The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-12-19
MONGOLIA PASSENGER
AND TIE ANEGAWA

The Portland Oregonian of December
says: That it was race hatred, and
race hatred only, that moved the Of
| ficers of a japanese training ship to
refuse aid to the steamship Mongolia
when she was stranded on a coral reef
| at Midway Island recently, is the be-
! lief of H. w. Robbins, of Los Angeles,
who was one of the Mongolia's passen-
gers at the time the accident occurred.
Mr.. Robbins is visiting Portland and
| is now a guest at the Hotel Portland.
| The japanese government has offered
| various excuses for the action of the
| officers of that training ship among
/ them that she did not have sufficient
fuel and was not provided with enough
cable to haul the Mongolia off, but
! these excuses do not convince Mr.. Rob
bins.
1T was deliberate desertion ana
nothing else" declared Mr.. Robbins
yesterday. 1.-The captain of the train
ing ship did not want to assist the
Mongolia or her passengers and sailed
away knowing, I think, that he could
have helped the big liner out of her
trouble if he had wanted to. I think
IL is a disgrace to the Japanese nation,
and although the officials Of the steam
ship company have tried to hush up the
affair the fact remains that the train
ing ship deserted US without SO much
as an apology for aid.
Il am convinced that the trouble
arose over the cabin passengers of the
Mongolia not recognizing the japanese
steerage passengers as their equals
when we were landed upon the island.
The cabin passengers made their quar-
| ters in the houses belonging to the
cable company at one end of the is
land and at the other $50 Japanese
steerage passengers were told to stay
THE white women We're allowed to
sleep in the houses, but most of the
men had to make themselves comfort
able in the open air and Jared little
better than the Japanese.
1.-The first night the Japanese sent a
committee to US and requested that
they be allowed to live with US. They
asserted that as we were all cast
Always, everybody should be treated
alike and that there should be no
separation of the races or classes. The
committee called upon US several
times. OF course we would not accede
to its request. This greatly incensed
the Japanese and we expected that
they would make trouble for US, but
they did not.
When the training ship arrived off
the island and her officers landed, the /!
steerage passengers at once told them
Of our refusal to allow them to stay |
at the same end of the island with |
us. L think that determined the Of |
fcers of the training ship to give US |
no aid.
For two days the training ship |
cruised about the island taking sound
ings. We thought she was preparing !
to help the Mongolia off the reef Then
the night of the second day the train.
ing ship disappeared. The next morn
ing the Mongolia f1oated on a high tide.
IF the Japanese had attached a
cable to the stranded steamer it would
have been a comparatively easy matter
to have fioated her. Captain Porter of
the Mongolia. went to the captain of
the training ship and beseeched him to
sell one of the two steam launches on
board. The Japanese refused.
Il believe the training ship took
Soundings so that in case war ever |
broke out between the United States
and Japan, the cable could be cut at
Midway Island"