The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-08-12

Va o country In the world has so hetero-
~ generous a population as Hawaii. Its
h K inhabitants are made up of elements
differing so widely In origin. physical and
mental characteristics, speech and re-
Ilgion, that there Is no prospect of ulu-
mate fusion of the various races. Strange
ly enough, the natives are the least re-
sIstent to such n movement. They have
ever displayed willingness to mix with
strangers and receptiveness to foreign
influences The women of the Islands
have married freely with every allen race,
and n native strain runs through almost
every prominent family In the territory.
The population OF Hawaii Is somewhat in
excess of 10000. 1t Is composed OF five
principal elements: l, American, British,
Germans, etc, who number about 1900;
2. japanese. exceeding 10000: 3, Chinese,
$4,000; 4, Portuguese, 10000; 8, Kanakas,
or native Hawaians, 81 900. The remain
der consist of negroes. Fillplnos, Malays
and various other Pacific Islanders.
The origin OF the people of this Polyne
sian group is obscure. Their traditional
history. which Is wonderfully reliable,
considering that 1t lacked the vehicle OF
n written character, places the first set
tlement Of the islands at a period about
600 years before the birth of Christ. The
claim of Gaetano, the Spanish navigator,
to the discovery of Hawaii appears TO be
well founded, but he states that he found
Spaniards and Norsemen among the
people. These foreigners, the victims of
shipwreck. were happily domiciled in that
natural paradise, and declined the ex-
plorer's offer to carry them back to the
Western World. More than 200 years
elapsed between the visit of Gaetano and
that of Captain Cook, the accredited dis
covercr of the Sandwich Islands. he
named them. Shortly after Cooks Ill
fated soJourn, British and Yankee traders
began to touch at the islands, and during
the nineteenth century English and
American influence grew powerful in the
affairs of the Islands and developed Il Bit
ter rivalry. AS early as 1880 two seamcn
named Davis and Young. the sole sur
vivors from the massacre of the crew of
an American brig, settled Down amongst
their captors, married and were raised to
the rank of chiefs. From these first
American Hawaiians two OF the most
prominent families of Hawaii sprang, and
marriages between whites and native
women have ever since been of common
occurrence. white woman has never,
Il
The children of such unions are gen
orally an improvement upon the native
stock, but seldom up to the American
standard, physically or mentally. The
half-white girls appear to be more favored
than their brothers They are more viva
cious, have greater Intelligence, better
features and stronger constitutions. OF
the vari kinds OF half-castes in the
Islands the Chinese Hawaiians are the
most promising and apparently superior to
all others in physical and mental equip
ment. The first generation of them Is APP
proaching manhood and bids fair to make
Its mark In the community. Indeed, 1t is
more than probable that some of them
will eventually become prominent figures
In our national life. for these young by
brid shoots are American citizens. All
the GOOD qualities of each race seem to
be retained, whilst the undesirable traits
are eliminated. The children are the
best scholars, intellectually and morally, in
the publil schools. The boys are clean,
manly fellows with keen ambition and q
wholesome pride In their citizenship. They
respond readily to the efforts OF their
fathers to thoroughly Americanize ;hem.
This element of the population. although
numerically small, will surely become an
important factor In the future develop
mcnt OF the territory.
The Introduction OF foreigners In large
numbers has been in response TO the great
demand for labor to work the sugar plan
tations. The Kanakas. whilst physically
capable. are disiuclined to hard or sus-
tain ii labor, and no amount OF remunar-
alton would induce tnem to do the work
that Is performed by the Portuguese and
orienta's. The field hands have been i'm
ported at great expense and they are paid
the equivalent of $50 month. so that the
natives had they been willing might have
earned large wages
The fact is that the Kanaka is practical
ly useless. He is heavily handicapped by
INCIDENCE and lack OF all ambition He
would rather loaf through life after the
manner Of his forefathcrs than secure the
luNuries and advantages Of civilization mt
che expense Of ordinary toll A robust
exterior bellies his weak constitution. a
hcritnge from ancestors whose lives were
one long round Of animal Indulgence His
moral fber, too, is OF the poorest quality
Education benefits him little, II Mt all.
Indeed. II possible. II renders him less fit
for the struggle OF life. Aliens are push
ing him TO the wall and he Is clearly
doomed 10 extinction. The one great ma
tive industry WAS the cultivation Of taro,
the national food. That is now monopo-
lzed by the Chinese. The only occupa-
lions left to the Kanakas are those con
nected with the sea. The native Ha-
waiians are fine seamen ana the calling
is 10 their liking. but the opportunities
for following X are very limited. Many
of them work as stcvcdores, an occupation
which suits them admirably on account OF
Its frequent intervals of rest, where q
port may be devoid of vessels for days al