Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-03-09
BUDDHIST PRlE,T ON
ROLE OF ARBITRATOR
SPREckELsvILLE JAPANESE LA.
BORERS WANT Ed 20 CENTS
PER TON FOR CANE
CUTTING.

Waikiki, March Z. 1903.-Trouble
which had been brewing at Spreckels-
vile for some time among the Japan
csc field Iaborers. eliminated last Mon
day afternoon, March 2, when over four
hundred men struck and marched in a
body, in battle array, to Waikiki with
their bundles on their backs.
The trouble came about In this way.
The plantation had been paying the
men at the rate Of twenty cents for
every tons Of cut cane, and the strong
able bodied men had been receiving
from two to two and a half dollars
every day, while ordinary men had
succeeded In earning about one dollar
and a half per day. The plantation
then cut down the pay Of the men to
seventeen cents per ton and this slight
reduction caused them to leave work In
a body.
When Acting Manager Frank +.
Baldwin, who is experimenting the af-
fairs of the Hawaiian Commercial a.
Sugar Company during the absence of
his father, told the leaders OF the men
that he would abide by the decision
and would not restore the pay of tho
men to twenty cents as formerly, word
was sent to all the camps to quit work,
and at the appointed hour, men, women
and children left the various camps of
the plantation and began on their five
or six mile walk to Waikiki. All ar
rived here about dusk and temporary
quarters were fixed for them at the
Buddhist temple or wherever they
could find to lay their heads for the
night.
Although the steamer Mauna Loa
left that night for Honolulu, none of
the japanese went by her. On Tuesday
night, an indignation meeting was held
ut the Buddhist Temple, where the
ring-leaders exhausted all their ora
tory in trying to expound to their COM
rades the elementary principles for
which they were fighting, and that II
they desired to win success they must
stay together. The meeting was quite
spirited and exciting but no offensive
measures were advocated.
The meeting decided to send Mr..
Funakura, in whom they have the most
implicit confidence, as an emissary to
Acting Manager Baldwin to plead in
their behalf and to ask him for twenty
cents per ton of cut cane and also that
they be allowed to employ one of their
number to weigh the cane for them, as
they could not rely on the work of the
men employed in that capacity by the
plantation.
On Wednesday morning, Mr.. Funa-
kura, the Buddhist priest, carried out
the terms OF his mission and went up
to see Mr.. Baldwin at Puunene At
the consultation, Mr.. Baldwin remained
firm at seventeen cents per ton, and In
plain and most emphatic language, told
the emissary that If the men would not
be willing to accept the seventeen
cents, he could get along without them,
and furthermore told him that he had
already wired to Honolulu for more
men, and that one hundred had already
arrived from Honolulu per steamer No
eau that morning, fact which the
emissary knew himself.
On the other hand, Mr. Baldwin had
no objection to the men employing any
number of men to weigh cane for them
II they had no faith in the plantation
weights. Mr.. Funakura came back and
advised his people to return to work
which they did, thus virtually accept.
Ing the terms of Manager Baldwin to
work at seventeen cents per ton of cut
cane. On Wednesday afternoon, the
four hundred and more men with. their
wives and baggage resumed their
homeward journey for their former
quarters at the plantation camps. They
walked from Waikiki to Kahului and
from there they chartered the X. r. r.
Co.'S trains to convey them to their
respective quarters.
Thus strike had been happily ended
satisfactorily to all concerned, and no
unnecessarily harsh measures had been
resorted to by any of the parties con-
cerned in the strike. While the strike
lasted, 1t looked as though there would
be a dearth of laborers at Puunene,
but the impending danger was happily
ayerted by the tact and ability of Mr..
Funakura, and the men as well as the
plantation people owe the brevity of
the strike to the splendid diplomacy
employed by the emissary who used
has influence to good advantage among
his people, for he alone could reason
with perfect calmness to his men and
they unhesitatingly needed his fatherly
advice.