The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-12

l
properly IN the hands of the elected
representatives of the people. The
argument that this bill was intended
only to help the plantations must be
refuted by the fact that now If the
planters desired, they could of them.
selves, without restrictions. bring in
Porto Ricans, Filipinos or thousands
fh the slaves of the mainland cities.
people undesirable. What the bill pro,
vldes is for the importation of Europ-
cans, people who will in time become
valued citizens.
The speaker scored the samples of
Porto Ricans which had been brought
here, referring to their bad records and
the fact that few of them showed any
improvement.
The bill provides tax touching only
the wealthy. If it failed Of passage
it meant a bigger tax rate on all. poor,
middleclass and rich alike. Conditions
now under the present tax rate were
unsatisfactory to the laborers and the
imposition of higher taxes would be a
further oppression. At present the
number of laborers is decreasing and
to provide for the welfare of the coun-
try more laborers must be brought in.
There was no danger of the labor mar
ket being flooded.
"As Mr.. Castro has stated, the pas
sage of this bill means the tabling of
all the other tax measures now before
this House, began Cohen, the first OPP
poser of the bill, Gas an increase of
two per cent on incomes in addition 10
the rates of taxation now in force is all
the increase the community will stand
for. If we are to increase taxation, the
question is what are we to do with the
additional money!
Are westo expend the money in APP
propriating for the benefit of the Ter
ritory of Hawaii and its four counties,
or for private enterprisesa Are we to
legislate for the whole people who send
us here or for a handful of millionaires
who, as sugar planters, are opposed to
any increase in taxation except that
which will benefit their own interests
Are we here to represent the sugar
barons and capitalists only or are we
here to represent the peoples
AS far as | am concerned ] want to
go on record as representing the people.
If we are to help any class let it be the
poor, for they need our help. The rich
do not.
"sAre you men who have introduced
bills to appropriate money for your re-
spective constituencies going to say:
know my people need bridges, roads and
other improvements which viii help
them I know that | introduced bills
for their benefit, but it was only a
blind; we must not give them anything
because the sugar barons want it all;
they are all powerful and we dare not
oppose them?'
"Let us analyze this bill and see
what it means. 1t means that the com
munity is to be taxed annually about
100000 to bring pauper labor into the
country, not because we have scar
city of labor at present, but to flood
the labor market to such an extent that
labor will be cheaper.
There are hundreds upon hundreds
of idle laborers now in the Territory
who find it impossible to obtain employ.
ment on plantations.
with the country flooded with
cheap labor what chance viii citizen
labor have? He will be simply crowded
off the map, and will be compelled to
earn his living the same as other pau
pers-at paupers wages. Then the
plantations viii get all the cheap labor
they want. They will pay less and
less for labor, while their dividends
become greater and greater. There will
be two classes-the millionaire sugar
planters and the pauper laborers. The
middle man will be driven from the
Territory.
eff the planters are honest and
mean well by the community let them
take this amount which they want TO
spend annually for the importation of
paupers and use it towards increased
wages so that citizen labor may be
employed.
The argument is made that this
enactment will be made for only two
years but you will find that is simply
the opening wedge. If we pass this bill
the next Legislature viii be called
upon to make it permanent as was init
mated by one of the speakers at the
meeting held in this room last Monday
night.
"Another argument was made to the
effect that labor could not be secured
in the United States. Gov. Carter
stated that it could be done and OPP
posed the object of this bill. His CON
tention is correct. quote from yes
terday's evening paper:
50 Agent Trenor of the Territorial
Board of immigration has cabled for
finances to provide for the transporta-
ton of immigrants to start for the
islands some time this month. It IS
assumed from this that Mr.. Trenor has
been successful in securing immigrants
for Hawaii from among the Portuguese
residents of New Bedford
81 desire to ask Mr.. Castro does he
mean to say that these Portuguese la
borers are of the slums of the United
States?1
Castro Replies.
Castro replied promptly that the class
of labor heretofore brought from the
mainland was not the kind wanted in
Hawaii
Hawaii Dumping Ground.
Cohen continued:
Let us try and bring class of
people here who will benefit the Ter
ritory as investors of capital, tillers
of the soil or manufacturers make
our beautiful Islands the dumping
ground for the beggars of Europe.
so It behooyes every Hawaiian in this
house to look to the future. Let him
yead-3hp writino nm the wall which in