The Garden Island. [volume] (Lihue, Kauai, H.T.) 1902-current, 1921-12-06
DR.. ADAMS SPEAKS
ON WELFARE WORK

DR.. Romance Adams of the Uni
versity of Hawaii was the speaker
at the December meeting of the So
cial Service association held at Mo
khana hall, Lhue, on Saturday af-
ternoon last. Taking for his subject |
Industrial Service in Hawaii in It's |
Relation to Changing Labor Sys-
tem," Dr. Adams emphasized the |
point that there could as yet be no |
set or standard program for welfare |
work, due to our changing labor sit |
uation which brings us a new set of
problems every few years, and that
we must learn from practical ex-
perience and experimenting and with
open minds how to adjust our pro-
cedure to conditions. The immediate
problem in our labor situation is
whether we are to have Chinese Ia
Dor brought into the country or
whether we are to concentrate on
labor-saving devices and other
schemes for improving and retain
ing labor now here.
A condition now confronting us
is that the older generation of Ia
borers is being superseded by the
younger, young men born in this
country and hence American citizens.
How are we to hold these young
people on the plantations? The state
ment that all these boys are going
into the city, seeking the whitecol-
lar jobs, is hardly true, for as yet
there are very few old enough to be
seeking employment. Within six or
seven years, however, Honolulu will
have absorbed all she can of such
would-be clerks and the rest will be
forced to enter other occupations or
leave Hawaii. How make plantation
life attractive and worthwhile enough
to hold these boys with us?
Welfare work on the plantations
appears to be conducted with two
aims in view; first, to make the
worker contented, steady, satisfied to
stay by his job considering his job,
considering his present situation in
| life good enough; second, to aim to
give the worker American ideals and
to rise in the world, which may cre-
ate discomfort, a desire for independ-
ence. The latter ideal is more con-
sonant with American methods and
Christian ideals and makes the man
himself the chief interest and not
the industry. 1t is inevitable that mat
ters will work out on this line, with
the individual the chief consideration.
The problem has it's psychological
as well as it's economic solution. The
present situation in the sugar indus
try and the prospects for the future
show us that the wages cannot be
made high enough to long meet the
problem. In analyzing the Japanese
character, we find that he responds
readily to a little politeness. The de-
sire of any man, after satisfying his
hunger, is to be treated as worth
while. We must make labor more
dignified and work with the hands
respected We can accomplish this
by developing our community life
and letting each man feel that he is
a factor in it, that his position is a
worthy one, and that the opportuni-
ties for his children are here. The
the right attitude toward labor, in
teaching the child to respect his faith.
er's job in helping the father to
see that there is something in life
for his child besides the daily grind
of "hanahana," in centering our at
tentiOn not on far-away things but
on the life here and to-day, in show
ing us how to get culture out of the
nearby things. There is also an emo
tional aspect to the solution of the
p problem. We naturally idealize ouI
homes and our own country. Our own
: home should be to us Gods coun
try" We should aim to make these
people love their homes, feeling
themselves stable factors in their
own communities and assured of dig
nifty, security and courtesy in theiI
everyday lives.