The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-04-15
NEWELL On THE
LABOR QUESTION
Extracts From His Report on
Conditions in This
Territory.
Continued from Yesterday

kSoAhihuNo AAOA1
The cost of bringing in the japanese
has been estimated at SO per individ-
ual, of Chinese SIS, and of Portuguese
$115. Of the total imported, probably
a half have gone home, others have
died or left the fields and gone into
varied industries, leaving about $4,000
laborers on the plantations.
One of the latest and most success
full attempts to bring in labor has
been that of introducing Portuguese
and Spanish. Three steamers brought
men, 1143 women, 2141 children, in all
1854 individuals This was done at an
average cost, including the general su
perintendence of the work, of $62 per
individual, or a little over 5000 for
each adult male. The wages paid
these men will average at first proba-
bly, about 500 per month.
As part of the systematic efforts of
the Territorial immigration commits
sion, there have been brought back to
the Islands from San Francisco a con-
siderable number of Portuguese labor
ers who left the Islands to seek work
on the mainland, hearing of the high
prices paid in California after the
earthquake. These people were glad
to return to the Islands, but did not
have sufficient funds. The Territory
paid for their return passage at an
average cost of $52 for each adult
male, or $28 for each individual. There
were thus returned 1877 men, 60 wo-
men and 90 children.
Home Making.
The supreme need of the Islands
from the standpoint of the national in
terest is that of increasing the num-
Der of citizens owning homes upon the
lands. The relatively great proportion
of laborers who are not citizens and
the fact that there is such small num-
Der of citizens who are landowners and
who have been brought up under dem
ocratic institutions, forms a source of
weakness. Every possible effort should
be made by public and private inter
ests to put upon the land the best OBJ
tainable men, who will live upon small
farms, cultivate the soil and become
independent, supporting citizens.
This need has long been recognized;
many attempts have been made to rem
edy conditions, but most of these ha3e
not been successful, owing to va
riety of reasons.
The development of an agricultural
citizen class-intermediate between the
corporations owning large sugar plan
tations and the landless migratory Ia
borer-is favored by natural conditions
and by popular sentiment. The chief
obstacles arise from the overshadow-
ing interests of the great sugar indus
try and the resulting presence of ORR
entail or other lowgrade labor, which
tends continually to crowd out or take
the place of the citizen engaged IN in
dividual enterprise. The Chinese in
past years gradually replaced the small
| farmer and the local tradesman and
mechanic In turn he is being dis
originally to labor on the plantation,
sought easier work, took small con-
tracts, started little stores to supply
his countrymen, and now is getting
into all agricultural lines excepting
rice.
1t must be admitted that as mat
tiers now stand the newcomer finds diff
feulty in getting located. He is well
coined and treated with hospitality and
if he is laboring man or mechanic
may find work. but the demand for
such men is not large. If he is a
farmer he will be more than welcome
in sentiment, but from business
standpoint he will find it difficult 20
e rz-t. ha
secured on reasonable terms. 1t IS
probable that he will fall in with sew
eral of that numerous class of men
who. not having succeeded themselves,
spend their time in telling others of
the disadvantages. This is a common
condition throughout all countries
which have reached certain stage of
development and where new men at
tempt to secure a foothold. In initi-
ating number of the reclamation
projects on the mainland which have
since proved successful, one of the
first obstacles encountered lay in the
old inhabitants, who seemed TO make
it a business to seoff at the efforts of
the newcomers and to assure them that
the conditions were such that they
could not make living. The fact
that they had failed was TO them proof
that no one else could succeed.
The attitude of the present landown-
ers toward increase of settlement is
favorable in theory. Each man con-
eedes that it is for the public good to
subdivide some of the larger holdings
and to put these in the hands of the
best class of citizens. Tt is, however,
inseparable from human nature for
Jones to think that Smith should sub
divide his land first. There are al
ways some special reasons why Jones
thinks that his case is exceptional and
he should not be called upon to make
possible concessions to the public
good.
There has been and possibly now is
a fear among few plantation man
ayers that the small farmer will be
come competitor in bidding for the
services of the laborer brought TO the
plantation at great expense There is
some reason in this, but in the long
run it is believed that the dangers
imagined from this source will be more
than outweighed by other benefits.