The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-12-05
REV. DR.. BISHOP
ON KINCAID'S
MOHONK TALK

Dr. Klncaid's address at the Mohonk
Conference was made by the scalpel-
pcn OF one Of his congregation. the Rev
Or. Serene T.. Bishop, II appears In
she Washington Evening Star OF De-
tember ?:
HONOLULU. Nov. 6.--This letter ia
written to OFFER criticisms upon the
various statements concerning Hawaii
made by several gentlemen In attend
ance last month upon the Lake Mohonk
conference Some of these statements
appear to me very seriously TO misrep-
resent existing conditions here.,As II IL
possible that the reputation Of the per-
sons making them may carry weight
enough materially to AFFECT the opinions
Of our congressional legislators In deal
ing with Hawaii / desire TO offer such
corrections as seem TO be called for
have especially to controvert the
statements of my very highly esteemed
sriend. the Rev. DIR. William Morris
Eincaid, who is the able preacher and
excellent pastor Of the Central Union
Church in Honolulu, an American Con-
xregational church. largely led and Of
/. 1cered by descendants and connections
of the old missionaries. Mr.. Kincaid
Is a bright thinker, rather than dis
eliminating one. He has seemed espe-
<iaIly prone to accept statements max
ing against the capitalist class, but
without due foundation. The capital
lists certainly do many evil things, but
nne need not attack them bindly; and
am certain that nowhere on earth is
4bere n more honorable or benevolent
get OF these captains of industry than
I'm Hawaii. notwithstanding DR.. Kin
eaid's manifest prejudices against them.
DR.. Kincaid is reported as saying:
-when went there HawaiD the con-
tract labor system was in vogue. 1t
was slavery without responsibility"
Or. Kincaid arrived here in September.
1898. three months after the Newlands
act. which established American gov
eminent here. involving abolition of the
contract system. He could never have
witnessed its working. He most mac
eurateIy calls 1t slavery, because his
mental attitude was such as to hastily
adopt the statements Of extremists
without due verification. I was vari-
susIy familiar with the workings of
that system for thirty-five years, and
know that it's worst abuses rarely APP
proximated to slavery, and that it's
as most beneficent. During most of
that time a vigilant supervision was
exercised by the government, which
fully secured the many weak and ig-
norant laborers from oppression and
abuse from any brutal overseers. Any
such abuse released the laborer from
the obligations of his contract, while
the employer was held against capri
eious dismissal.
ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM.
The main advantage of that contract
system was that 1t facilitated the inn
portation of distant immigrants by
payment of their passages from Ma
dera and European ports, as well as
from China, which no employer could
do unless the laborer was bound to his
service for the usual three years. Since
its abolition hardly any immigration
has been practicable at the expense of
the laborer except japanese. And with
these there appears to remain some
bondage to assisting immigration COM
pauies in Japan. It is difficult to say
whether or not 1t is better for us that
such a system has come to an end
possessing such an element of bond ser
vice. But such an inveighing against
II as Or. Kincaid's is quite groundless
He misstates also as to the wages paid
which rose above S13 a month to 81
and 81 long before annexation. II
should be said that the contract la
borer was supplied without charge with
water, fuel and medical attendance, be-
sides housing, generally In very COM
Portable quarters. At any rate there
now survives no feature OF bond SER
vice In Hawaii. and the introduction of
that topic was wholly irrelevant to the
discussion at Mohonk.
ECHOES OF RoYALIST ABUSE.
A stlll more serious misrepresenta-
tion by the excellent doctor is where
he says of the Hawaiian people, "They
have lost to the American everything
of value. their nationality. their lands
, about everything we care for our
selves" In this strain of talk he is
merely echoing the current abuse OF
royalists, which he ought to have
more discrimination than to accept as
truth. The Hawaiian people have lost
nothing, which has not been far more
than amply made up to them. Ever
their nationality is not lacking to them
They remain full and complete citizens
that is the glorious citizenship o
America, the grandest in the world, al
though the royalist, white or dark
teaches them to despise that endow
ment and count themselves denational
Tzed, as DR.. Kincaid seems also to dc
What sort of an American is that man
to say that they have lost their ma
tionaHty? Look at the rest of tn
tribes OF Polynesia, who speak tn
same language as the Hawaiians. Loo
Mt the Marquesans, the Tahitans, tn
Samoans, the Tongans, the New Yea
landers. all subjected to foreign de
nomination. without n voice in thei
own government. What a contrast I
rhe native Hawaiian citizen, to whor
the American missionary sixty year
ago secured In permanence constitu
tional liberty, civil rights and Ian
ownership. How came the Hawaiian
TO rise out OF the naked savagery an
squalid serfdom of seventy years agt
TO become a free well-clothed, well
hnucad Afnarfcap niti1apo Tt ii