Speech #610049576

They stand upon the halfway station between the western coast of America and the teeming millions of Asia. where labor is cheap. When those men go to make sugar. will they take there those engaged In the Industrial pursuits of America to Americanize that island. so as to fit it to become an American colony at some future day? Who believes that they will pay double to American citizens less qualified for the duty than they would pay to the Asiatics. as well or better qualified for that duty? If then the capacity of that territory is sufficientto develop a large production of sugar and molasseson which I do not propose to speak. for I have not informed myself particularly on that subjectthe sugar planters there. following the instincts of interest. will apply to Asia for the labor thatis to make the sugar and molasses which are to come here free. If they do that. and if there are productive fields in the Hawaiian Islands open for a large population. that population. instead of being American. will be Asiatic. and when once that Asiatic population is planted upon the Hawaiian Islands in large numbers. American emigration. except such capitalists as may proceed there who are connected with commerce or the sugarproducing interests. will not go there. can not go there. can not and will not mingle with the Asiatic population where it is in the ascendency. as the policy of this treaty in my judgment will place it. If I am right in this. we. are not going to make an American colony on the Hawaiian Islands westward toward Asia. but we are to make an Asiatic colony eastward to the Hawaiian Islands. and plant there a population which will in future exclude the possibility of making there an American colony. There was a good deal of mawkish sentiment indulged in about "the vanishing race of Sandwich Islanders." first mentioned by Mr. Wood. and it was claimed that their places would be taken by sturdy American colonists. How this prophecy has been fulfilled is shown by the Third teport on Hawaii issued by the Bureau of Labor in September. 19o6. At page 11 it says: Not only is the plantation working force overwhelmingly Asiatic. but a secondary Asiatic population. living largely on the first and supplying its needs. has come into the islands. has invaded all lines of industry. and the two combined now form the largest element in the total population. From a total Asiatic population of less than 6.000 in 1878. forming only 10.2 per cent of th9 population of the islands. the number of Asiatics had increased to 18.000 in 1884. and formed over 22 per cent of the total population. By 1890 the foreignborn Asiatics had increased to 27.000. and constituted over 30 per cent of the population. During the next six years their numbers had increased to over 41.000. and they formed over 38 per cent of the population. In June. 1900. the month in which the organic act creating Hawaii a Territory went into effect. the number of foreignborn Asiatics had increased to over 77.000. and formed more than 50 per cent of the entire population. * * * The Asiatic preponderance n the population of Hawaii appears still more significantly In the figures giving adult males alone. In 1900 the total male population 18 years of age or over was 85.136. of which num)er Chinese and Japanese made up 63.444. or 74.52 per cent of the total. The document says that " the total Increase in the Caucasian population through immigration has been small at the best. and the figures of arrivals are. to a considerable extent. offset by the steady departure of whites. which has been going on since the cessation of the excitement attending annexation." The report says that out of a population of 1.06.309 males. the native and foreign born Asiatics taken together represent 69.804. or 65.6 per cent of the total population. as shown by the following figures taken from the Twelfth Census: Population in 1900. by sex and color or race. [The data included In this table have been taken from the records of the Twelfth Census.) Color or race. 11ales. Females. Total. Hawaiian ........................................... 15.642 14.157 29.799 Part Hawaiian ...................................... 3.971 3.886 7.857 Caucasian ........................................... 16.031 12.288 28.81 South Sea Islander .................................. 263 152 415 Negro ............................................... 158 75 233 Chinese ............................................ 22.296 3.471 25.767 Japanese................................... . ........ 47.508 13.603 61.111 Total .......................................... 106.369 47.632 154.001 The report of the bureau also says: The preponderance of Asiatics is even more marked in the last census figures. taken in 1900. and showing sex. As will be seen from the following table. out of a population of 106.369 males. the native and foreign born Asiatic element taken together represent 60.804. or 65.6 per cent of the total male population: Before leaving this phase of the question I wish to invite your attention to the figures given by Mr. Lorrin A. Thurston in a paper read before the Social Science Club of Honolulu. In April. 1906. He shows that the "Number and nationality of labor immigrants to Hawaii. 1852 to 1905. both inclusive." was as follows: Koreans ------------------------------------------------- 6. 908 Chinese (including Manchurians) -------------------------- 44.494 Japanese ---------------------------------------------- 111.137 South Sea Islanders ------------------------------------- 2. 448 Norwegians---------------------------------------------- - 615 Germans ---------------------------------------------- 1. 279 Italians ------------------------------------------------ 84 Austrians (Galicians) ------------------------------------ 372 Portuguese --------------------------------------------- 11.440 Porto Ricans --------------------------------------------- 5.000 Negroes ------------------------------------------------ 200 White Americans ---------------------------------------- 100 Russians (February. 1906) -------------------------------- 110 Total ------------------------------------------ 184. 187 Let us now see how the production of sugar has been stimulated by the introduction of this Asiatic horde. It has already been shown that when the treaty was being .urged in 1876 the production of the islands was something less than 9.000 tons. and the Secretary of the Treasury Solemnly assured Congress that the limit of production was 1.2.500 tons. How little he knew of what he spoke Is illustrated by the fact that in thirtytwo years the crop had expanded more than 40 times over. having reached a total of 441.000 tons in 1907. while the crop for 1908 is estimated at more than 500.000 tons.