The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-11-19
Kaleidoscope MIXTURE
OF RACES IN HAWAII
An Analytic Discussion of Natives and Aliens
Who Share Burdens of Labor-.-The
Japanese Preponderance.

duce them TO do the Work that Is per
: formed by the Portuguese and Orien-
tails The field hands have been i'm
ported at great expense and they ere
paid the equivalent of $50 a month, sc
that the natives had they been willing
might have earned large wages.
The fact is that the Kanaka is prac-
tically useless. He is heavily handi-
capped by Incidence and lack Of all
ambition. He would rather loaf through
/ life after the manner of his fore
| fathers than secure the luxures and
| advantages of civilization at the ex-
pense of ordinary toll. a robust ex-
/ terror bellies his weak constitution, a
/ heritage from ancestors whose lives
/ were one long round of animal indul-
gence. His moral fiber, too, is of the
| poorest quality. Education benefits
/ him little, if at ALL Indeed, if posi-
/ BILE, it renders him less fit for the
struggle of life. Aliens are pushing him
to the wall and he is clearly doomed
to extinction. The one great native in
dustry was the cultivation of taro, the
national food. That is now monopo-
lized by the Chinese. The only occupa-
tions left to the Kanakas are those
connected with the sea- The native
Hawaiians are fine seamen and the
calling is to their liking, but the OPP
portunitieS for following it are very
limited. Many of them work as steve
dores, an occupation which suits them
admirably on account of its frequent
intervals Of rest, where a port may be
devoid of vessels for days at a time.
A stranger seeing a gang of Kanakas
unloading a ship would imagine that
they were the most energetic of NOR
tails, for they can and do work hard
by spurts, but the incentive to effort
always lies in the prospective spell OF
dolce far niente. The educated native
seeks clerical employment or engages
in some branch of trade, but seldom
with success. In neither capacity can
he compete with the Chinaman, who is
altogether his superior. more efficient
and more reliable. The Kanaka is a
thorough child of nature, following the
lines Of least resistance and dallying
with the simple pleasures that delight
his heart. He lives as the lilies of the
field, harmless, useless, but pictur-
esque figure, and, perhaps the kindest
fate that can befall him is to be per-
mitted to drift in his own happy fash
ion out of world which has no longer
a place for him.
The Hawaiians are very susceptible
to contagious diseases, and when Iep-
rosy was introduced by the Chinese in
1853, it Immediately took root and
spread rapidly among the natives.
1 ney do not entertain any fear of the
disease and seldom take any precau-
lions to avoid contact with sufferers
Indeed, the work of the health officers
is often impeded by the Discrimination
of families to have leprous members
taken away from their homes. The
disease has been vigorously combated
ever since it's introduction to the is
lands. The authorities believe that at
present it is completely under control
and that it will be stamped out in this
generation. There are very few, if any,
infected persons at large in the terri
tory. In 1865 the government set apart
a small peninsula at the northern end
of the Island of Molokai as a leper
settlement. This neck of land which is
called Kalawao, is cut off on the inner
side by a precipice more than two
thousand feet in height. 1t was
amongst the loathsome inhabitants of
this reservation that the sanity Father
Damien labored for 10 years, and in
their midst he died of the foul disease
that links them together. Everything
possible is done for the comfort of the
unfortunate wretches who are forever
cut off from the world from the mo-
ment they set foot on kalawao. They
are well housed and fed and have
churches, clubrooms and libraries.
Government physicians visit them at
regular intervals, but strangers are
rarely allowed access to the peninsula,
and mere curiosity-hunters are rigidly
excluded. The colony at present num-
bers somewhat more than 1000 souls.
Ninety-five per cent are natives; three
ffths of the remainder are Chinese and
fewer than 20, whites. The average
life at Kaiawao is less than five years.
and the Iepers seldom suffer much ply.
steal pain. The mental anguish of these
miserable outcasts is probably great
er than we can conceive. Some of
them have been persons of wealth and
refinement. There was a notable case
of a rich Hawaiian, who, suspecting
that he was contaminated, submitted
himself to the health officers for ex-
animation. They decided that he was
a leper. and this native. with a noble
serse of duty, calmly accepted the YER
dict and proceeded to Kalawao where
he devoted the remainder of his life
and his ample means to the ameIiora-
ton Of the suffering of his fellow
prisoners.
The Portuguese, who came originally
as laborers in the cane fields. are now
for the most part engaged in the Guilt
walton of coffee on their own account.
They are very thrifty, and it is their
practice to make every member of the
family earn a wage In this way most
of them saved sufficient money to pur-
chase small patch of land and start
a coffee plantation. The Portuguese
keep pretty much to themselves and
take little part in the social and poll
teal life of the islands.
The Japanese are the most numerous
Of the many nationalities that make up
the population of Hawaii. On this &C
count, and because of their aggressive
ness. they are the subject of a great
deal of concern on the part of the