The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-12-23
COMMISSIONER IS
MUCH IMPRESSED
Question Of Labor Subject of
Mild Commentator
Unions Report.
rFrom Thursdays Advertiser,

cial rush trip to the Island of Kauai
last evening on the steamer Claudine,
and upon their return tomorrow will
start for the mainland on the Mongolia.
The commissioner returned from his
tour of inspection to the Island of Ha.
wall yesterday morning, evidently much
impressed with conditions as he found
them. AS regards the labor problem,
he was reticent, commenting only that
his ideas as to the desirability of Fill
pinos as workmen and future citizens
of the Territory have undergone no
change.
Speaking of the Russians, he declared
that the planters with whom he talked
express satisfaction with them, except
for the tendency they have to change
He thinks there was no misrepresenta.
tion made in bringing them here, but
simply some misunderstanding.
Keefe in Hilo.
(Mail Special to The Advertiser.)
HlL0, December l9.-At the conclu.
sion of the meeting held here last week
between the Hilo Labor Union Is mem.
beers and immigration Commissioner d.
F.. keefe, the latter asked that a state.
ment be presented to him in writing for
his information, embodying matters to
which he might reply in writing. This
has been done. and the following is a
copy of the communication that was de.
iivered this morning to the commissions
err from the mainland. 1t draws atten.
tion to the manner in which Japanese
carpenters displace Americans: also that
blacksmiths, sugar boilers and engineers
employed on the plantations bear al
legiance to the mikado; that, owing to
the military works on the Islands, there
has been slight increase in the skilled
white labor employed on Oahu, but not
by the plantations anywhere.
The letter also draws attention to
the rapid approach to American citi.
zenship of such large numbers of
locally born japanese. Direct action,
of congress is regarded as the ouly
means to raise the labor standard and
Americanize the Territory.
The Letter.
''Sir:-In dealing with the labor
problem in the Territory of Hawaii our
minds are filed with hopelessness that
one meets in the expression of race
that is doomed to extinction This
feeling of hopelessness is shared by the
white people who have grown to like
these beautiful islands and their sim.
pie people, and who realize that soon
they must leave the Islands or sink to
the oriental standard of living.
For instance, the carpenter work
and that of other trades in the city
of Hilo has been done mostly by Japa.
nese, because the white mechanic could
not compete under any circumstances
with the Jap in bidding on contracts.
The japanese have been paid labor
wage upon which a white mechanic
would starve. The japanese carpenter
is getting from $1.25 per day to $3.50;
the white carpenter is getting from
$3.50 to 5000 per day. Under the ex-
isting conditions the white mechanics
have been driven out by the cheap, but
infinitely less efficient japanese To
prove the truth OF our statement. we
viii show that today on the planta-
tions blacksmiths, carpenters, engineers
and even the sugar boilers owe .allegia!
ance to the Mikado.
Cheap Labor.
=" Now since the beginning of what
is virtually the military occupation of
the Islands, the number of citizen
mechanics is again increasing, thought
few American mechanics are employed,
except ON government works. The Jap,
anese came in as cheap laborers, and
cheap laborers they have remained who .
have gradually driven out many citizen
laborers from many lines Of work.
"'Now the japanese have been ex
cluded, not by an exclusion act on the
part of the United States, but by prohi
bition on the part of the government
of Japan. No more Japanese laborers
are coming in, and some of those who
were here at the time the prohibition
of emigration from Japan to the Uni.
ted States went into effect have drifted
away. But the total Japanese popula.
ton in Hawaii is decreasing very little, |
if at all, births among the resident !
Japanese being probably enough to
make up for emigration and deaths.
This has its political as well as its
sociological aspect, for many of the
japanese children born on American
soil and therefore eligible to become,
by the simple act of election, American
citizens, are reaching their majority
Some have already become voters and
the time is not far distant when the
legislature of the Territory of Hawaii !
may be largely composed of japanese.
Want Action.
"Only the most prompt action on the
part of the federal government, forced |
to act by aroused public opinion, can
check the evils now fostered in these
Islands-can stop these Islands from
being made use of as a bridge over
which a low class of labOrers can in |
wade the Pacific Coast States and bring |
about there the same conditions as now
exist in Hawaii
"The fact is that the sugar corpora
tions of the Hawaiian Islands are over.
capitalized, and that any fair valuation
shows large profits. II the sugar plant.
eTs were prohibited from further inn /
portation Of orientals, they could and
would get laborers from the United /
States who would Americanizo these
Islands This might relieve tho situa-
ton, although II might somewhat Fs'
duce the large profits OF the sugar plant
ers, but would still permit Of q fair
profit on legitimate Investments. There.
fore u 10 highly recommended by us, the
committee which represents the labor
organization Of the city Of IIilo, that
the passage Of an act by congress ap.
plying 20 tho exclusion OF lnbofera az