The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-14

Editor ADVERTISER. In the constant
controversy that is going on over the
| Oriental question in these Islands a
| good deal is said to the effect that the
Oriental as a laborer gives better ger
vice for less money, and as merchant
sells cheaper than others. Without
claiming that this is not SO, I think
/ it can easily be shown that it is not
so to the extent that is generally as
sumed and widely believed. The truth
is that much less is expected of an
Oriental employe than of others. Take
the very humble class of work done by
| stand for minute from white man
what every householder who EMPLOYS
| Oriental yardboys habitually stands
| from them, in the way of ineficieney
and paucity of work done In the case
| of the white man the householder
would tell in general terms what he
| wanted done and then expect and de-
nand that it be done thoroughly.
promptly and we'll In the case of the
| Oriental, SO accustomed have we be
come to it, every detail and process of
| the work is explained and shown re-
peatedly, and failure to do it properly
is excused again and again by the
formula emo savey,' until, worn out
with the effort to get the work done
as he wants it, the householder accepts
| with resignation what he gets. OF
| course, there are exceptions to all gen
Civilizations, but this viii be found to
| be the rule.
In higher grades of employment the
same thing will be found to be true.
Immensely more is expected of the
white employee N the way of initiative
and resourcefulness. He is expected
to do his work with less detailed in
struction. He is expected to be more
tactful, to be more discerning; in short,
| to have more "savev.''
When we come to dealing with mer-
chants we expect a great deal more
from the white merchant. If we go
to a white meat market We insist that
the meat shall be cut in the proper
way. roasts and other cuts requiring a
particular method of handling must be
done up in frst-class workmanlike
manner, or we kick. Then they must
be neatly wrapped up in new wrapping
| paper and must be delivered at our
kitchen door. But go to an Oriental
meat market, and the same people will
accept their meats unskilfully cut, un-
skilfully made up, wrapped up in any
old way in pretty nearly any kind of
paper, and then carry it home them
selves.
| Go to the white florist. Flowers
must be perfect in every particular,
done up neatly in parafine paper, and
then in good quality of white wrap
ping paper, and then tied with silvered
or gilt twine If they are to be sent
to Others than the purchaser, cards of
good quality are expected to be sup
piled on which to write. presentation
! sentiments.
But the same person going to an ORR
entail florist will accept flowers badly
made up; wrapped up, very likely, in
old newspaper, with odds and ends of
1 any kind of old Irvine. II the Orien-
tai has got along a little further on
the initiative side of the business, and
| furnishes cards for presentation senti-
ments, they are of cheap quality that
wouldn t be tolerated from a white
florist, and they are often soiled.
Fl We will stand from cur Oriental
cooks and table boys what we Wouldn I
tolerate for an instant from whites;
toast and soup that never comes to
the table hot as it should; eggs never
cooked just to the degree or in the
way that we ordered; dishes that have
been cooked and then kept standing
| for no one knows how long while other
dishes for the dinner table that ought
| to have been cooked first are gotten
ready. In short we accept wasteful
and imperfect cooking from the ORR
entail. and in fact get so accustomed
| to it that we think it is all right, when
L we WUWluu Slduu IVY uuu tdC hAos
day from white man who pretended
to be a cook, and yet we are paying
| Oriental cooks, in many cases larger
salaries than households of the same
means pay their white cooks on the
mainland.
| Families pay japanese women -four
and half dollars a week and often
more to take care of children, and sub
| nit to their demands in the way OF
hours, when they wouldn t think OF
offering that much to Portuguese girls
or women right here in Honolulu, o.
if they employed the latter would think
them intolerable and tyrannical il
they insisted on arriving as late OF
| leaving as early, or being as unyieldine
| in rising to emergencies Of. to the &C
| commodation of their employers, as i:
| taken as a matter of course from thu
| japanese women.
| There are two standards for whites