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THE MAUI NEWS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1916.
THE MAUI NEVUS
Entered at the Toit Office at Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, as second-class matter.
A Republican Paper Published in the Interest of the People
Issued Every Friday.
MAUI PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED,
Proprietors and Publishers
Subscription Rates, $2.50 per Year in Advance.
KAHULUI RAILROAD CO'S
Merchandise Department
WILL 4. COOPER,
EDITOR AND MANAGER
FRIDAY,
SEPTEMBER 1. 1916
PRISON LABOR AND EXPEDIENCY
Arc wageless workers an economy to the county ?
That is a question which the Belt Road Commission made
an effort to solve last week at a meeting in Kohala in connect
ion with Territorial prisoners. They are still uncertain. The
evidence so far in the experiences of the county is that the
wageless worker is more expensive as a workman than the best
paid laborer, even when conscientious supervision is employed.
Under the circumstances the Inbunc is inclined to believe that
a good workman is worth good wages Hilo Tribune.
It is not so much a question of dollars and cents, this working con
victs on public roads, as it is a matter of humanity. Authorities on
prison reform seem to agree that, properly handled, this sort of work is
useful as a means of making useful citizens out of useless or even worse
than useless material. A prisoner working on a road need not deprive
a single free worker of his job, because there probably never will be a
time that there are not more roads needed than there will be money to
build them with. If the man in stripes were wearing a citizen's over
alls instead, no one would begrudge him his right to earn a living and a :
little more. Is it therefore logical, simply because a man has committed !
a crime, that he should be prohibited from working for the iood he eats f
If he doesn't work for it, somebody else must, because the man must be
fed.
The opponents of road work for convicts, to be consistent should be
able to suggest some better plan. There are probably few who believe
that a convict should do no work, or that thework should not be some
thing worth while something that will tend to arouse his interest and
keep alive his self respect. Yet what character of occupation could be
thus suggested that could not be done equally as well or better by a man
not a prisoner?
The old theory of imprisonment had the three-fold purpose of pun
ishment, protection to society, and as a warning to others. Society is
getting away from the first and last of these objects. It no longer de
mands vengeance for a crime, nor takes much stock in the deterrent ef
fect of punishment. In their stead the matter of safeguarding the public
from dangerous individuals, has had added to it the new problem of re
form. And the plan works. It has proven its superiority over the
old close-confinement and oregon-boot systems in a dozen different
states. It is the methodf hope, whereas the old plan was that of des
pair. Exporting criminals to some out of the way part of the earth,
used to be a favorite way of getting rid of undesirables of some countries
and incidentally it is now admitted that some pretty valuable talents
were thus shipped away. If Hawaii simply wants to get her criminals
out of the way without regard to the welfare of the unfortunates, the
old plan might well be revived. Lanai, Kahoolawe, or any one of half a
dozen other convenient islets might serve as a penal colony site where
we could put our jailbirds and forget about them. Only we couldn't
forget. We have gotten past that day in the world's history, thank
heaven 1 and we have begun to admit that we are our brother's keeper to
the extent, at least, of letting him earn his bread, even though he may
have broken our laws. Only we are still a little fussy about just how
he does it.
PUBLIC SENTIMENT AND THE STRIKE SITUATION
It is not probable that the great railroad strike which seems im
pending in the United States can materialize, or if it does that it can
maintain itself long. The tying up of the railroads of the country
would touch too directly and vitally every man, woman and child in the
land. Public opinion would be at once brought to bear so heavily that
neither railroad corporations nor unions could resist it. If the strike
is called, Congress, already convened, will undoubtedly enact laws at
once that will keep traffic moving on some temporary basis until the diff
erences can be adjusted.
Nor is there much doubt that the workers will gain their point at
least on the question of an 8-hour day. The time is half a century in the
past when the old couplet
"A man works from sun to sun,
A woman's work is never done".
was accepted as a matter of course for either man or woman. In
its place has come a conviction that more leisure is the birthright of ev
ery man or woman ; and this conviction is evidenced by the legislation in
every state as regards public employees.
The labor unions all over the country have in large measure won
their fight for an 8-hour day, and there is little doubt that this has been
possible for the reason that the soundness of the demand has been ac
cepted by the great mass of people throughout the country. For this
reason it is most unlikely that the railroads' contention that the cost of
giving trainmen an 8-hour day would prove prohibitive will have any real
weight. Nor w:ll the protests of shippers have more effect. It is true
that legislation may be necessary to enable the railroads to pay the extra
cost, and that there may be some temporary trouble for business men
who' use the railroads on account of increased rates, but in the end the
great consuming public bears the load. It is simply a matter of making
the chamre and eettine adjusted to it.
In the matter of higher pay, the amount of overtime pay, and other
points on which the railroaders are also at variance with tne companies,
the men may or may not win out., but it is very certain that in these
matters they will not have an undivided public sentiment to aid them.
v. J Jt
Here is a serious public inconvenience that ought not to be hard
to remedv. Practically every Tuesday morning the Inter-Island steam
er Claudine pulls out of Kahului without having finished discharging her
cargo from Honolulu. 1 his portion ot the cargo that remains on noara
is carried on to Hana and Kipahulu and is not finally landed until Wed
nesday afternoon. Not infrequently when the boat is late in getting
back, goods are even carried back to Honolulu, to be brought up on an
other trip. The cause of all this, it is explained, is the present mail
schedule, which requires that the vessel leave Kahului not later than 8
o'clock on Tuesday mornings. The time between 6 o'clock and 8 o'
clock is almost always insufficient for discharging cargo.
It would seem that a little co-operation between the postoffice de
partment and the steamship people, and possibly the Kahului railroad,
should be able to cure this trouble without seriously hurting any interests
involved.
.V. J'-
W "t '?
There should be a large attendance at the Chamber of Commerce
smoker-dinner at the Maui Hotel, next Tuesday evening. Also there
should be something worth while accomplished. Among other things
the committee which .is handling the Hilo civic convention should get
strong support in the matter of delegates who will attend from Maui
If the plans of the Hilo business men are carried out, the convention will
be well worth while, and it is Maui s duty to help make it so.
.. J-
W Of -IE-
With both women and men of the Honolulu smart set going in for
aeronautics, there can certainly be no opprobrium inferred in the future
8-
O
pecianzin
HUB
in
peed
Some people seem to think
onr business is merely selling
building material. Selling,
however, with us is only the
begining.
Our business is putting the
material you want in your
hands in the shortest possible
time. We specialize in speed.
May We Have an Oppor
tunity to Prove it?
Telephone No. 1062
All Departments.
Kahului, Maui, T. H.
ml tt
-' 'H
in
if they are termed high-niers.
i
