The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-05-31
What Complaints Were.

1t is no wonder that the authorities
at Washington opened their eyes when
they heard the complaints of the Rus.
slams of Hawaii, considering what those
complaints turned ont to be by the
time they reached the National Capital.
The tales poured into the ear of the
Governor by the various COMMITTEES
here were bad enough, but the repre-
sentations made to Editor Okuntsoff,
the manager and publisher of "the
only Russian paper published in the
United States or Canada" the Russky
Golos, were pppins.
Mr.. Okuntsoff first printed the let.
ters from his Hawaiian compatriots in
the Russky Golos and then sent trans.
lated copies to the attorney general and
the department of commerce and labor,
with the result that Washington wants
to know about it.
A translation of the Russian letter
of complaint came to Honolulu in the
mail yesterday. 1t carries one back
to the days when the immigration sta
tion was turned into combination hos.
pital and pOorhouse and the Capitol
green was dotted with whiskers. In
the light of the contentment that exists
| among the Russians at present, it makes
strange reading.
Bargain Sales.
The first paragraph of the letter says:
"Dear Mr.. Okuntsoff: FIN August of
1909, Atkinson, Perelstrous and Ku-
shintzky, agents for the owners of Ha-
waiian sugar plantations went to Har-
bin, Manchuria, to engage men for
work there. They published a pam
phlet, in which they described the ad
vantages that we would enjoy, were we
to go with them to the Hawaiian Is
lands. you will live there as you have
never lived in Russia, they said. We
believed them. Even those of us, il
possession of real estate and other prop
erty, or holding good positions, were
so enthusiastic over this proposition
that they were ready to relinquish ev
erything. Daniel Liaschenko, for ex
ample, sold a house that cost him ovel
$500 for $3.50; Anton Nyn sold two
houses, worth at least $500 for 5000
a carriage and two horses, that cost hin
over $1,000, for 5000. This sufficient t.
show how unsuspectingly we trusted
these agents.
"The conditions on which they en-
gagged us were as follows:
"D. We were to work ten hour
day, of which two hours were to b.
, allowed for breakfast and dinner.
"2). The wages were to be from
: $40 to $45 per month for men and from
$50 to $35 for women.
: "(3)} On piece work, man woult
be able to earn as much as $50 month
} a woman, gathering coffee, would earl
$3.50 day.
"(4). We were to receive houses
with kitchens, rent free; supplied will
heat, electric light, water and ever
furniture free of charge" and so t,
the number thirteen, which is:
} "The privilege of engaging in agricul
, ture whenever we find desire to d,
so. In such a case, !" said the agents
you will be given separate plots o
ground with all necessary mchinery AM
material for building purposes. Yor
will also get horses, cows and othe
domestic animals. In short, you vii
have the best facilities for agriculture
For all this, you will have to pay j
instalment, in course of about twenty
five years.
Appeal to Washington.
: The letter concludes with this:
"As our life grows worse and wors
; daily, we have collected our last pei
; nes, and sent the recent cablegram
Once more we appeal to you, NJ
Okuntsoff, in the name of humanity t
. help us, by bringing this matter befor
the government of the United States.
AS reported by cable to The Adve,
tiser, Mr.. Okuntsoff and two lawyer
,, have gone to Washington, but in tn
meanwhile his clients in Hawaii hav
gone to work