The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-03-29

power Of a dollar and a rubls. hui
they wero all agreed that they were
promised forty-hvc ublcs or forty.
Ave dollars, they did not appear 10 b
very clear NJ 10 which, but were sure
that the pay, whichever " was, rep
resented the purchasing price Of forty
Ave rubleS
The spokesman said that they were
promised, In addition TO the forty.fve
| rubles IL they cared to work on the
plantations, free houses, free medical
attendance, free water and wood and
free electric light. They were told
that interpreters would be provided by
the plantations to teach them the Eng
lish language, and that each bunch
should not be separated from the next
nearest by more than FIVE miles. Their
houses were to be close to their work.
Their women and boys were to get at
least half the pay Of the men and
those unable at any time to work on
account of sickness were also to get
half.pay. They were to be furnished
free their tools and instruments.
Promises Not Kept.
"These PROMISES said the spokes-
men, "have not been kept. Our houses
are not what were promised us. And
they are, in many instances, not near
our work; we have to ride long way
in the cars and then walk long way,
and we have to come back that way
in the evening. No interpreters have
been supplied us; we have to buy our
own tools, must own our own cane
knives. And we have to pay twice as
much at the plantation stores for what
we buy as we would have to pay at the
stores in the city.
"Some of us have worked for four
months and can't save a cent and we
are in debt. Mr.. Perelstrous put it in
the papers in Russia how we were treat
ed there; that's how we are treated
here.
Came as Settlers.
"We didn t come here, anyway, as
plantation nborers; we came as settlers.
But we find that we have to work on
the plantations, where we can't save
anything.
''The first two months those of us
who were on Hawaii had much sick
ness among us because we could get no
keep things from spelling.
"Nobody has cent. / myself came
here last November. In Russia l was
a bookkeeper, farmer and manufac-
turer. 1 went to 0laa, and couldn't
even get house for myself; / had to
live in one room, and in the next room
was family of six people,"
Secretary Mott-Smith, by series of
questions, went at length into the rela-
tive prices of the necessaries of life
here and in Manchuria. The spokesman
said that in Manchuria one could buy
about one hundred pounds of rye flour
for two dollars; rice costs five cents
a pound, sugar twelve to thirteen cents.
He didn't know anything about the
price of sugar here, because he had not
been able to save enough money to buy
it, except for pound and half that
he was able to afford one month.
Are All "Mad.''
Another man who was called upon to
give his views said that he LETT Waiakea
plantation because he had to work ten
hours day with only half an hour in
which to rest. He had been in Homo,
lulu week and had been unable to find
any work here. "We can't stay on the
plantations, he said, because of tire
Misrepresentation. i am mad; all the
Russian people are mad, because we
have been deceived
"In Russia interrupted the first
speaker, who could speak English to
some extent, "we had all the sugar
and everything we wanted. All Rus
sian people leeve in Russia more better
ian zey leeve here. Meester Perel-
strous promised zem better conditions,
more Fan better, here. am not de-
string to stay in Russia; want to
work here
Dimitro's Ideas.
A burly immigrant who gave his
name as Dimitro was showed forward
to speak. He is one of the lot that
was released from quarantine yester-
day and he had acquired large in
growing crouch. He at first said he
wouldn't talk, as Mr.. Lightfoot was
the one who represented them, and if
Mr.. Mott-Smth wanted to find out
anything, he could find out through the
lawyer. And then he began to talk.
''Mr. Perelstrous and Mr.. Atkinson
recruited us in Manchuria," he said,
and we came out here and began to
ask for what had been promised us,
and everything was denied. We asked
the planters to let us go to look at
the plantations and We were refused.
We were never against the planters.
We were willing to go at our own cost,
but they wouldn't let us. That's the
reason they chased us out of the place
we were staying and sent us over to
Quarantine Island, and that s why the
planters refused to give us food.
"We were all well, in good condi-
ton, but they gave us the worst place
they could find The reason some Of
us got sick was because we had TO
stay in bad place and were hungry.
The planters kept us hungry so we
would have to go to work in order to
save our lives. That S why we have
taken up with Mr.. Lightfoot. He is
the Moses of the Russian people and
we are very thankful for him"
And so the story went, each one who
j IA 4. =.