The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-05-05
WANG HOW ON
CHINESE AND POLICE

Editor Advertiser-There are some
phases of the situation at oahu Planta-
ton where the Chinaman was murder
ed by the police which are applicable
to all plantations. Most of these have
special police or watchmen whose duty
1t is to conserve the morals of the
locality, and who are acquainted with
the men and the vicinage.
The Chinese and other Oriental la
borers as a rule are illiterate and have
very little mental enjoyment. They
work very hard for ten hours out of
the twenty-four and it is only natural
that they should seek some amuse-
ment during the hours not necessary
for sleeping.
The object of this letter Is not to
advocate the permitting of gambling,
which is both contrary to law and per-
nicious to the individual, creating
distaste of labor. But is 1t not wrong
to scrutinize too closely the means
which they adopt to amuse them
selves?
on all plantations the hands live in
large houses, containing from ten to
fifty men each, and If in some of these
three or four engage in games of
chance for small stakes the balance of
the dodgers could not be expected to
move out to accommodate them. They
could not be deemed guilty Of being
present where gambling was going on
as they had a perfect right to be at
their homes.
In event of it being discovered that
loafing professional gamblers had got
ten into camp there is no doubt but
their influence would be deleterious but
they would soon be elected by the
watchman. The local policeman should
and does quickly learn of what is go
ing on and makes it his business to
eject the intruder or intruders.
In the scramble at Oahu Plantation
the professional gamblers escaped and
when the co-lodgers attempted to ex-
plain the situation to the foreign police
who made the raid they were unable to
make themselves understood and it ap-
peared as If they were unlawfully re-
sisting the law officers. They had a
perfect right to explain their rela-
tions to the houses and to those who
had been playing, if any. 1t was not
the intention of the law that all who
We're found present in a house where
gambling was going on should be ar
rested as probably many of them had
right to be there. If fifty men had
their home in one house and four en-
gagged in n small game of chance the
others were not guilty of an infraction
of the law notwith standing the law
says that every person present where
such game or games are being played
or carried on, is guilty of a misdemean-
or"
1t was very unfortunate that strange
police should have been sent there to
make a raid, especially as a human be-
ing lost his life while merely making
an explanation of the situation he had
a perfect right to do.
1t was a display of very poor judg-
ment to send posse of strange po-
lice from n different district to make
raid. How much more sensible 1t
would have been for the sheriff, on
obtaining information that gambling
game was being conducted at Oahu
Plantation, to have spoken over the
wire to the manager, told him of the
facts and let him direct the local guard
to put stop to it or arrest the pro-
fessional gambler.
1t is a good thing to have a proficient
and alert body of police and in our
conglomerate population the security
of our homes is much beholden to them.
1t is singular that so many burglaries
are being done and no one knows who
are the perpetrators. Would not the
parties who are so knowing as to where
small gambling is being done be doing
a necessary work by getting onto the
burglars and their projected enter
prises?
WANG HOW.
II 10 said thnt tho Damncrats opd