The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-08-26
RUSSIANS ALL
WANT TO RETURN
Tell Inspector Brown They Can
Not Live on Pay-SpIendid
Reports of Their Work.

HILO, August 2O.-The trip which
Raymond Brown, chief immigration in
spector of this Territory, under the de-
partment of commerce and labor, is
making around the Islands, obtaining
material for report on the Russian i'm
migrants, is one of special interest. He
has visited practically all the plaRta-
tions in this vicinity and left on Mon
day for Maui, where he will look over
the condition of the Russians who are
working there. During his trip on
Hawaii he found that few Russians
were left on the plantations and that
almost all those who had remained were
dissatisfied with conditions, though they
all seemed to be contented with the
work which they were doing.
The chief source of complaint appar-
entity was, that while wages that they
received were about what they were
promised in Manchuria by the agents
of the territorial board of immigration,
they found the cost of living so high
that they were unable to save anything
and that the general conditions which
resulted from this made them wish that
| they had never left home. Another
source of general complaint was the
fact that they had no opportunity of
learning English. All stated that they
had been promised an opportunity to
go to night school and that it had never
been offered them here. The plantation
lunas all stated that if the Russians
were able to speak English, or if there
was an interpreter at hand, many of
the difficulties would be removed On
account of the fact, however, that the
Russians are so widely scattered from
one plantation to another, this is inn
possible to effect.
Best Kind of Laborers.
The lunas stated in every case that
| the Russians were steady laborers and
that in this way they were the best
class of labor yet brought to the
Islands. They work hard, without COM
plant, and get in many more days per
month than any other nationality.
While they are new at the work in the
canefelds they seem to be able to hold
their own with the older laborers and
with more training should be superior.
Many of them are skilled workmen,
mechanics of various trades, but on
account of their lack of knowledge of
English, they cannot be placed at the
higher class work, for which they are
really fitted.
Want to Go Home
Almost all those who were examined
by Mr.. Brown, with the single exception
of those at Pahoa, said that they would
like to return to Russia. They stated
that after their bills had been paid for
food and clothes, there was nothing
left for them at the end of the month.
In PahOa the men are well satisfied
one of the principal reasons for this
being that there are so many Russians
on this work that they form a little
community of their own, in which they
have common ovens for the cooking
of bread and other benefits resulting
from numbers as well as the social in
tercOurse which helps so far towards
making labor contented.
A great many of the Russians who
have been working on the plantation
in North Hilo have left, TO work on the
. grading of the Hamakua extension
Contractor Wilson states that they are
the highest class Of day labor that hC
has. The japanese are, of course, the
backbone Of the railroad labor, but they
b are not ns good as the Russians save
l where they are working by contract
a In this, however they excel. The Rus
, SLAMS are bigger men than the Japanes,
, and can do heavy work They arr
y steady ana industrious The RAILROAD
work pays better than any common
labor on this island, the regular wag,
: being $3.50 per day while some Of thI
citizen labor gots as high as Sl7b VIII
son states that thn Russians are bette
. workers than tho Portuguese or Hawai-
lupr, when they have learned what 4
= wanted Of them.
Cost % Llying Only Kick
When thf iursluus NorG qutsIioneI
by Mr Brown, through lnt0fpfste
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