Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-03-06
He Reviews E''fJTis ' ade
To B. ing Lator
To Hawaii
PLsNTATlbNS AkE MPR0Vl Il
HOMES Of EMPLOYE,
olaas Scheme of Homesteading-Ed.
ueating Children-Nine Mil.
lions Of Dollars for
immigration

follows.
For a half-Century the question of
labor has been and still is most
perplexlng problem. The production
Of sugar, the main business of the
isl Aids, is. under present conditions,
dependent upon cheap labor, mainly
that OF Orientals paid Sli or more
in addition TO house. water, and med
zeal attendance. There are approx
imately $1,000 Of these aliens, over
half of the entire population OF the
islands. Besides the Orientals there
are $1,000 Portuguese, including
with this Spaniards and others Of
Latin tongues. These men receive
slightly higher wage. $22 per month
and upwards. and demand perhaps
better consideration than the Orient
ais, MS they are eligible for citizen
ship. and are more effective aS labor
ers.
with the rigid enforcement Of the
Chinese exclusion act, the stopping
OF emigration from Japan, and the
prevention of contract labor from
abroad, the supply of cheap laborers
has been practically cut OF. At
tempts are being made to bring emf
grants from San Francisco or even
from New York. securing them as
they arrive from Europe The dim
Guilty Of getting these people across
to the islands without losing them to
other employers is very serious.
Labor Market Surrounded
The labor market is now praCtl-
cally surrounded by an almost impas-
sable barrier; the number OF laborers
who are willing to work in the fields
at low wages Is decreasing, while the
demand Is steadily increasing. The
planters, It is understood, have
fixed scale and theoretically at least
do not compete among themselves, al
though by various methods of con-
tract or bonus for length of Service,
there Is a tendency to increase indi-
rectly the wages paid. II is general
ly recognized that higher and higher
grades of laborers must be secured rs
the orientals decrease through re-
turn home or through entering into
other Industries
Shifty Japanese
Systematic efforts have been made
to improve the condition OF the mi
gratory laborers and to induce them
to remain in given locality. The
japanese are readily moved and are
quick to resent any grievance. BY
impulsively shifting from place to
place their effectiveness Is far less
than though they stayed on any one
plantation where they could become
familiar with conditions and the re-
quirements of the manager. Their
capacity to work effectively without
constant oversight. and their initla-
tive Is reported to be somewhat lower
than that OF the Portuguese.
Suspicious Portuguese
In the case OF the Portuguese and
similar laborers not only is the wage
scale somewhat higher than that paid
the orientals corresponding to their
greater efficiency, but inducements
have been made In the way of offer
Ing to them houses and small tracts
OF land on condition that they will
live on the ground for two or more
years and will makel moderate pay
ments in monthly indictments. The
Offers of this kind have frequently
been regarded with suspicion, but in
few cases they have been accepted.
The average laborer would rather
have u dollar or two more month in
cash than twice its equivalent In real
property, as he IL fearful OF being tied
down or he suspects some Interior
motive.
Liberal Treatment
In some localities the offers of free
land from the Government have been
accepted and small bodies OF laborers
are acquiring title. On one of the
plantations railroad facilities have
been provided by which the laborers
located In their homes can reach 9TH
en- points of work II they SO desire.
Where the laborer finds he Is thus
free TO seek other occupation he usu-
ally prefers to stay near home, work
on the adjacent plantation and, with
the help of his family cultivate his
own little garden. Liberal treatment
in such directions has been followed
by more effective work and by less
desire to move about from plantation
to plantation.
0laa Scheme
On the olaa plantation in Hawaii
an acre OF ground Is given to men
who have worked for three years al
regular wages. Over 80 Portuguese
and 80 Spanish have ayalled of this
opportunity. With decrease In sup