Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-06-21
Congressman Tavenner Says Investi-
cation Shows Hawaii Land of
Oppression and Misery.
MISERABLE WAGES ARE PAID
BY THIS GREAT CONCERN
Immense Profits Are Secured and Con-
gress Is Asked to Continue Col
lecting From People.
By Clyde H. Tavenner.


Washington, June 2l.-A land of op.
preston, misery and sorrow-that is
the picture drawn Of the Hawaiian SUI
gar plantations by testimony brought
out by the senate lobby investigation.
The very crowd Of men whose legis-
lative activities in Washington brought
forth the recent lobby accusation from
President Wilson, are the representa-.
tives of rich planters whose cruel ex-
ploitation Of their wage slaves has no
counterpart under the Stars and Stripes.
These sugar growers, earning profits
of to 80 per cent and asking for the
continuance of tax of over 100000.
900 annually on the American people
that they may continue to reap their
golden rewards, are coming before con
gress in the name of "protection
against the pauper labor Of Europe" " all
the while they maintain labor stand
ard that is a blot on American civiliza-
tiOn.
So terrible are working conditions in
Hawaii that European and Asiatic la.
borers, deceived into coming to the is.
land, literally starve themselves in or
der to save up passage money for San
Francisco and escape the trap into
which they have been inveigled. A
horde Of these pauper laborers are be-
ginning to arrive in California, in
their extremity willing to work for any
price, thus depressing wages of Amer
leans on the Pacific coast
Incidentally, Senator Reed, of Mis-
souri,, member of the lobby comittee,
showed that a report exposing this con-
ditiOn was written by Daniel F. Keefe,
commissioner of immigration, who went
to Hawaii at the request of Samuel
Gompers, president of the American
Federation Of Labor, to study the in
dustrial conditions. The report, how
ever, was never published Tt was sup.
pressed by the Taft administration The
bureau of labor sent a man to Hawaii
to get out another report on labor con-
ditions. This report flattered the
planters and was published.
The government investigator who
wrote the whitewashing report was
shortly thereafter given a good job with
the Hawaiian territorial government,
while Secretary Nagel later busted him.
self preparing charges looking to the
removal of Keefe.
Miserable Existence.
Senator Reed, however, resurrected
the suppressed report and brought it
before the lobby committee. The
planters have been proudly proclaiming
the fact that no peOnage exists in Ha-
waii. After reading the report I am
convinced it would be better for the
wretched plantation and sugar mill la
borers if they were poems or actual
slaves. They would be better treated
by their owners.
Wages run from $S per month (for
children) up to $26 (for white adult
men). Hours are 10 and 70 a day. The
employees live in miserable shacks pro-
vided by the companies, The men buy
food from company stores where prices
range from 10 to 70 per cent higher
than average food prices in New York,
Washington, Chicago and San Francis
co. The food is sold to the plantation
stores by Honolulu wholesale houses
owned for the most part by the planta
tion owners.
Doctors employed by the companies
have gone to visit sick laborers "a to
4S hours after being called, some times
only to find corpses instead Of patients.
i4dbOltIb dIt Cdlluu lHbulIAHk hdulob dhu
treated like dogs by field bosses. "In
a desperate effort to keep down the
wage rate of all employees, the plant
ers are spending huge sums importing
PHILIPPINES for laborers. These work.
men are the dregs of the Philippine
population, gathered from jails and
almshOuses, the very young and the
very old, weak and racked with dis
ease,
The imported laborer, arriving penni-
less, is held in actual subjugation, un'
able to escape from the island, except
harder individuals, who can endure
starvation while saving passage money.
But the rich owners have devised
crafty Homestead system, whereby
in exchange for an acre of land re.
ceived after six years occupancy the
homesteader virtually binds himself to
labor for life on the plantation.
Silence the Knockers.