The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-04-01
TALK AGAINST
HAWAII IN
KOBE
Japanese Agents Talked to I'm
migrants in Russian, Says
Perelstrous.
SOURCE OF THE DIFFICULTY
Russian Agent Denies Having
Made Any Promises or
Misrepresentation.
SOURCE OF THE DIFFICULTY
fFrom Wednesdays AdvertIser)


Some new light on the story of the
Russian immigration was shed by a
statement made last night by A. Perel-
strous, the agent who is responsible for
bringing the Russian immigrants here.
Perelstrous is of the opinion that Jap
anese influences are behind the peculiar
actions of the Russians. Among other
statements made by him are that he has
letters from Russians working here,
written after they had been here some
time, thanking him for getting them
their jobs in Hawaii and asking him
to send relatives; and that while he
was on his way here with the last lot,
Japanese, able to talk the Russian Ian
guage. mingled with his charges in.
Kobe and knocked" Hawaii
81 am very sorry for my country
men," said Perelstrous, "not for my
self, on account of the present difficulty.
feel that they are losing fine oppor-
tunities. They have been misled. 1t
may be, of course, that in some cases
they have not had satisfactory treat
ment. But they have come to expect
too much. Perhaps the reaction from
their old condition, finding themselves
now in a free country, has something
TO do with it. They do not quite ap-
preciate that in free country they are
expected to work just as hard as any
where else. In all my letters and state
ments in Harbin told them they would
have to work. i told them people work
ed harder in America than anywhere
else, but that they could work for them
selves, instead of working merely for
an existence.
''The reports that they can get a
thousand dollars from the planters are,
] think, largely responsible for the at
titude of the laborers. They appear to
think that they have claim for this
sum, under a clause of the United
States immigration laws about bringing
in assisted laborers.
cit is easy to say that | promised
the immigrants lot of things and to
try to put the fault on me. But l
promised them nothing at all. / made
no promises of any kind. | told them
the conditions in Hawaii, and the print
ed matter l circulated in Harbin can
be obtained and translated and will be
found to be substantially correct. They
have been told repeatedly by some one
that they can get thousand dollars to
go back, and this is keeping them from
going to work.
50 i am very sorry, as l say, Tor these
people, on account of the opportunity
they are losing. Their conditions al
home were not such as they should want
to return to- At Harbin the Russian
government itself is employing Chinese
IN
pleaded with me, saying, 'Please take
me TO Hawaii.
"Among my letters from Hawaii are
some from immigrants who were work
ing on plantations here. One of them
who is now in Honolulu joining in the
complaints, wrote me from Makaweii,
after he had been at work, thanking me
for giving him a chance to come here.
Another wrote to me at Harbin from
Puunene, asking me to send some OF
his friends. l have these letters and
Others of a similar nature. They are
in my papers left at home, and have
cabled for them. i came here ON a
cabled order, in a hurry, and didn I
bring my things, but they will be here
sOon.'
Mr.. Perestrous regretted the impu-
dent and even insulting attitude taken
by his eountrymen in their interviews
with government officials and others.
He said they did not seem TO under
stand that there was the same necessity
for work in free country as III any
other. Moreover, they had been in
inenced by agitators of one sort or
another. "In Kobe" he said, "there
were japanese agents, able to talk the
Russian language who told the Rus
slams not TO come to Hawaii; told them
the country was no good and that Jap
anese were leaving ii as fast as pos
sible.
Still another difficulty, according ia
Mr.. Perelstrous is that of working with
the Japanese here, lie says Russians
have complained of being under Jap
anese lunas, aud of working with Jap
anese.
Perelsirons Is siill hopeful that many
Of the Russians will remain here aus
become satisfied, ''lt may be thn
there have been things not saiisfac
tory on some Of the plantations" h'
said. "lni II h impossible that ul
should have been unsatisfactory -
=ss sss--