The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-25

publican organizations complaint thai
citizen labor was shut out by L. NJ
Whitehouse, in the performance OF his
contract on the KukaiauOokala road
is conflicting. Affidavits have been pub
lfshed in the local papers of applica-
tons by citizens for work rejected by
Mr.. whitehouse.
A. Lidgate, chairman of the Hama
kua road board, under date of June 10,
wrote to the Superintendent of Public
| Works, saying:
lowing to the fact that there are so
where the Standardization road is to
be built, we desire that you grant to
the contractor permission to employ
non-citizen labor, making it a condi-
ton that no able bodied citizen shall be
denied work or job.
THE above shall not be taken to
mean that the contractor may sublet
TO Asiatics.'
SUPERINTENDENT Holloway, replying,
said:
II have already given my verbal con-
to the contractor. and I hereby ratify
this agreement, with the understand
ing that all able-bodied citizens who
apply shall be given work and that it
z,-+;,o+Ix, ,,,3arctoo5 tbat M s11h-
contracts shall be let to any non-citi-
zen.''
Albert Horner, acting for the Ha-
makua road board, investigated the
matter and, in a report to Chairman
Lidgate, among other things, said:
ST went over on Tuesday, the 18th Of
the month, but found that Whitehouse's
foreman had gone into Hilo, so did not
see him, but I was told that he would
be home early Wednesday forenoon. 1
then sent word to all the natives living
in that neighborhood that wished TO
work on. this contract, to be at the place
the following day at 2 o'clock to meet
me there, and 1 would like all of them
that wished to work to make formal
application in my presence. I did not
rely on the message or the afternoon,
but early Wednesday morning sent
special messenger to tell them if they
wished to get work on this job to be
there at the time mentioned above.
There was but one native turned up
during the afternoon, he was offered
a job, he accepted, and promised to be
at work on Thursday, but did not snow
up.
THE fact of the matter is, I do not
think any of these natives would work
anyway I have known them for years,
and have known but few Of them
whitehouse's foreman informs me that
he will take on any one that applies
for work, and viii pay for pick and
shovel work at the rate of from to
121zc per hour. L consider this very
good pay for the classes of work that
is expected of them. Warehouses; fore
man also told me that the man that
dPpliod 1Ol NOih W1lSlI L w as tiiCt = " do
the first native, although there had
been Portuguese g boys and mem;
the boys being at work the day 1 was
there. 1 believe the men had promised
to go to work in a few days. AS these
Portuguese are not citizens. and as I
know they are not good men, they hav-5
ing been recently discharged from Ku-.
kaiau, and as Whitehouse is not under
any obligation to employ non citizens,
I believe it indicates that anyone can
get work.
One of the Hi1o papers sarcastically
comments on the condition of citizens
having to apply to a Japanese foreman
for work.
Mr.. Benton of Benton & Arioli, in
conversation, says: MY bid was for
citizen labor and that was the labor
that would have put on the job. At
present we are using citizen labor al
most exclusively on the Pahala-Vo1ca-
no road contract, and I feel sure that
we could have got citizen labor for the
Ookafa road. We got our citizen labor
from Pahala and Kau district
BOARD OF TRADE.
The Board of Trade has recommended
to Henry E. Cooper of the County Bill
Commission that there be one county
for the Island of Hawaii, giving in a
detailed statement the advantages that
would result from there being but one
county.
F. Brughelh was selected as suit
able person for the position of apprais-
er for the Land Office for this district.
The Board also took up the matter
of site for the Hilo Jail. with the re-
suit off the following recommends ton
addressed to superintendent Hollo-
way:
We have examined several suggested
sites and after careful consideration we
respectfully recommend that portion of
the Piihonua land situate about seven
eighths of a mile from the Hilo Court