The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1909-11-02
JAPANESE PRESS
ON THE RUSSIANS
Three Honolulu DaiIies Pay Their
Editorial Respects to the
Newcomers.

mixed feelings. The three dailies, the
Shinpo, Chronicle and Jiji, each pub
lished extended editorial references to
the newcomers, each treating the mat.
ter of new labor supply in its own
individual style. The Shinpo sees in
the Russian experiment chance for
the japanese to still further prov@their
claim to be the best laborers available
for the Hawaiian plantations; the
Chronicle is inclined to ridicule the eff.
forts of the planters to supplant the
Japanese by importing men whom the
japanese have met before in sterner
conflict and disposed of, while the Jiji
takes advantage of the coming of the
Russians to take another fall out of its
old rival, the Shinpo, ringing in some
few remarks about the "planters dog"
and "the traitor"
shinpo's Advice.
The Shinpo advises it's readers to
work hard and show their superiority
saying:
GA Chinese proverb says: even a
foreign stone is good to polish a native
jewel, which means that we can benefit
ourselves by rejecting upon our own
work in comparison with that of others,
whether the work of others is or is not
better than our own. We must now
get some lessons from the tendency of
the hour.
Gin the past the Hawaiian sugar
planters made experiments with the la.
borers of several nationalities such as
Porto Ricans, Spaniards, Koreans and
NTnl l>,,@ e.. La
themselves as good and efficient labor.
ers as the Japanese; so far the good
| reputation of the japanese laborers,
which was gained by their hard and un.
firing work for a quarter of century,
was kept up untarnished. 1t is not self
praise to say that these experiments
of the planters with other nationalities
made the true value of our laborers
as field hands and mill helpers more
apparent; our laborers survived as the
ittest while others failed and de-
parted.
| contributed much to the present
development and prosperity of the sugar
industry of the Territory. Therefore,
, ly upon the welfare of the sugar in
mand the labor market of Hawaii. But
that of the federal government, which,
| unfortunately, is not favorable to the
further immigration of the Japanese la.
which is caused partly by the decrease
Of our laborers, the Territory is now
seeking Portuguese and Russians.
| Nv l. bp 70 Har
bin to recruit the Russians, is back with
two hundred men who, according to
him, are bona fide laborers. The Por.
tuguese are coming soon and they are
also workmen who have passed the
scrutiny of Mr.. Campbell. We may
imagine that they are good farmers,
better perhaps than those already here
"We will soon face the competition
of these European laborers, which will
either intensity the faith of the planters
for our laborers or diminish it, accord
ing to how the japanese labor compare
with others. 1t is our sincere hope that
our laboring men, who have become the
| typical workmen in the tropical cane
| field of Hawaii, will permanently main
tain their position, and we believe that
| they will, for they belong no nation
that pushed its way to the front in spite
of hardships and difficulties and proved
themselves to be the Yankee of the
East.
"The credit will be given not only
to our laboring class in Hawaii but to
our nationality if our workmen survive
the competition of various European la
borers. Let our friends in the field and
the mills take lesson at the tendency
of the hour and shine through it.
Chronicle Scornful.
The Chronicle is scornful and sar-
castle. 1t said:
"The fifty Russian families that
were imported as an experiment at the
instance of the territorial board of i'm.
migration are here, and the American
newspapers are praising them, hailing
their coming as the arrival of the
saviors of Hawaii. American editors
are usually tickle and new things look
good to them.
I 1.-The Russians are said to be able
bodied and also used to work. AS.
suredly, they are able-bodied. Big
men they are, that is sure enough. But
the question is whether they are used
to work as claimed. Whether they
| can beat small 'Japs' in the canefeld
in tropical Hawaii. They did not &C.
complish what they claimed they would
at Port Arthur.
"They are brought here as an ex,
pertinent, and they must pass the scru'
tiny of sharpeyed plantation man
ayers Until they do, nobody knows
their value. They are said to have
been living half starved near Hardin
but that does not guarantee to the
planters that they are the good labor
ers claimed by the agent.
"The territarial board of immigra,
ton imported some Molokans few
years ago, and that ended in complete
failure. The Molokans were big az
elephants and as able bodied as the
newcomers, but they did not do halt
as much work ms the little Japs' did
They went 10 work with their handi
gloyed, and fetched their umbrellas "a
protect themselves from pleasant Fhow
ers, and the japanese called them the
umbrella hannhana men,