The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-10-05

representatives CT the Japanese |
! newspapers.
Severe criticism of the attitude tax
en- by them during the recent agitation
for higher wages is contained in an
open letter to the Japanese press BY
Royal d. Mead, director of labor and
satisfies Of the Hawaiian Sugar Plan
tcTs' Association. Mead summarize,
the course taken by the japanese pa
pcrs during the meetings held on the
subject, and states that prominent anC
representative japanese refused t.
take any part therein. His letter fol
l0ws n full
ITO the Japanese Press of Honolulu:
Since the publication of my letter
TO you of the twenty second of Angus
wherein it was shown that the Japanes,
labOrers on the sugar plantations are
literally compensated and through tho
borus system are sharing in the general
prosperity due to the high price Of su.
gar, there has been nothing in your
editorials to rcfute the statements
made, nor have any adequate replies
been made to the facts and arguments
recently published by Mr.. Ivers. ]
think, however. that some of the state
ments you have made warrant briet
reply.
Zone of your principal themes has
been the condemnation of the sugar
planters and the American newspaper,
for claiming and asserting that the, agi
tatiOn conducted by you originates en-.
tirely with yourselves. Let us examine
the facts and see If there is not sub
stantial grounds for such claim.
Meetings Advertised
After many weeks of ceaseless agi
tatiOn your editors came together in u
meeting carly in August and decided
TO call mass meeting in Honolulu fOl
the purpose of forming an association
TO further agitate for higher wages
This meeting was well advertised by
you; you sent out great number OF
Invitations and invited anyone interest
cd to come. The meeting was held on
the twentieth of August aud forty-ninC
persons out of total japanese popu
lation in Honolulu of approximately
thirteen thousand were present. OF
those present IA gOodly number were
representatives of the japanese news
papers; there were number of bust
ucssmcn and bankers and a smatterine
Of physicians, lawyers and ministers
The meeting organized an Association
on Higher Wages Question; the prin
cipal business of the meeting was the
election of five persons to act as t.
general committee to appoint Other
committees to carry on the agitation
This committee Of five consisted o.
Mcsscrs. Y. Tnkakuwa, =. Aoki, NJ. Ko
mega, J. Cchida and I. Katsuki II
was also decided at the meeting that
the four japanese newspapers woult
have no direct connection with the AS
spciation on Higher Wages Question
"On the twenty second of Angus
the said committee of five of the AS
ISOLATION on Higher Wages Question
resigned and in the letter which the
members addressed to the four Jap
nnese newspapers rendering their resig
nation they distinctly stated that yol
were the promoters of the scheme
Thereupon you proceeded to viIfy the
members of this committee in a manner
which should have received the at
tention of the public prosecutor. After
your campaign of utilization had be
come exhausted and no one stepped
forward to revive the Association on
Higher Wages Question your editor
again held a conference and notwith
standing your statements that YOU
would take only a passive part in flu
ture proceedings you issued anothe'
call for a mass meeting and sent on
many hundreds of invitations and agar
invited the japanese community to at
tend. The result was that you had sew.
cnty persons present at your secOnC
meeting. This meeting was but yer,
short one and the only approximation
taken was to turn over to you the ap
pointment of all committeeman to han
die the agitation.
Following this You called High
or Wage Speech Meetin1 for Septem
Der %, the purpose of which was Il
foster the agitation and Awaken the
planters. The speakers at that meet
ing with the exec option of one who rep
resented Il ShintO shrine were all news
nNper men.
No Business Representatives
You have now announced the per
sonncI of your Investigation and Nego
tiation Committees of the Higher Wag,
Association. Among those you hav
ramcd we are unable to discover an
,Inrnr"sc who might be said to he rel
rr>rnta'irc of the business rOmmunit'
ar of lal""crS. OF the eleven name
two are physicians, two are ministers
four are school teachers, two are in
t"rprrtrrs aud Que an insurance solici
Tor.
I'VE submit that the judgement of
any unbiased person would be that the