanent population. In some respects
they might make desirable citizens, as
they readily adopt occidental habits.
but they do not amalgamate with eau
cassians and are intensely alien in
their sympathies. religion and customs.
There is no doubt of the rapid increase
OF the Japanese population through
births. 1t is yet too early to determine
what the attitude of these Hawaiian
born Japanese will be toward their
birth place in case many of them re-
main permanently in the islands, but
this is subject that promises compli-
cations in the future in the matter of
citizenship unless some system of reg
istry is adopted sufficiently exact 10
distinguish them from immigrant Jap
anese. A still more embarrassing stu
alton would be created should this
oriental population ultimately get con-
troll of the local government, by means
of institutions established by Ameri-
cans, and employ their racial solidar-
ity TO maintain themselves in power in
the territory"