The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-10-05
THE JAPANESE IN HAWAII.
Natives Dying Out and Portu-
gueSe Crowded Out
OUTNUMBER THE WHITES

trol-lndustrial Situation Passing
Into Their Hands-Have Greatly
Reduced the Scale Of Wages, Con.
ssquently Find Ready Employment
For years the large immigration of
japanese to Hawaii has been source
of apprehension to the citizens of the
territory who care more for the su-
premacy of American principles and
American ideals than for the prosper
ity of few sugar planters, and the
time is fast approaching when seri-
Gus crisis will have to be faced, says
the New York Times.
one thing is certain, however. For
all practical purposes the territory Of
Hawaii is a Japanese territory. Any
visitor to the islands Will soon become
convinced ot the truth OF this asser-
tion. The little brown men OF "Dai
Nippon number 10000 souls, scattered
throughout the entire territory, with
representatives in every hamlet and
village OF the group. Their appearance
III any town, as a general rule, has
been followed within short period by
the departure to other shores OF the
Americans, whose labor was undersold
aud standard OF living undermined by
the new Comers.
Up to a comparatively short time,
the manual and skilled labor OF the ISL
anJs was in the hanus OF HawaiiaAs,
Portuguese and Americans. As s.ove-
doIes, fishermen, taro-growers and
hack drivers, the natives OF the soil
were earning the whprewithal neces-
sary for good and substantial living.
Today the Hawaiiians are prominent
along the wharves, in the fishing boats,
upon the taro fields or the drivers seat
only by their absence. The little brown
men have taken their places every
where at much lower wage.
Twenty years ago several thousand
Portuguese were brought over from
Madeira and the Cape Verde islands to
work upon the sugar plantations under
contract. a hard working, frugal in
duatrious people, they promptly set to
work and, while transforming the ap-
pearance and increasing the production
Va AAAC PllhNiliOho W lut VI anu
conscientious performance OF their du-
ties, they provided little by little the
means necessary to purchase homes for
themselves and their families, they
raised large families and presented to
their adopted country a generation of
young men and women imbued with
American sentiments, American princi-
OlpS and American "a ogniratinnc
This generation, in presence Of the
appalling death rate of the Hawaiians
and the rapid increase of Japanese, was
the hope OF the territory. These young
Portuguese-or rather Americans
however, educated in the public schools
OF the territory, were no longer useful
for the sugar planters. They knew too
much. They had the temerity to insist
that $50 per month for their labor in
the canefields, under burning tropical
sun, was necessary to properly support
and educate their families. The plan
tation managers, naturally enough,
would hear none Of this, for hundreds
OF Japanese were at their disposition at
the magnificent wage of Sl4 a month,
board not included.
The Portuguese left the plantations,
drfted to the towns and cities of the
territory and engaged in business for
themselves. They soon demonstrated
their sterling qualities and became an
important factor in the development
and prosperity of Hawaii
Since annexation large number OF
Americans have gone to Hawaii, look
ing for opportunities to better them
selves and at the same time add their
contribution to the development to the
territory along traditional American
lines" Where are these Americans
today? Not in Hawaii-that's certain.
Like the Hawaiians and the Portu-
guese, they have been compelled to re-
tire before the onslaught of the Japa-
nese, and have lcrt the latter in full
possession of one of the fairest lands
under the canopy of heaven.
Dry goods stores, carpenters shops,
BARRIERS shops. restaurants are in the
hands of the japanese. They come to
Hawaii nominally to work on the su-
gar plantations, but their restlessness
and unbounded ambition propel them
within short time toward Hilo, Hon
olulu or San Francisco. They are the
hack drivers, bricklayers, masons, car
penters, plumbers, electricians, restau-
rateurs, etc, Of the two former cities.
They build the houses that should be
built by American workingmen, the1
perform the domestic labor whic !
should be manned by American SER !
ants. they man the island vessels viii,
should be manned by American Sc !
men, and, finally, they are building ii
civilization in an American terrtol |
which, If something is not done u
check 1t, will supersede and ultimate ! |
take the place of the existing America.l
civilization.
In 1897 there were 24,4O7 japanese in
the Hawaiian islands. In three years.
that is, by 1900-they had increased I'd |
81, lis, while the Chinese numbered 25,-
762 and the Hawaiians of all shades |
apd onlnro & 1A1 TODAY tha,o o,. "A |