Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-08-23
OCEANIC OWNER SCORES SCHWERIN
FORFIGHTING new SEAMENS ACT

bGpdTdDE lfdCCS OH int SIlps "
sailors could not understand the
language in which orders of the off
GERS in command of the respective
boats had to be given.
1t was too dark fer them to see
/ signs (if signs could have been int alli.
gently given), and only one of the two
Chinese who spoke English appears To
have Known anything about lowering a
boat and there had been no drill Of
the crew in the matter of lowerin ?
them. Under such circumstances, IL is
not surprising but that three of the
boats were lowered, one of which was
successfully lowered by the efforts Of
Officer Coughlan and the ships carp
enter, another of which was swamped
by one OF the Chinese as the ship went
down.
1--WE have no hesitation In holding
that the ship was insufficiently
manned, for the reason that the sail:
ors were unable to understand an6
execute the orders made imperative
by the exigency that unhappily arose.
and resulted so disastrously to LIE, as
well as to property
Loss OF 131 human lives In the ac
cident referred to in the above case
seems os NO consequence IN the man
who nJeads with Congress- for a re-
neal az the Seamen,s Bill.
Takes Up Wage Scale.
"Tbe company pays these Orientals,
according To his statement. from $3.50
to 50 per month wages and feeds them
at cost of only IL cents day. White
crews would cost from $40 to $50 a
month in wages and SIS cents a day to
feed. according to the gentleman,s
statement. which statement / am re-
liabIy informed is an exaggeration.
The difference in cost In operating
five steamers of that company is Civ
en- by the same authority as s367,316.-
81 per annum for Oriental crews and
$685.. 5000 for white crews-an in
crease of s436 1876 per annum.
Those figures. taken by themselves,
would be staggering TO the average
man. but fortunately the gentleman
gives us the gross earnings of his COM
pany, which were $5,5S5, 72S.64 for the
fiscal year ending April 30, 1913, and
SIS, $50, $780, SO for the fiscal year ending
April 80. 1914.
I'm other words. the per centum cost
of labor is $3.50 per cent of the gross
earnings for Oriental crews and under
the European standard of wages and
food only 14.441 per cent of the COM
pany's gross earnings.
With the Oriental crew cost de-
Quoted from gross earnings, the COM
pany would still have $5,lyS,Sl422 left
to meet its other expenses and return
dividends upon capital invested; with
the white crew cost deducted from
gross earnings would still have $4s
162,S20.56 left to meet other expenses
and return dividends upon capital IN
vested. Labor, then, Is but a small
part Of the cost Of operating steamers,
and human rights and justice demand
that men should receive at least fair
share Of what they help produce.
The gentleman who breaches SO
eloquently for cash dividends for his
company at the expense OF labor EN-
ployed under his management, himself
receives princely salary. More et-
ficient and conscientious management
and better treatment of employees
might produce several times more
money for that steamship company
than the apparent saving made by en-
ploying cheap Oriental labor.
Would Cut High Salaries
Careful investigation of the COM
panys affairs might disclose how saw
ings could be made that would war
rant the company hiring white men
at a living wage without loss of net
earnings. Less politics, a cut in the
high salary roll and in other extrava-
CANT expenditures might easily save
for that company far more than the
possible increase to be paid to white
crews under the Seaman's Bill.
Congress is continually asked to
protect capital and it's methods of
high finance. Protection and opportu-
nifty to continue earnings upon their