 It's time for the Lawn Gene Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, brought to you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A presentation of the Lawn Gene Witner Watch Company, maker of Lawn Gene, the world's most honored watch, and Witner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Lawn Gene. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Lawn Gene Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, author and analyst, and Mr. Hardy Burt, noted author and correspondent. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable Joseph R. Farrington, delegate to Congress from Hawaii. Mr. Farrington, it's a pleasure to have you with us again on the Chronoscope. Our viewers, of course, know that you've been the delegate from Hawaii for a little more than 10 years now. And since the present administration has promised to make Hawaii the 49th state, well, we are particularly interested in what you have to say tonight, sir. Now, first of all, sir, what is the present status of the statehood legislation for Hawaii? The bill to admit Hawaii to the Union as a state has been passed by the House of Representatives and is now pending in the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, would you say that it's being delayed by the present filibuster over the tidelands issue? Well, I don't think there's any question about that, that if it were not for the delay in acting on the tidelands legislation, the statehood bill more than likely would have been on the floor of the Senate already. Mr. Farrington, where does your major opposition as of today come in Congress to statehood for Hawaii? Well, the principle resistance comes from the South and from representatives in Congress from the South that adhere to ideas which have been abandoned by a great many people from the South. Are you gradually winning the South over, do you think? I don't think there's any question about it. There were only two states in the country that didn't give us, only three states that didn't give us any votes at all in the House on Statehood. One was Virginia and the other was Mississippi. But we had support and strong support from every other state in the South. Is the Southern objection principally racial, sir? I think it probably is, although it isn't often expressed as such. They're afraid of the possibility of perhaps members of the colored races becoming members of the United States Senate. No, not entirely that. I think their fear arises from some apprehension that they have about our approach to the question of race. Well, now what is the approach to the question of race in Hawaii? I believe that the principles of democracy should apply among all people that no line should be drawn against them in any phase of our life. Well, Mr. Farrington, don't you also get quite a lot of objection to an argument that if Hawaii is granted statehood and Hawaii being so many thousands of miles away from our continental boundaries. The first thing you know, we'll have the Philippines and it'll break a precedent so that we'll be taking the whole world in after a while. That is one of the basic objections that is raised. The proponents at that point of view say that it would set a serious and injurious precedent to admit to the Union as a state, an area that isn't contiguous to the rest of the country. In other words, not joined up with the land mass. My answer to that, I'd like to give it is that that question was decided back in 1900 when Hawaii was incorporated into the Union and made an integral part thereof, as the lawyers say, and made a territory of the United States. One of the objections stated on this program, sir, recently was that you can't define the geographic limits of the state of Hawaii. Well, I don't think that objection is valid because there's no area in our country that has been more clearly defined or more clearly charted than have been the islands of the Hawaiian group. Do you go all the way out to 2,000 miles, out to Midway, for instance, down to Palmyra or something of that sort? I'll answer that this way. When the Republic of Hawaii asked for annexation by the United States, it had within its jurisdiction, in addition to the main eight islands of the Hawaiian group, where all of the people are situated, a number of shoals and minor islands that run up to Midway and the Palmyra down to the south. And so they were covered into the transaction. And the title to those islands rests with the United States government today. The only one of the islands whose title is held privately is Palmyra. The rest of them belong to Uncle Sam. Still another objection, Mr. Burns, as you know, is that, for example, the congressman from New York State stated that Hawaii had too small a population to have two senators. What is your answer to that? Well, he's arguing against the American system of government. The great compromise in the constitutional convention you remember between the large and the small states was to give representation in the House on the basis of population and representation in the Senate to the sovereign states. And when he argues that Hawaii should not receive, have two senators, two members of the United States Senate, with only 500,000 population, with New York having the same number with a million, 15 million people. He's making an argument against our system of government, and he's arguing against the representation that's now held by, say, 13 other states. Well, the junior senator from Texas on our program, Mr. Price Daniel, the other evening, didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about Hawaii and statehood. I thought perhaps one of the reasons might be that he was afraid that Hawaii will become a larger state than Texas. Is there any danger there? Well, I'm sure we will cede that distation to Texas. You've taken a lot of water, but Texas is getting ready to take in a lot of water too now. That's right, and I'd be perfectly willing to cede that water to Texas if Texas will give us their support. More seriously, sir, one of the really serious objections held by many Americans has to do with communism in the islands. Mr. Harry Bridges, the labor leader who's been accused of being a communist, is a powerful figure in Hawaiian labor. That's correct, isn't it, sir? Yes, and he's also a powerful figure on the Pacific Coast. Is there any danger that Mr. Bridges might in effect become a political dictator in Hawaii? I don't think there's the remotest possibility that Mr. Bridges will become a political dictator in Hawaii. How many people out there belong to his union now? There are about 25,000 members of his union, and within that membership, there are great many people who resent. Communist influences, and in a number of very important instances, are actively combating communist influences within the union. The great rank and file of that organization consists of good American citizens, and I think, given the proper time, they will meet that problem as effectively as many other unions have met it. Well, Mr. Farrington, you were saying that it looks like there's going to be a strong chance that Hawaii will be the fortnight state soon. Would you predict when, in your opinion? I'd like to tell you what I hope, because I don't like to predict what the United States Senate will do. I hope and my hope arises from a rather thorough knowledge of the situation, that this issue will come to a vote sometime before the end of May. I think that as soon as the tidelands issue is finally settled, one way or the other, and they dispose of the controls legislation, that the Senate will move as planned to the consideration of Hawaiian statehood. And I can't believe that with the support it now has, among the people of the country, with the President of the United States, the leadership of Congress, that they can avoid coming to a decision on it. And if Hawaii does get statehood, are you going to run for Senator? I'm not prepared to say what I will do after Hawaii becomes a state, because the achievement of that in itself to me is a sufficient goal for the present. Mr. Farrington, the sugar industry, of course, in Hawaii is one of your most important industries. Now, just what is the economics of sugar as regards statehood? As you say, the production of sugar is our basic industry. It brings us an income of $125 to $135 million a year. It's vital to our welfare. The production of sugar under the conditions that prevail in Hawaii is dependent upon the protection of tariffs or of a quota system. That's federal legislation. And so it's vitally important to the sugar industry that nothing take place in Congress, that nothing be written into that law of which discriminates against the production of sugar in Hawaii. And your sugar will be in a better economic position if you become a state than you are now as a territory? Oh, we'll be very much more secure than we are, because so long as we're a territory, it's within the power of Congress and the right of Congress to discriminate against it. Now, several million of us Americans have visited Hawaii. Can you tell us just briefly what the situation is as regards the tourist industry in Hawaii? Oh, there's been a tremendous development in the tourist industry during the past few years, and many people are anticipating that within a short time that will become Hawaii's leading industry. Well, that's a final question, Mr. Farrington. Most Americans, of course, are now looking toward the far east where we're trying to settle a very difficult situation. Do you believe that the admission of Hawaii as a state would be a propaganda advantage for us as regards our policies in the far east? I don't think there's anything that this country can do that will more effectively persuade the people of the far east to the soundness, to the fairness and to the advantages of our system of government and of democracy than the admission of Hawaii to the Union as a state. You know, the truth of the matter is that there's as much interest, if not more interest, in the question of Hawaiian statehood among the people of the far east then there are among the people of the eastern part of this country, and the reason for that is that within our population are more people of Oriental origin, more people of Japanese origin, of Chinese origin, of Korean origin, of Filipino origin, of Samoan origin, and the rest of the country combined and all the homelands of those people are watching to see what happens to their sons under the American system of government, and they are American. Well, thank you very much for being with us this evening, sir. The opinions that you've heard our speakers express tonight have been entirely their own. The editorial board for this edition of the Lone Gene Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Hardy Burt. Our distinguished guest was the Honorable Joseph R. Farrington, delegate to Congress from Hawaii. 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