The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-01-04
FilDinos lust Arrived Say That
They Were Deceived
by Pinkham.
ARE PENNlLESS AND HUNGRY
And HemenWay Protests Against
Turning Them Loose on
the Town.
Trom Saturdays Advertisera

The further importation of Filipino
labor has met with what may prove to
be a serious check as a result of trou.
BILE which broke out yesterday between
the officials of the labor bureau of the
sugar planters association, par ocular
ly r. d. Mead, an employe of the as.
sociation, and ninety,four rIlipinos who
arrived yesterday morning from Ma.
Mia to work in the cane fields. The
trouble eliminated in charges by the
Filipinos of bad faith on the part of
the agents of the planters association.
AS a result of the new immigrants
being practically thrown on the town,
the sheriff was on the lookout for trou-
BILE last night and the labor bureau of
the planters association came into
conflict with the territorial officials,
while Mead has received what was vir.
tually a warning from officials of the
government that the territorial officials
would not look with complacency upon
the practice of bringing practically in.
digent persons to Hawaii and then
turning them loose to be supported by
the public because of disagreement
in regard to wages.
Unintelligible Contracts.
The ninety-four Filipinos were
brought here under contract to work
on the plantations. They were EN-.
ployed in the Philippines by Pinkham
and his sub-agents, and, according to
the story told by their spokesman, a
young Filipino who talks good English.
were promised free transportation and
n wage of $ls month, said wage to
begin from the time they sailed lor
Hawaii. The contracts, they say, were
handed to them just before they sailed
from Manila, but instead of being writ
ten in English or Spanish, they were
written in combination of Spanish
and two Filipino dialects, and there is
none of the immigrants who can read
them. The Filipinos claim they can
not read the contracts, and that the
written contracts do not coincide with
the verbal promises the immigrants say
were made to them before they sailed.
A March to the Capitol.
Yesterday the ninety-four Filipinos
marched to the Capitol, looking, as
they said. for "court." They were
directed to Attorney General Hemen-
way as the man to whom they should
tell their troubles. Most of them group.
ed themselves in the palace grounds in
the shade of the trees, while a party
of three spokesmen climbed the stairs
to see the attorney general and tell
him their tale of woe.
Grabbed the Poll Tax.
The delegation told the attorney gen.
eral that when they sailed, each of
them was given five dollars to hand
over to the family he was leaving, as
something upon which to subsst until
they should be able to send more
money home. This So each was charg.
ed up against the first month IS wages.
They claim that in addition to this
deduction of 50, the agents took out
two dollars for each of them for poll
tax.
This 81 deduction left, the immi-
grants supposed, $l1 coming to them
when they landed. Most of them came
ashore without any money whatever,
and with no place to go and nothing
TO eat. They supposed that they would
receive the Sl1 each upon landing, and
they went to Mead to collect it, But
Mead told them there was nothing do
ing; no money was coming TO them un.
til they should have worked a month.
He claimed that their contracts speei.
fed that their wages should begin from
the time they went to work; they claim
ed that they had been promised wages
from December /, and they wanted to
collect their $ll per.
But they didn't get it, or any other
sort of satisfaction, according to the
story they tell. So they marched to
the capitol, and their spokesmen went
TO Mr.. Hemenway and said that the
immigrants had demanded of Mead
that, if they were not to get their
money, they wanted TO be sent back
TO the Philippines.
Hungry and Broke.
1--WE got no money" they said; "we
got nothing TO eat; We hungry; we got
no place 10 go. The man in Office down.
town, he tell us, no money nntil work
one month. We got TO have money
We tell him he no pay us, We no work
80 he tell us 10 go, And We come here
We want TO 80 home. Our women
some of them siek-feei too big; they
got beri befi. Mr.. Finkham, he send
us here, say No get sls month from
time wc leave II We stay in Maniln
We make money last month. Why W,
come here aud get no money! Yo,
hahef We no fabe,"
situation Critical
The situation looked critical 20 N,
attorney general, Tor here wels nineiS
-four filipnos only q few houu u
ioWp, without money, without food
without ANY place 40 tlrDp, hamrsirl
tnd drsprAlc, and thoroughly roil
Nlneea that iAfY had hrrn lrefIynI
hnd drfiHplrl hY ihf Hgfntt ~ I'D
planter att0rlHil0u AlmnH auFihlul
wlgll harprn Ni liemunNaY lmilbl
hlf hni hid Nfni dnna io ~ 4sa,
Nhn epfbs ~ ihf wsnirp ulau ,ailal
a ponlleeiu Eppioys
WfWNHel ffmiN ~ aluaiIQn 4
HYHH ava NaHI aIil. N. Mai La4.l