The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-12-24

Island of Oahu and the city of Homo
lulu, where, from necessity, nearly all
authority centers. From this there has
grown up feeling of discomfort in the
outer districts, and instead of attempt
ing to better the present conditions and
make through the Legislature changes
from time to time to provide a more
thorough service, there has developed
general desire for county government,
which it is thought will be a panacea
for all difficulties. just how munich
pa1ities or counties are TO be organized
is not yet clear. Few, if any, commu-
mites in the United States have been
confronted with SO difficult a task. A
de facto active Territorial government,
succeeding one in which for years has
been centered the functions of both
city. county and State, with all the
pTerogatives and powers necessary
thereto, whose securities have been sold
and the proceeds disbursed in the build
ing of local water works, sewer sys-
TENS and other internal improvements,
some of which are revenue producing, is
now desired to be cut up, with consider
able of it's revenue and property turned
over, to elect county officials. The
Legislature of 1903 succeeded in pass
ing a measure of this kind, but after
an existence of thirteen days a decision
of the Supreme Court was reached de-
claring that attempt Illegal. At the
last session of the Legislature, by joint
resolution. the executive was requested
to appoint a commission to draft a new
county act and it is now at work pre-
pairing such an act, to be submitted to
the Legislature in February. 1906
LABOR CONDITIONS.
Naturally, labor conditions on the
islands take up a large share of the
Governors attention. The executives
conclusions in his recommendation for
legislation will be more interesting,
perhaps, than the recitation of the
known facts by which he reaches
them, but the first two paragraphs of
his chapter on labor are significant He
says:
..As the sugar and rice industries of
the Hawaiian Islands are the only ones
employing agricultural or other labor
ers in large numbers, the needs of the
Territory in respect to the numbers.
nationality, and kinds of immigrants
desired reflect to a large extent the
needs of those two industries. AT the
present time there is, outside of the
sugar and rice industries, very little
room for the employment of unsklled
Iaborers In time to come other in
dustries may be established which may
employ a number of 1aborers, but there,
is now a necessity for only such class
of laborers as can be utilized in the
cane and rice fields and in other
branches of the sugar business.
"The conditions which exist here
render It imperative for the preserva-
tion of the industries established that
la borers be brought from abroad"
A little further along in his labor
chapter the Governor has this:
1T has sometimes been argued that
the Hawaiian sugar industry is in eX-
actlv the same position as that of the
Southern States. and that if the latter
can supply their labor needs. Hawaii
should be able to do the same. This,
hcwever. il wholly misleading and un-
true. If Hawaii had a large indigen-
ous noDulation such as exists in the
southern states. and if Hawaii could
draw Ipon the large streams of innl-
grafton entering the United States,
from which to supply its requirements.
as does that section, then such COM
might be made. If there were
no indigenous population upon which
the southern States could draw to sup
ply the labor required in the fields ana
vera they wholly dependent upon Ital-
ian and other European immigration
for labor, they would stand in relation
Continued on page %