The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-05-15
Is the Hawaiian Making Good?
Bv Dorernus scudder D. d. in the York Independent


/ cry eight: while in 1902 they reached
one in every six The national census
of 1900 shows that 43 per cent. of Ha-
waiian families owned their OWL
ihomes, as against % per cert. for eau
casians living in the Territory, while
for the entire American Union the
figures are A per cent. But IS per
cent of the homes owned by Hawaiians
are unencumbered, while only 65 per
cent of those owned throughout the
United States are recorded as free from
| indebtedness. After all that has been
written concerning the exp1oita ton of
Hawaii by whites this is a suggestive
showing.
/ Bulletin No. 66 of our National Blu
reau of Labor presents certain tables
of occupations, wages, hours of labor
and nationality of employees in a num-
Der of the industries of Hawaii in 1905.
The report states that mo attempt
was made to cover all establishments
/ in the Territory, but in certain indus
| tries nearly all establishments of any
| Importance are included in the table"
| Out of total of 51,616 employees tab
ulated, there are 227t Hawaiians and
112 part-Hawaiians, or 1888 in all. OF
these, 1867 are classed as laborers, while
S26 are employed in occupations requir-
ing more or less skill. These 226 are
found in almost all of the trades, e. G.,
engineers, firemen, carpenters, wood
workers, painters, paperhangerS, plum
bers, blacksmiths, boilermakers, ma
chinists, molders, compositors, linotyp-
ers, pressmen, proofreaders, conduc-
tors. brakemen, motormen, ticket
agents, freight clerks, electricians, line
men, masters of steam vessels; first
and second mates, pursers, foresters
(one), shop and gang foremen, etc.
AS a general rule the white employee,
whether American or North European,
is paid higher wages than the Hawai-
ian, though there are not a few ex-
ceptions The four Hawaiian motor
men and four conductors on the Homo
lulu electric system are paid the same
wage as their white fellow workman
The highest wages paid to Hawaiians
are 1914 IL per diem, received by the
masters of two steamers, the seven
American masters avera ying 1854 and
the five other white captains $5.75. The |
two Hawaiian first mates, however, |
receive an average of $3.50 IL, while |
six Americans and two Germans of the |
same rank are paid only 3.45 IL and I
two EnglishIlen 1884 1-2. Board is also
added in the cases of these masters
and mates. careful study of the
,ables seems to indicate that where
skill does not more largely determine
he wage, the Hawaiian employee is apt
% be paid on basis regulated by the
scale of living. Hence.he receives less
han the white American or North Eu-
opean. a trifie less than the Portu-
'uese and more than the Asiatic,
Doubtless for a like reason the part
is apt to receive more than
lis full-blooded brother Where, how
yer, skill is determinant of wages. the
Hawaiian who excels may be even bet
er paid than the white; thus a Ha-
Vafian pile driver receives SO, while
hree Americans average only 1888 IL;
we've Hawaiian painters on planta-
ions (where free house rent is added ,
re paid $1.51; a German of the same /,
raft SLIPS. In the skilled trades. as a :
lle, however, the Hawaiians have not )
ct had time to become as proficient :
their competitors. Considering their :
eredity and the meager incentive in ;
lelr environment, all Turing toward !;
lie htful activity incident to fishing :
nd filling the soil in the oldtime way, :
'gether with the dearth of opportu-
Ity to learn modern trades, the record ;
1 adult male in every IL employed =
skilled laborer is most creditable :
ut OF 1886 steam engineers in the Ter =
tory, no less than 50 are Hawaiians :
Id part Hawaiians. There are 70 =
alive overseers and 1 head overseer -
the sugar plantations. +
The report does not include mercan- N
lie establishments or government Of Ii
'es, where a constantly increasing 81
imoer are employed as clerks, book e,
'epers and typewriters Out OF a d,
tai of Ala teachers in the public W
hools of the Territory in 1905, no less al
an 1o4 We're of Hawaiian blood, as Ell
'ainst $50 whites. The fierce compe- ps
ION that marks modern business tt
actically shuts out the Polynesian. T
lere are very few merchants among m
en- There are, however, a number eli
successful lawyers and many earn
t, faithful clergymen. n
The American people are probably T,
ore interested in the experiment of ~
wing the franchise to the new races he
at annexation has brought into the w
eater United states than in any ~,
her one feature of the expansion g,
oblem. There can be no doubt that
avail is shedding new light upon eli
me of the details of this question. n
20 very important factors present 70
re should not be overlooked. The h.
st of these is educational prepara- m,
n AT the very outset of their cam to
ign the early missionaries began to an
lch the Hawaiian nation to read. ar
ithm a few years of their landing A
1920 it seemed as though the entire or
pulatlon were mad with the fever s+i
learn AS a result after one or two on
1eratons illiteracy was practically in
known on the Islands. The Hawai- Tn
Is born booklover and delights av
discuss what he reads. hn
again, as early as 1910 a constitution CO.
s proclaimed by the King, and the ms
pie began to elect representatives. gr
ere were but seven chosen popular tn
out or fifteen in a single chambered gu
lslature. In 1852 a second constitu- ga
n instituted two houses, the mem. of
$ or the upper being appointed by he;
King, while those of the lower Ha
re chosen by universal suffrage Tn (w
/, under reactionary sovereign. the alb
ldulum swung back to a single to
Use and suffrage conditioned bv a lea
mt property qualification and nv n
fn