Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 79

PAGE 42 HAWAII FARM ANNUAL, HOUSEHOLD GARDEN GUIDE FOR 1934 DEC. 16, 19.13 PLANTATIONS SUGAR AND PINEAPPLE 50,000 JOBS ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS They Require Hard Work, But They Offer a Living Wage And More, And Are Open To Island Boys Who Really Want Them ployed on sugar plantations. Every year, on June 30, the treasurer of the territory of Hawaii obtains a statement of savings bank deposits segregated as to races. On June 30, 1932, 21,300 Filipinos had $4,619,000 In the savings banks. On June 30, 1933, 19,755 Filipinos had $4,212,997.82 in the savings banks of the territory.

I have mentioned all these fieurea Perhaps the best inder possible of the results over such a large number of employees is that which comes continually before the eyes of the writer. Necessarily over the past number of years a considerable proportion of the workers on Hawaiian plantations have been Filipinos. They have been good workers and they have produced splendid records of units of production per man, and have earned good pay at a wide range of plantation ta.sks. However, no work that they have done is different from or impossible of accomplishment by workers of other racial back grounds who mifrht de gardens, the raising of chickens and sometimes of pigs, or other home activities which would help the worker in his living costs. All of these thines are elvn tr ait employees of sugar plantations, and are opportunities.

Likewise, these services and facilities, which are usually described as "perquisites," are items which employees of other types of indus tries musi pay ior, ana therefore they are things which reduce materially the cost of living of the sugar plantation employee. PAY TO SUGAR WORKERS IS ALWAYS IN CASH Then, of course, another opportunity that the sugar employee has Is that of earning pay in cash for his work. It may sound strange to refer to pay in cash, but that is one of the questions which visiting congressmen and visiting industrialists frequently ask us here. "Do you pay your laborers in cash?" is an invariable question. We do, and say so, and everyone in Hawaii knows that to be a fact.

There are no store chits passed out. Indeed, there is no compulsion to buy from the plantation stores. What is this cash pay? Of course, all pay differs on the sugar farms of Hawaii as elsewhere according to the work done. It va ries with volume of work required or performed with the comparative Importance of that work and with the amount of skill remiired Inst. as it does in all other phases of industrial life.

On Hawaiian plantations, however, there has been evolved over many years a great number of different kinds of work schemes which are based upon the theory of rewarding workers in accordance with the work done. We have come to know that "piece work" is a successful and fair scheme of pay, and it is carried out in many different forms to the satisfaction of the worker and to the general benefit of both the worker and the plantation. This class of work Includes the socalled long term cultivation contract, which is probably unique in that it is a piece work scheme dependent on units which are not de termined for 18 months and more. However, the skill of Hawaiian plantation management has made it possible for workers to undertake such work to be financed over the period of time before results are known and then to earn in the long run a substantial reward for the work they have done. We are still dealing with opportunities, and all of these thinss described are opportunities.

There are, of course, many other kinds of ODDortunHies of a sneHfin nature which are rewarded not only by the perquisites mentioned above, but bv reasonable and fair nav for eecn type or worr. it sTccr5 Vf I i iur vi wuri. i Ing work is th deteraalBattaa to work hard. If the work Is in tha field of the sugar farm, the worker will have to understand at the beginning that heat and dust must be encountered; sometimes rain and mud. Ia other words, growing crop must be cultl-vate'd, harvested or Irrigated under whatever weather conditions prevail.

Of course, this condition is true of any other outdoor occupation, and there is no unusual hardship involved in sugar work. What are the reward which the sugar Dlantatlon worker receive for their. work? To answer this Question on wh detail a great many of the varied conditions under which laborers work, and their ratlnz. dennrfpnt upon their skill, the Importance of the Job and other such factors, and devote a great deal of time to answerine it. And in th end.

ner- haps, the man who surveys the situation for the first time would be quite confused if ha tried to sum up Just what rewards could be reaped by himself as a sugar plan tation worner. I personally prefer to answer this question In a broad, general way, becausa I bellevo that presents the truest picture. WHAT SUGAR WORKERS RECEIVE FROM PLANTATION Let us, therefore, analyze the re sults obtained by sugar workers today on the plantations of Hawaii. In the first place, the more than 50,000 employees on the plantations have been furnished free 20,350 separate houses for their use. If one takes these at a slap dash value of $1,000 a house, we can start out by saying that the 50,000 workers have over $20,000,000 worth of houses placed at their disposal without cost.

These houses are distributed In accordance with the needs and de-, serts of the various laborers, so that those who have families are given, a suitable family house, and those who are single receive proper quarters for their needs In a house suitably located and constructed for the purpose. Each of these laborers Is given an allowance of fuel sufficient for his own individual needs, or If he is married, for the needs of his family. All workers receive free water for their domestic use. Everyone except the skilled grades of higher pay receives free medical car anri hns- pitallzation for themselves and fa mines in a wen. supervised and well ordered hospital under a competent aucior.

The sanitation servica of the villages is rendered to all laborers free. The transportation from home to the place of work, if it Li mor than a slight distance, is given to the workers free, and the a.n ntiirnfri from their work free. ODDOrtUnitV 14 A.ffnrrfA1 In mnvt cases ior tne cultivation of home 4 -I 1 -'w I rVllfrl i vist v.v?: v. By J. K.

BUTLER Secretary-Treasurer, Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association TTNDOUBTEDLY more thought is being given at tins time by many of our island youths to the possibilities of employment on sugar plantations and in other agricultural enterprises than has been given for many years. This situation has, of course, been brought about by the unfortunate let down in business throughout the country and the reflection of general conditions to Hawaii. Many youths, who would pre-Yiously have taken their schooling in its usual course with the thought that when it was completed the community would afford them a Job and a living, are now asking what they are to do. Many of those who have completed their schooling, under present conditions find themselves in rihfain Mr. Butler employment along the lines which they had hoped for.

Therefore, discussion of the op- Disunities in the sugar industry is kelv to be more interesting than tver before, Just what are thest opportun ties, if any? The practical answer to that question is that there are more than 50.000 onnortnnit.ies on the kii- plantations, if we mean by that obs. On the other hand, there are only 41 units of sugar production, ouch of which has a manager, so If we are thinking only about managers' positions, there are only ti opportunities, somewhere between this topnotch job and the total number of Jobs lies the ave rage, which is perhaps what is meant when we answer what the opportunities on sugar plantations lire. 3 PER CENT OF JOBS illE IN CANE FIELDS Before we start to consider a sugar plantation opportunity of any kind, lot us realize that the sugar plantation Is an industrialized farm. Any farm Is necessarily conducted Upon the foundation that a living and possible profit will be produced from the fruit of the soil or from animal husbandry or the like, therefore, it is not at all surprising that we find that on our sugar lantations most of the work is in he field. Seventy-three per cent Of all Jobs are there.

In other words, 73 per cent of all the opportunities. In these days of mechanization and office work, a great deal of Initial trend is toward such occupations. In the mechanical line of plantation work which Includes the railroad, stcamplow, tractor, trucks, Eumping station, machine and lacksmith shop and carpenter shop, fe have a little over 15 per cent of it employees. In the store and of-Ice we have less than two per cent. Varied occupations of other kinds absorb the remainder of the total.

All of these are opportunities, and there isn't the slightest reason why one who begins in the field should not reach any other opportunity or Job on the plantation for which he Is fitted and can qualify. This, however, on the plantation Just as elsewhere, is a process of hard work, application to the task and determination to succeed. However, it should be realized that not everyone of the 37,000 men who Start in the field can be promoted out of it into the more desirable mechanical or office Jobs. This is because there are not sufficient of Ihe more desirable Jobs to take care of every man in the field, and not because of any discrimination which roignt De exercised against such promotion or change. WORK IS NEEDED FOR RAISING SUGAR CANE Just what does the opportunity for employment on the sugar plantation mean in terms of livelihood? Any task of this kind means work, of and it is the lot of the farmer to have his work described generally as hard work, no matter where the farm is found.

Passing over the fact which I could be easily demonstrated that work on Hawaiian supar plantations Is no harder than the work on any other farms, nor is it harder than the work of many other classes of labor, such as road building, steel work, dock work, probably not as hard; the fact remains that a prerequisite of suc-ct'iful engagement in sugar farm- about Filipinos for the sole purpose or illustrating the results of the opportunities on Hawaiian sugar plantations because anv other exouo of workers can secure results equaling those the Filipino attains and indeed men of other racial background working on the plantations do secure such results where they desire. PROOF OF MARGIN BETWEEN PAY, LIVING COST These figures are a definite proof that there is a substantial margin between the pay given to plantation workers and the costs of living. It Is not convincing, as it is sometimes said, to say that the Filipino does not live on the same plane of living that those of other races ao. There is definite evidence on the sugar plantations that the Filipino lives well and is more inclined to be a spender in some instances than other people. The fact is that where thrift and earnestness are present, substantial savings may be made from earnings on sugar plantations and at the same time a standard of life may be maintained which Is superior as far as we know to that offered any other agricultural laborer in the world.

Perhaps one of the main reasons for this is that all the processes of Hawaiian sugar plantation work are so arranged either by the compelling force of the crop necessity or by wise management as to insure continuous employment throughout the year. This alone is an unusual feature connected with agricultural work. All of this is of course a much condensed review of the "opportunities" in the sugar industry for island boys, and now I find that this is the first time I have mentioned island boys. The fact remains, however, that there are more than 50,000 "opportunities" in the sugar industry of Hawaii and that all of them may be secured by island boys, if they are desirous of seizing these opportunities, and making the most of them. If you live in an area where kiawe trees grow naturally, you will have success with the following trees in your home grounds: If water is available, mango and ka-mani; if water is scarce, lowland ironwood, athel.

date palms, tamarind, opiuma, thornless kiawe and swamp mahogany. Monkeypods and the red and white agati or sesban grow rapidly, but the latter requires much water. The following shrubs will grow in such an area and are drought resisting: Mock orange, pride of Barbados (both red and yellow), carissa, tnorniess klu, thornless cacti, olean grape. 5 left, a laborer's ctlare; richt, the sire to undertake such tasks. Because the Filipino has come to Hawaii and returned to his native land at a later date, and because the wise management of Hawaiian plantations has provided a great many services to the Filipino work er in his cominsr and eoin? nnH many safeguards that the fruit's of his toil shall be preserved to him, we are able to see SDecificallv lust what the Filipino has derived from his work on sugar plantations.

When the boat is to leave for the Philippines, those who are to return come to Honolulu, and. if thev de sire to do so, they deposit money with the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' association for safe transmittal to the Philippines. The association will take their money in Honolulu and repay it to them in the Philip pines upon a finger print identification without any risk" of the loss of either the money or the transmittal slip or check. Because the Filipinos have come to trust this service and value It, we are able to see what results they obtain from their opportunity of work on Hawaiian plantations. In the year which ended September 30.

1932, Filipinos returned to the Philippines voluntarily left with the H. S. P. Honolulu office $649,090.61. In the year which ended September 30, 1933, the sum was $623,000.

Such sums represent distinct surpluses over costs of living and such luxuries as the workers indulge in. Individual deposits by Filipinos range from a few dollars to freauent' sums of $1,500, $2,000. $2,500 and even once In a while $3,500 saved. S3.000.000 SENT BY WORKERS TO PHILIPPINES IN YEAR A few years ago we asked certain authorities in the Philippines to survey the money which was remitted from Hawaii to the Philinnines tav Filipino sugar plantation laborers tnrougn the postal service. The Philippine authorities did this and discovered that the Filipinos had sent back over $3,000,000 for the year.

Again we may use another fact concerning Filipinos as Illustrative of the results of sugar plantation opportunity because in Hawaii by Hawaii's suar plantations. Above, foe skilled employe I iar mamrirv nr iintnns nro om- rtpr nnri a trrano iar tne majority or Filipinos are em der and sea 1 'J' i I xXv, xJ i Ji. Ms mm llll -i i in'rnr "-irriyiimnwmiM iiiiiiiiiii wii ip mtii. Llvlnf quarters are anion the perquisites tupplled to the workers on borne of a semi-skilled worker; bclww, two scenes of plantation residences.