Evening star., 1932-01-11
STEWART TO TESTIFY.
Labor Bureau Official Familiar With
Hawaii Conditions.

Should Congress launch an lnYeSti-
cation into vice conditions in Hawaii,
one of the first and most important
witnesses, it was predicted in Govern
ment circles today, would be Ethelbert
Stewart, commissioner of the Labor De-
partments Bureau of Statistics, who in
1880 completed survey of the islands
The report on social conditions in
Hawaii, made available at the Labor
Department today, shows that in 1890
Mr.. Stewart cited records in his survey
revealing that 81 per cent of the crimes
committed there were directly or in
directly of sex nature.
His report blames this percentage to
the importation Of single men from the
Philippines to work on pineapple and
sugar plantations.
Social Problem Distinct.
"Unquestionably the sugar plantations
of Hawaii" Mr.. Stewart reported, ARE
a great boon to the individual. Filipinos
who take advantage of the higher wages
paid. Whether the Philippine Islands
are the better for this drawing off of
their younger and more physically fit
male population raises question which
this bureau does not feel called upon to
answer.
1.-THE social question created in Hawaii
is quite distinct from the problem of
labor supply for any one or two or all
of its industries. Employees were at
the outset single men, or men immigrat-
ing for the purpose Of severing marital
obligations they no longer cared to
carry.
1.-The Chinese, however, were accepted
by the native HaWaiians, and considera-
BILE intermarriage OF Chinese with Ha-
waiian women occurred. The Ameri-
cans have set the example of inter-
marriage with Hawaiian women even
back in the missionary days. Later
considerable number of Chinese women
immigrated and became the wives OF
Chinese laborers. The Japanese, In the
course of time, were able more or less
to remedy the social condition so far
as they were concerned through the
picture bride" device.
This large excess and continuing
large Importation of single men creates
a social question which in the long run
must become q bigger problem than
either the sugar or pineapple industry,
or both. A labor policy more compre-
hensive than merely securing plenty OF
labor for the sugar and pineapple IN
dustries will sooner or later force itself
on Hawaii
Married Men Cheaper.
"There is q social side of the labor
problem that will eventually override
the purely industrial side, especially
when industry is narrowed either In Its
scope or ownership. 1t must happen
indeed is now happening-that the EN-
ployers will have the conviction forced
upon them that married men are ulti-
mately cheaper plantation labor as well
as safer and better citizens. 1t Is not
within the power of industry to ignore
over long period of time that man Is
a social being"
In November Mr.. Stewart was sent to
Porto Rico at the request Of Gov. Theo-
dore Roosevelt to survey labor condl-
tions there. At result of his study
he recommended to Hawaiian sugar
plantation owners to import 11,0OO
Porto Rican families TO their Islands to
take the place of the single Filipinos.
He said today there were no new de-
velopments in this proposal other than
the matte was still being studied by the
Hawaiian planters.
FATHER HEARS OF ARREST.