The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-05-29
LODGING HOUSE
OWNERS TALK
lContlnued from rage one. :,

! labor performed. While the ostensible
rate of wages paid japanese day labor
ers is $500 per month of 20 days work,
under the system now in vogue, of
| special contracts for special work, this
/ rate is a fictitious one in so far as the
| great majority are concerned. The con-
tracts are open to every employe of
every race or color but are taken ad-
| vantage of by few outside of the Japa-
/ nese. They afford the industrious and
energetic man an opportunity to earn
| large wages. Take, for instance, cane
| cutting contractors. There were eight
japanese companies engaged in this
work during April, the contract rate
| and conditions under which they were
working were identical; nevertheless
| the amount of work performed and con-
| sequent wages earned varied from 5.24
tons cane per day, and spas earned
| per month to 7.06 tons of cane, and
$302S earned.
''There were 2075 japanese on the
| April 80 payroll. Of this number gel
were working at the $500 rate Nat
urally among them are the least eff
| fcient, least Industrious, and least am
| bilious men on the place and among
! them are many, doubtless, of much less
| value to the plantation.
F'The wages paid these laborers in
| cash by no means represent their cost
| to the plantation; there are several per-
quisites enjoyed by them such as free
homes, fuel, hospital and medical at
| tention, assistance in maintenance of
| schools and churches which annually
total up no mean sum. Their houses
are constantly being improved and in
! the case of a married man, the expense
to the company on this item alone is
equivalent to at least $500 per month.
When all is considered, / am of the
| opinion that these people, if in Homo
1 lulu, would be compelled to earn an
average of at least $1.25 per day or
$3.50 per month of 26 days in order
| to provide themselves with earnings,
| comforts and conveniences equal to
| those they obtain on the plantation.
| "'The Eva Plantation Company aims
| to treat its employees fairly, perhaps
literally is a better word, and enable
| them to earn wages commensurate with
| their industry. These remarks apply
| equally to conditions as they exist up
| on Waialua plantation excepting that
| the average amount of wages earned
| by the japanese laborers is about 60c.
per month less than at Eva
! Paid Off at Kahuku.
Manager Adams of Kahuku planta-
| ton made the following statement con-
corning affairs on his plantation yes
| terday:
| ga committee of the striking Jap
anese at Kahuku waited on me yester-
| day morning at my request, and | gave
them the notices of discharge of fifty
japanese employees, together with the
numbers Of the men who were to be
discharged.
"On Wednesday I had told this same
| committee that fifty men were to be
| discharged because the plantation had
| for a long time been considering the
! policy of cutting out certain unproht-
| able fields and that we had now deter
mired to put this policy into effect.
l explained fully to the committee what
fields we intended to abandon, quoting
as our reasons our cultivating statistics
| as to costs, etc.
CATER several meetings yesterday,
the committee asked me, if the fifty
| men were discharged, could the balance
of the men be allowed to remain IN
the camp / informed them this was
a policy on which / had no authority to
act They informed me that this was
| controversy of wages and that they
had decided that the fifty men should
| remain in the camp, together with the
rest of the men, until the wage ques-
ton was settled. | replied finally that
irrespective Of the question OF wages,
the fifty men were unnecessary to the
plantation because of the policy when
| had outlined above; and | said fur
thermore that after the crop of l9Io
had been harvested we should be able
to dispense with other laborers as we'll,
since the policy was not one of mo-
ment, but one for the future. They
replied again that they wanted the fifty
men to remain in the camp until the
wages question was settled. l assured
them that the plantation controlled the
property and that it was entirely within
our province to discharge, whether OF
not we wished to reduce the size OF
the plantation, and that we couldn I
possibly allow the japanese to decide
whether the fifty Of their number were
to remain or not, so long as we dle
not need them. But irrespective of tht
wages question, which this did not con
Germ in the slightest degree, the fifty
men must leave.
!, "Finally they replied that all The
japanese were united on this question
and that if the fifty men were to 81
discharged, they would all leave.
81 replied that that of course wa
, something for them to determine, ant
that if they wished to leave we woult
pay them off.
"They again held meeting in tn
camp and returned to me the reply tina
all the men wished to be paid on
Therefore the men will be paid off a
F.; the very earliest possible moment.
, "ANDREW ADAMS.
f'Mgr Kahuku Plantation Go
Honolulu, May %, 1909. y
Taro Planters Affected.
Owing to the wages offered strike
breakers, many of the taro planter
| ~, - no heir