The Hawaiian gazette., 1903-07-24
MISSIONARIES AND
THE SILK BUSINESS

Inc FRIEND, WnlCn is out Tor july, Is
number of special interest Among
the notable articles is one by Rev. s. E.
Bishop, d. D., headed, did the Mis-
sionaries Destroy the Silk Business in
Hawaii?" 1t is as follows:
Such an allegation used to be heard
here over fifty years ago, among nu-
merous charges made by persons hos
tile to missionaries. That stale charge
was revived last year and published by
President G. Stanley Hall of Clark Uni
versty, in Worcester Mass. He found
it in book published by some German
visitor to Honolulu. The present writ
err was asked by the editor of The In
dependent of New York to report the
truth in the matter; but his statement
was anticipated by Mr.. Gorham d. Gil
man Of Boston, who had personal
knowledge on the subject.
The substance of the charge was that
the missionaries would not permit the
natives to feed the silkworms on the
Sabbath day, in consequence of which
the attempt to produce silk became a
failure with great loss to the white men
who had undertaken the business. That
charge was absolutely denied by all the
missionaries and their friends Those
.II
have the silk enterprise prosper. as fur
nishing needed employment to the ma
tives; and while they taught the people
religiously to observe the Sabbath, they
carefully instructed them that 1t was
lawful to perform any necessary labor
on that day.
The present writer is able to testify
that at the age of eleven. in 1888. he
visited the home of Rev. p. ]. Gulick
at Koloa. Kauai where he saw silk
worms fed and silk reeled in Mr. GU
lick's own house. At the same time,
Mr. Titcomb had considerable plan
tation Of mulberry-trees in the vicinity,
and was breeding silkworms and reel
| ing silk on a considerable scale. The
missionary, Gulick, certainly favored
| the undertaking. Mr.. Hooper was at
the same time conducting a small sugar
plantation at the same place; and
much was said about the immense ad-
vantage It was to the natives to be able
to earn twelve and half cents day
by their labor, as they could do no.
! where else In the Islands except in the
sea- ports.
The failure OF sales.--future as a COM
mercial enterprise appears to have been
owing mainly to The absence of the
trained and patient skill necessary in
the laborers employed Hawaians were
incompetent for success In such work,
which needs a rural population like
those In China, Japan or France. Mr..
Gilman quoted Mr.. James Jackson
Jarves in reference to the latters own
failure In silk production, which he at
tributes to various difficulties in the
care of the worms, making no allusIon
to the Sabbath question. Mr.. Gilman
was himself in the later forties q luna
on a plantation under Mr.. Titcomb at
Hanalei. but does not recall Mr.. IT'S
attributing his failure to any Sunday
difficulty.
1t is not improbable that some fric-
ton might have arisen on the Sabbath
labor question. but not owing to mis-
sion influence. The natives inherited
from pagan times extremely rigid
habits about the observance of any
taboo days. The Sabbath was always
known as "Ka La Kapu," the Taboo
day. Under heather regime, It was
death for any one to be found working
on tabu-day. and the people trans
ferred such strict notions to the Chris
tlan Sabbath. AS an example, the late
Mr.. n. y. Hail. when a missionary was
once stopped by a native constable
when crossing the street to his own
house on Sunday with pail of water
So 1t Is quite possible that native en-
ployees may have shirked duty on the
plea OF Sabbath violation. But that
was not the missionary's fault.
! s. T.. BISHOP.