The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-07-23
lAPANESEED|TORS I.
File CRITICISMS
OF INTER4SLAND.
Utilities Board Receives TransIa-
tons Into English Of Edito-
rails On Lahaina Incident
TEMPER OF NEWSPAPERS =
.' SHOWN TO BE VIOLENT
Tenor of Articles Long Existance
OF Alleged lntolerabIe CONF d.
ditions Aboard Ships ''

A special meeting Of the public utiIi-
tics commission will be held Friday
night at a quarter to eight clock in
the offices of the board of public works
at the Capitol. The Offices of the com.
mission In the Kauikcolani building are
not big enough to accommodate a pub.
lie meeting.
The subject under discussion will be
the alleged abusive and extortionate
treatment Of deck passengers by Inter
Island crews. The Japanese press, both
in Honolulu and elsewhere, seized upon
the accident at Lahaina Landing, May
], in which Japanese bride was
drowned, as text from which to
preach against the continuance of what
the editorials published shortly after
show to have been long standing
grievance.
NJ. Neeoro made formal complaint to
the commission, accompanying his writ.
ten protest with a sheaf of editorials
from th9 japanese newspapers. His
personal testimony was merely con
hrmatofy of the editorials; he ad.I
mitted that 1t was only hearsay.
Company UNIFORMED
Vice President j. L. MCLEAN Of the
lntor.lsland said at the time Of the
complaint that it was the first time
1t evhr had been called to the com
rany's attention, so far as he knew.
The Japanese editors, however, take a
different view. They assert that the
alleged abuses are of long standing and
20 renCrally known that the company
could not fail to be aware of them.
At the request of the commission,
thc-n CIitnriaIa havn 4
into English and are now a part of its
records. The text of the more import
ant "ditorials, in the language of the
official translation, follow:
'Hen-Hke,' Says Jitsuguio No Hawaii
cit is not the Lahiana accident alone
which we intend to appeal to the con-
science of our people, but we want to
bring about a complete change in the
treatment of the third-class passengers
on board the ships of the Inter Island,
which is cruel and inhuman. Should we
remain indifferent as having no direct
interest in the matter, our people must
suffer forever the intoIerable humiia-
ton; we must be content with the
Hclllike quarters, and moreover treated
there as If we were so many pigs and
dogs, kicked and trOdden upon.'
Terrible Says Hawaii shinpo
"This' (the Lahaina incident)
"may be regarded not as an accident,
but as a terrible manifestation in con-l
crete form of the MUST treatment ~
thirdclass passengers by the I,sL .. 3.
N. Co., of neglecting duties "a owes to
the public and of being 80 much ABB
sorbcd in the money making. Now
that the coroner 3 .fhry has found the
Inter Island navigation Company
guilty, we. gould expect that the pub
lie utiIi,fes commission take up the
matt.r and make thorough investiga-
tin of the indifferent and unkind
business method of the |. |. s. s, N. Co.
with great care and mete out a severe
punishment. Otherwise the safety and
the Improvement of treatment Of the
passengers cannot be secured"
'Intolerable,' Says Nippu Jill
1.-THE unkind treatment of passengers
of the |. |. s. 8. n. Co. is not a new
one; it is well known complaint of
long standing. Tho indifference and
disregard of the rights and feelings,
especially of thirdclass passengers, by
the crew is particularly intolcrable. 1t
is raid that the third-class passengers
are treated like cargo But that does
not correctly express the real state of
things. As matter of fact, they are
treated worse than cargo or cattle.
Instances are numerous of the
third-clasS passengers kicked or struck
by the crews for trivial matters. They
are forced to buy mat and pay fifty
cents for it, and if any refuse to buy
mat, he is summarily removed from
this place which he was occupying to
make room for those who had bought
and paid for mat. These are long
standing complaints of all the japan
csc who have had to make trips to other {
islands.
"Thcse acts cannot be lightly dis.
missed as mere acts of the crews, That
these reprehcnsible acts had been kept
up is attributable to the negligence of !
the higher officers Of the ships Of. the
!. |. s. s. N. Co., for which the com 4
Pany il directly responsible There is a
no room for dispute about this. I
Selling this opportunity of !
the Lahiana accident, we hope to rouse '
the public opinion in regard to the gen I
eral treatment of the third class pas. @
sengers by the |. |. S. s. N. Co. and t
have the abuse corrected as far as pos i
sible.' q
ignorance No Plea'-Hawaii Hochi n
1.-THE crew of the |. l. s. S. n. Co. is il
p ll"ged generally to insult the japanese r
deck passengers by kicking and coarse
aud disresPectful languages toward u
them, and that they stride over the Il
bodies Of the Japanese passengers lying a
on the deck suffering great agony on 4
account of sea sickness and not infre- t
quently trOd upon the passengers g
bodies. The negligence of crew in y
these r""pccts are negligence of the v
Iuter Island, which cannot escape both p
tn" mO"al and legal responsibility for g
the brutal acts of their crew above Il
n
Furthermore the company cannot. 81
plead igOrancc, because the acts com. q