The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1913-01-21
TO INVESTIGATE
CONDITIONS HERE
Manager Of Polish Emigration
Society Finds II Hard TO
Get Information.

With a view Of investigating condi.
tons pertaining to immigrants "a they
exist in the Hawaiian Islands, Joseph
]. okoiowicz, Of Cracow. Austrian Po
land, managing director of the Polish
Emigration Society, arrived in Honolulu
yesterday.
Mr.. Okolowicz comes here as the re-
suit of the visit of DR.. Victor Clark
to Cracow last fall lie plans TO spend
eighteen days in going over the Is
lands and as he speaks Russian and
Portuguese, in addition to four other
languages, expects to have but little
difhculty IN ascertaning whether Ha.
wan ohers sufficient inducements to his
countrymen to emigrate here.
= Very few Austrians have ever Wis.
tied Hawaii, said Okolowicz at the
Young Hotel last night, "and that for
the good reason that it is utterly un,
known to them. There is no literature
over there dealing with this country
and Baedeker makes no mention of it
Some few have heard of it as being q
beautiful country, but they picture il
as being like dark Africa and full OF
savages. 1t will be pleasure to me
on my return to see that articles prop
erly advertising this beautiful country
are given full publicity.
Among the Poles, Hawaii is per
haps little better known, but not
favorably. A number of years ago
when the contract labor system was
in vogue here, some one hundred
Poles came to Hawaii. They claimed
to have been very badly treated and
when they returned home they spread
sad reports about the country, so that
for long time if you mentioned Ha
waii to prospective emigrants there
they would hold up their hands in hor
ror and say, We will not go there tc
be slaves
More Interest in Hawaii.
"Of course, our society knows that
conditions are much different now and
we tell them SO, and now much inter
est is being taken in Hawaii.
''Our people are iand hungry, and
so they are emigrating to countries
wnere they can get parcels of ground
There is nothing for them in their owr
country for land is too high. Again, ii
enough work for all. There would be
no agriculture in Germany without the
roles who go there and work in the
fields in the summer, returning home
for the winter.
For u time emigration was op
posed, but seeing that it could not bC
stopped, it was determined TO organizI
societies which would, through agents
visit the countries to which the PEG
pie were going and ascertain what in
ducements Were offered them. l have
just come from Canada where there
are several Thousand of Poles. The gov
eminent there has much broader i'm
migration policy than the United
States. Instead of putting obstacles il
the way of worthy immigrants, it wei
comes them, gives them land, and pro
vides work for them until they car
get the equipment necessary to go OF
their own farms.
90 In Southern Brazil there are 100000
Poles, who are happy and prosperous
now, although for the first year tn,
country and customs were so strang,
to them that they gave some trouble
1t is probable that they would be dis
contented here for while, because tn,
Polish peasant is conservative, he dis
likes change, and finds it hard to ge
used to new customs and ways of do
ing things. Part Of the work of oul
society is to encourage them to remain
steadfast in their new homes, and s,
the society does not encourage or as
sist them to go to countries which d.
not provide them with opportunities t.
advance,
Literacy T,st InEocuous.
81 understand that your congress
will probably pass new immigration
law with a litcracy test. This woulC
not affect our people much, for eight,
per cent. of them can read and writ,
their language, and are good citizens
When the Panama Canal is opened, i
will be much easier for you to get i'm
migrants and much cheaper.
81 expect to spend eighteen days il
the Islands investigating conditions.
will then make a report, a copy o
which viii be given to the territorial
board of immigration here, and cop
viii be sent to the society.
Naturany, as | have Just arrived
have formed no impressions, excep
that ] am very surprised with Homo
lulu. In New York and Chicago | trie,
in vain at many bookstores to get book
or literature dealing with Hawaii
When i arrived here, j asked at tn
newsstand for a copy of the book en-
titled The Real Hawaii, They sa,
they have not got it, and sell to me an
other book which | perceive is
chn4 geography of the Islands. 1t i
great pity that Hawaii is not bette
known abroad, for if it was you woul,
have many tourists