The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-06-04
.CANEFELDL LABOR
SADLY DEPLETED
AS GUARDSMEN GO
Situation Is Serious For Planters
More Especially so On
Outside Islands
MILITIAMEN ARE NOT
TREATED AS REGISTRANTS
SChOOIboy Labor May Solve Prob
lem In Part and viii Be Used
In Some Instances

'S''"I NuhITcu pIhHtatlon llhOrPrS
are needed at once to meet the short
age Of fI"lI labor created by the call
| OF the guard TO the COlUrs. On this isl.
ana IN" Sh"r'ago will not be so acute
| ~ on tine Other islands, especially on
| y" NOR" remote plantations of those
| stands, for there are almost always
| Va1IahJ" "orhm"n who will 90 to plan
| atlonS ON Oahu hut will not 90 to other
| islands because they want to be near
to H"n"luIn, who might be called getty
| InhorrrS. School boys may be. in part
| at least. IN" solution Of a situation
which is admittedly very serious.
With the mobilization of the puDrd
there have been taken from the cane
fields and the mills hundreds of men,
inc battalion, one third Of the present
strength of the First Infantry, comes
Uom tine plantation districts Of Oahu
ABOUT 900 m"n 90 to make up that hat
talon a' at present constituted. Not
All OF th'm come from the fields and
me mills but the great majority Of
them do. II j. understood that from
Iva alone more than q hundred men
haV" been taken and from WaiaIua
about seventy FIVE. Since the call has
been expected for some time some ar
engagements have been made to meet
the situation but even so the sugar in.
Iu'try is left very shorthandcd.
More Acute Elsewhere
On the other islands the situation is
considerably worse for there a still
larger proportion Of guardsmen were
formerly employed by the plantation
companies. Besides this there is not
the supply for them that is to be found
here as there is no large center of popu.
Iat1On on which they can draw. Those
guardsmCn have been taken and arc
now at the company headquarters even
though they will not be brought to Ho
noluIu for perhaps two weeks.
Harder Than Draft
1t is peculiar situation that the su.
gar industry is more seriously affected
| by the mobilization Of the guard than
] It would have been by the calling of
the draft first. Under the selective
draft regulations plantation laborers
hav" been given a deferred classified
ton and will not be called among the
first. In the mobilization Of the guord
there is no such classification. The
agricultural worker is taken as are 9th.
At the labor bureau of the Planters
Association yesterday afternoon It WINS
admitted that the sugar industry was
% seriously feel the effect of the tax.
ing away of so MANY workers. The
bureau il waiting information as to
how many have been taken from tho
different plantations and what are the
actual and immediate needs Of each.
There it was said that on this island
tho" would probably be little difficulty
in filling up labor ranks as there was
supply to draw from that would not
20 to another island because Of their
"'Sh to h" within reach of Honolulu.
They would rather be a hanger on at an
Oahu plantation than regularly employ
"d elsewhere but they are willing TO
work regularly here. What course
would be pursued to meet the demands
If the other islands plantations could
"ot be learned. indeed there seemed to
y" no definite plans.
Situation Anticirated
NJ the Office Of Castle & Cooke aacnts
f'r Eva and Waialua. it was said
hat the cali had been expected
md that although between 80 and 200
had been taken from those two planta-
tIonS alone arrangements for filling the
vacancies quickly had probably been
mnde hv the plantation managers
Chances for Boys
alexander 4 Baldwin is planning to
make use of school boy labor. that is
Of boys over fifteen wears of age who
mr." suited for the work. There it was
said that arrangements had been made
for using bows from the industrial home
M kahnku and that for the Hawaiian
1ngar Company at Makawrli a hundred
Large and strong school boys would be
occurred and had already been arranged
for. John Guild, in telling Of This.
n"ntPd to the fact that on the main.
l"nd school boys and college bows were
being and are to he so cmpl"vcd and
that the University of California had
extended the length Of the summer va
cation so as to make available a sunnlv
Il such workers for longer period than
might otherwise be. The bows will be
given work for which their strength is
suited and will be paid accordingly so
that during a time when thew would
otherwise have been idle they will be
"nrning their own livelihood and scores
nu"p scores of them will he able to
start "nest egg'' through invest
mrntS in thrift stamps
Wait For Advices
Agencies for most Of ~. outside
"InntatonS were awaiting ndvirrs from
tive mnrHGrrs of their plantations All
Of 'htm admitted that new problem
hHl been nut IN to them to Sollc
Superintendent Kinney Of i've schools
S"'i the DlanS to ne sui,nhlp labor