The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1916-11-21
Not At All Sure Whether They
Have Quit Inter-IsIand
Jobs Or Not <
GENERAL SAKE TAKES OVER
COMMAND or GATHERING
No Definite Conclusion Reached
After Hours Of More Or Less
Heated Talk

Between fifty and sixty japanese
and Hawaiian able bodied seamen,
some of them more able than others,
met at the Taishokai Theater last
was strike on the Inter.Island
Steam Navigation boats. At a late
hour the important question had not
been settled. 49,.
Other meetings had been held earlier
In the day, one at one o'clock and
another at FIVE clock inAthe after.
noon, when the men who had refused to
60 to work yesterday adjourned after
learning nothing to meet again last
night.
When they appeared in the early
evening they were in varying degrees
| Of insobriety accompanied by small
keg of distilled joy and any number
Of bottles concealed on their persons.
To the observer the meeting took on
the character of a demand for the free
and unlimited coinage of sake.
James H. Hakuole who had the strik-
ing hosts in hand earlier in the day
and planned for a big mass meeting
last night found that his cunning as a
peerless leader had departed, his place
being taken by General sake who held
sway for several hours and almost
threatened to prevent the scheduled
4 pow WOW.
Ready For oratory
/ But after sake had been exhausted
the cheerful gathering was prepared
for oratOry, song or any other form OF
excitement and finally decided to glut
their yearning for diversion by hold
ing the scheduled meeting after all
Hakuole, who had been engaged BY
the men several weeks ago to take care
Of their interests, possibly because he
speaks Japanese, Hawaiian and English
took the platform and told the mel
that if they had gone on a strike Il
was not with his consent and that they
had taken the rash step without con
sulting him.
+, Hakuole declared that he had had
D brief interview with Norman e
Gedge, acting manager of the company
yesterday afternoon but that GedgI
stated it was too late to give him the
information he wanted but would try
to get It today. The nature Of the in
formation concerned a raise in the sala
~ of quartermasters. According t
Hakuole, the quartermasters received
q raise this week although the board
of directors of the steamship compan ny
had authorized the, raise some week.
back.
Jealousy Is Rampant
i When the seamen learned that thu
4 quartermasters had received q raise 1
number of them walked out, declaring
Il they had not been given proper treat
ment. They base their complaint OIL
the fact that when they requested tn,
steamship company to raise their pa,
to two dollars while in Honolulu anC
one dollar and seventy-fve cents q da,
at sen, the officials replied that no &C
tion could be taken without full meet
ing of the board Of directors. As som,
i of the directors are at present on tn,
mainland q, full meeting was not pos
sible. The men, however, declare tina
/ if the pay of the quartermasters cal
be raised by those at present in author
ity in Honolulu, there is no reason VIII,
the demands Of the seamen cannot re
ceive consideration. The present rat
is $l.75 while in Honolulu and $l.45
day at sea.
These are some of the points tina
the men at the meeting sought to dis
cuss last night, but an overindulgenc
in sake upset all the plans of the few
who kept their heads, with the result
that although more than twenty differ
ent persons spoke more or less inco
berently, nothing was arrived at Il
fact the men themselves could not de
eide whether or not they were on
strike,
Advise. Return To Work
Il Bone of the speakers urged the me-
to return to. their work and take tn
4 subject up Again with the officials o
the steamship company. On the othe
hand many of them declared the
II would not 20 back to work until the
i had received an answer from the In
ter Island.
II Hakioie urged the, men to listen t
reason and not to do anything rash
He declared that he was not in favo
of the strike or walkout or whateve
1t was, and that he should have bee
ie0nsulted before any action was takeT
Others admitted that the men ha
grown impatient waiting for an an
swer to their request and that whe
1t was learned that the quarterfnaste
had received an increase in pay tn
patience of the men was at an end.
\ In any event it was not decide
last night whether the affair was
strike, q walkout, a general loafin
4 spell or luau. Just what the me
will do today could not be learned
1t is known that soTne%of them are i
favor Of returning to work and thes
pointed out to the men last night tina
a strike would be an expensive affai
and would finally have to be borne b.
the women and children.
hoffman f, Gedge, acting manage
of the company, stated hast night tina
he did not know of the existence o
q strike in the ranks of the seamer
A number Of the men, he said, failed t
report. for iuty, but that their ubsenc
did NOT interfere with the loading o
! the Vessels. The Mauna I.oa, tn
Maui and the W. @. Hall all sale
on time last evening.