 The National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations present the Pacific Story. This is the story of the Pacific and the drama of the millions of people who live around this greatest sea. This is the background to the events in the Pacific and their meaning to us and to the generations to come. Tonight's Pacific Story comes to you as another public service with drama of the past and present and commentary by Joseph R. Farrington, Hawaii's delegate to Congress and publisher of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Hawaii, the 49th state. Good evening, Earl Nixon. Just one thing more, Mr. President, about Hawaii. Oh, yes, yes. In regard to the negotiations about admitting the Hawaiian Islands into the Union. I don't know. Kamehameha dead. Well, he was the one who instigated the negotiations. Yes. The negotiations have, of course, stopped. Well, in view of King Kamehameha's death, I don't see how he can go on with them. For the time being, until the situation in Hawaii is clarified, we'll hold the entire matter in abeyance. That was Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States, making a decision almost 100 years ago. About the time New York and Chicago were for the first time linked by rail. Forty years after that, the matter was again up for consideration in Washington. Hawaii is now a territory of the United States. Let me assure you that this is one of the formal steps leading to statehood. The cheers echoed from Washington to Honolulu. But nothing came of it. In the years since then, ten times we have assumed the expenses of congressional committees to visit our islands and study our qualifications for statehood. This is a Hawaiian. We ceded our sovereignty and all our public properties to the United States. And still we are not a state. Today, the matter of statehood for Hawaii is again the subject of discussion. Why do you know 68% of the people of Hawaii have indicated a desire for statehood and more? This is an American, an old-time resident of Hawaii. We have short-lived people of the United States, but we are ready for full-fledged citizenship. This is a Japanese resident of Hawaii. Our schools, our customs, our beliefs, in all these we are American. And we are willing to make possible... This is a Chinese resident of Hawaii. We would not undermine American labor. For we are organized in labor unions too. And there is always... This is a Filipino resident of Hawaii. And these please have today found expression in the halls of the Congress of the United States, where Congressional Bill No. 3643 has been introduced by Joseph R. Farrington, delegate from Hawaii. The bill provides for statehood for Hawaii, for a constitutional convention, and for adoption of the Constitution. The State of Hawaii shall assume all debts to the territory, retain all public property, except that used by the United States, and establish a system of public schools. Hawaii shall be entitled to two representatives and two senators, two U.S. judges, one U.S. attorney, one marshal, and shall constitute one judicial district. The actual mechanics of admitting Hawaii to statehood are simple. Very simple. As far as the mechanics go, this is the American resident of Hawaii again. First Congress must pass the bill, and Congress will have to approve the Hawaiian Constitution. Then the President would proclaim Hawaii a state. But there are some hurdles. Yes, that racial situation. You were referring to the many races in Hawaii? Of course. There are more different races living side by side in Hawaii than any other place on Earth. Granted. The native Hawaiians, who are Polynesians, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinas, Koreans, people from every part of the Pacific and Asia, all marrying among themselves, and with the Caucasians, English, Scots, Germans, Portuguese, Russians, and a dozen other peoples of European origin. Well, we Americans don't want any 49th state with a mixture like that. Oh, wait a minute. What do you mean, we Americans? 85% of the people are Americans. They were born in Hawaii. Isn't America the melting pot of nations and races? This is different. We don't want any 49th state with so many Japanese, Chinese, and Filipinas, even if they are citizens. Why not? Well, look what the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor. You mean the ones who dropped the bomb? No, the Japanese who lived in Hawaii. A lot of them were traders. They sold out the American flag. Oh, not just a minute. Have you any facts or figures about that? No, but everybody knows that. Well, before you start blowing off steam, let me tell you something. According to Robert L. Shivers, FBI agent in charge of Honolulu, there was not one single act of sabotage or fifth column activity committed in Hawaii before, during, or after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Remember, most of the Japanese residents of Hawaii were and still are American citizens. Well, everybody knows that Jap's feelings were with Japan. Now, if you were in Hawaii at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, you'd know that right before December 7th, 1941, many of the Japanese born in Hawaii volunteered their services to their country. From the Japanese Americans of Hawaii came every member of the famous 100th Infantry Combat Team. He came one of the most decorated units in the United States Army. Now, when the United States Army called for 1,500 volunteers from among the Japanese Americans for combat duty, 9,500 offered their services. Perhaps it would be appropriate at this point to recall the words of our late president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Americanism is not and never was a matter of race or ancestry. Less than six years ago, Honolulu on the island of Oahu was a languid, easygoing resort city of carefree howlies and lackadaisical natives of shady whispering palm trees and sun-kissed beaches, of gay luau's against backgrounds of bougainveas and emerald waters, of sentimental greetings and goodbyes with bands playing aloha. Overnight, all this changed. From the aloha tower to famous Waikiki, the city of Honolulu splashed itself with war paint. Hawaii went to war. The people of Hawaii, white, yellow, brown, and all the in-between shades cast off their festive garments and put on uniforms or overalls. No more swimming and surfboard riding at Waikiki for me. My job is here at Pearl Harbor, repairing U.S. Navy ships. And it is a big job, too. I have never worked in a factory, but I can learn. I could not go on working as a waiter when I'm near for the war work. You show me and I will learn. No more school for Naikishi. I have joined the army because I must fight. And I will fight any enemy of the United States wherever they send me. Hawaii had a full-scale organization for civilian defense and volunteer defense units sponsored by the army. The people participated in Red Cross, U.S.O., blood banks, made liberal contributions to the war chest, and oversubscribed their quota for war bonds. Though only 36 percent of Hawaii's men eligible for service were of Japanese ancestry, because of the large number of American Japanese volunteers, 52 percent of Hawaii's total inductions came from this American Japanese group. The war brought also great and sudden changes in the economic structure of Hawaii. In pre-war days, Hawaii was chiefly an agricultural community. This American woman lived in Hawaii. But in the comparative short space of two years, Hawaii's economic structure switched to industry. More than one-fifth of its entire population, exclusive of servicemen, went to work in industry. Perhaps this, Hawaii's sudden switchover from agriculture to industry, brings us to the question of labor. It has been contented by some who oppose statehood for Hawaii that a large number of workers of Oriental origin in the territory might tend to undermine the American labor man and lower his standard of living. That, I think, is far from the truth. This is a Filipino. Labor in the territory of Hawaii is well organized, probably as fully and as well organized as labor is on the mainland. You mean that all main branches of industry are organized into unions? Not only industry, but also agriculture. They're either organized or in the process of organization. Do the local unions have affiliations with mainland organizations? Forty-six of our locals are affiliated with the AFOL and sixty-eight with the CIO. And do you consider that labor conditions in Hawaii are on a par with those in the U.S. as to wages and working conditions? Oh, yes, indeed. We have established an eight-hour day, and our wages compare favorably with those paid on the mainland. Even our agricultural workers in the sugar cane and pineapple fields are now very well paid. Well, how about the so-called big five? They have permitted all this? It hasn't really been a case of permitting. Labor has done and is still doing more than any other faction to break monopolies in the island. Hawaii is the only territorial state with the exception of Wisconsin to pass a little Wagner Act extending collective bargaining to agricultural workers. Important strides have also been made in the matter of education of the many races and nationalities of the Hawaiian family. About 85% of our population here in Hawaii is native born or U.S. born. Among this 85% is almost no illiteracy. Of course, but how about the other 15%? Every facility is used to educate this group. There are well-equipped schools throughout the territory. Most villages and hamlets have proper educational facilities. But since you're thinking in terms of Hawaii as the 49th state, it should compare favorably with the educational facilities on the mainland. Here's a statement from the United States Chamber of Commerce. Oh, yes. That might answer your question. Yeah. Cool. I am. It says our Hawaiian school standard averages high as those in the United States as a whole and are higher than those in many states. Uh-huh. The average number of pupils enrolled per teacher in Hawaii is 27.9 is compared with 31.4 in the United States urban schools and 26.1 in U.S. rural schools. Wow. So you see, our schools are better off in this respect than the schools on the mainland. Uh-huh. And on the average, our teachers are better paid too. Uh-huh. But what about public libraries? Are they ample and accessible to all? There's a library on each of the principal islands. And each of these has its own bookmobile. Bookmobile? To serve outline schools and homes. Oh, of course. Of course. $620,000, nearly two-thirds of a million, is spent annually in the islands on library maintenance. But what good is a library system of this kind in a population like that of Hawaii? Do these people with all their strange backgrounds and racial ancestries make use of these library facilities? Yes, they do. More than a fifth of the entire population of the island are card holders. A fifth? Yes. And that is probably as high or higher than most of the communities on the mainland. All facts, as well as deeds and accomplishments, seem to point one way, that the people of Hawaii, despite their heterogeneous racial and national backgrounds, have aptly demonstrated to the United States that they stand ready and qualified to become the constituents of Hawaii, the 49th State of the Union. One of the sharpest edges on the blade with which we carved our independence was an ugly phrase, taxation without representation. Today, taxation without representation is no more to the liking of the people of Hawaii that entwined to the Americans in 1776. Those sound like fighting words. Today, in fact, ever since 1893, when Hawaii became a territory of the U.S., the people of Hawaii have been living under just such an undemocratic condition of taxation without representation. You see, as a territory, we have a governor who is not even elected by us, but appointed in Washington. In Congress, we have no senators, no representatives, merely a delegate who may advise, but not vote. Nor can the people of Hawaii vote in national elections. Ma'am, that's quite clearly a case of taxation without representation. Exactly. Perhaps we would not be so justified in complaining if it were that the federal government were returning to us more than it's receiving. But this is not the case. No, how so? I mean, just how do you mean that? Looking at it in a plain-dollars-and-cents way, the territory has consistently paid into the United States' treasury more money than the federal government exclusive of military expenditures has spent upon the territory. In fact, the federal government has on its credit side from the territory of Hawaii $144 million. Do you think that the federal government has willfully used its political advantage to discriminate financially against the territory? Perhaps not willfully. However, Hawaii is being continually reminded of the handicap of its territorial status by the habitual omission of territories from federal legislation providing grants to states. Can you cite any specific instances of this? Shall we say federal forgetfulness? One glaring instant. The omission of the territory from the original benefits of the federal aid rode at. But you imply that this was finally straightened out to Hawaii's satisfaction? Yes. 15 years later. You see, it was the principle of the thing that hurt because it served to illustrate what could and might happen to Hawaii as long as it remains in the androling status of a territory. Other Hawaiian and American statesmen have summed up this situation. More than 100,000 American citizens are barred from voting in national elections because they are residents of the territory of Hawaii. This is but one facet of a picture involving thousands of patriotic Americans who are enthusiastically carrying all the burdens and duties of citizenship while being penalized by the same government to whose support they annually are contributing. We Hawaiian people are. Since we are the equal of states in so many points of fact, why should we be inferior in point of law? Also involved, perhaps in the proposition of Hawaii, is the question of eligibility. Bystanders set up in the past when other territories became states in the union, is Hawaii qualified for one thing as the territory of the requisite population? With its more than half a million people exclusive of servicemen and with the one exception of Oklahoma, Hawaii today has a larger population than had any other state at the time of its admission to the union. That half million population must rank it ahead of other states even now. That is right. According to the latest census report, at the time the population of Hawaii ranked it ahead of Nevada, Wyoming, Delaware, and Vermont. And from the standpoint of area, how does Hawaii stack up with the other states? Hawaii is larger than Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Delaware. And how does the territory compare in property value with other states? In property value, Hawaii ranks ahead of 10 states. Today, with the echoing of the bombs and machine guns of World War II hardly yet faded away, the importance of Hawaii as a military base to the United States cannot be overemphasized. If Hawaii were just anywhere, it wouldn't matter so much. Not just a glance at the map shows you that Hawaii is the nation's bridge to the Orient and to the whole eastern world. General, supposing we had not had Hawaii in this recent war, where would we have stood strategically? Hawaii just 2,100 miles further away from winning the war. The Army's gigantic arsenals and supply bases and the Navy's beehive of men and ships at Pearl Harbor would have had to operate from the already overburdened parts of the Pacific Coast. And what if Hawaii had been captured by the enemy in those early days of the war? Well, the Japanese would have had the opportunity to fight a much more offensive war, to say the least. Had they held Hawaii, they would have been well within bombing range of it. Well, do you think now that the war's over that the importance of Hawaii as a military base will diminish? Well, it shouldn't be allowed to diminish. There's still a big job to be done policing the Pacific. I believe in most military men agree that today Hawaii is as crucial to our military security as the Louisiana Purchase was in 1803 and as California was in 1850. Hawaii today is our western frontier. Not only is Hawaii strategically a bastion of military strength, but it's one of the most important crossroads of the Pacific. Hawaii is one of the world's great ports of call. Hawaii is a funnel through which the ships of all nations carry millions of tons of cargo to and from every remote corner of the globe. It's not only a crossroads of the sea, it's also a crossroads of the air. Great airplanes swoop down over the island. The age of flight is upon us. Hawaii's destiny as a great air terminal was written for war planes during the war. It's being written for peacetime planes now that the wars ended. Swarms of passenger and cargo planes will use the Hawaiian airport as stepping stones across the Great Pacific. Japan, China, Philippines and Australia. As Hawaii goes forward to play its great role in the Pacific era, which is now opening, her people again look to Washington and reiterate the whys and wherefores as statehoods. The Chinese. In the preface site of 1940, more than two-thirds of the people of Hawaii indicated their desire for statehood. The Japanese. We have proved our loyalty to the United States. The Filipinos. We have faithfully assumed all the obligations and duties of democracy. The American women who live in Hawaii. The people of Hawaii have shown that they are capable of self-government. The old American residents of Hawaii. By all standards, we are qualified for admittance. The Americans who have cast their lot in the future of Hawaii. The people of Hawaii all speak. And though their ancestry is diverse, they all say the same thing in the same language. Hawaii, as the 49th state, would be a sound investment for the United States. In the past 37 years, we have paid into the U.S. Treasury $144 million more than we have taken back. In our status, it is purely a matter of taxation without representation. We don't even need the United States. The United States needs Hawaii as a state. Soon now, a hundred years will have passed since the first negotiations with President Franklin Pierce for the admittance of Hawaii as a state. Today, half a century after that, Hawaii still waits for that other form of step to be taken by the Congress and the President of the United States. The people of Hawaii wonder why they have not long ago been admitted as Hawaii, the 49th state. The proposition of Hawaii, the 49th state, is an important one to America and to all Americans. To further clarify some of the issues involved, the national broadcasting company presents Joseph R. Farrington, delegate to Congress from the territory of Hawaii, and publisher of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. The next voice you hear will be that of Mr. Farrington. We take you now to Washington. Immediate consideration of statehood for Hawaii was recommended by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Territories late in January of this year. The subcommittee report was rendered to the full committee after an extensive investigation of the problem in the territory itself. The subcommittee spent two weeks in Hawaii, held hearings on all the principal islands, and heard the testimony of 100 odd persons. They were of all walks of life and of all shades of opinion, but the sentiment in favor of statehood was overwhelming. The committee found in addition that the people of the territory were beyond any doubt, capable of assuming the responsibilities of state government. They obtained testimony showing that in many fields of endeavor, notably education, public health, and labor laws, the territory was far ahead of many states. It pointed out that over a long period, Congress had indicated to the people of the territory that once they had demonstrated that a majority-favorite statehood and that they were capable of its responsibilities, Hawaii would be made a state. And supplementing this, the committee pointed to this country's declaration in support of the principle of self-determination, pointed out the vitally important position of Hawaii in the Pacific, and concluded with the recommendation that immediate consideration be given to this question. Thus Hawaii's case for statehood has been brought up today. It is squarely up to Congress and the people of the 48 states now to say if the promise of statehood to the people of Hawaii is to be fulfilled. I have asked Representative Hugh Peterson of Georgia, the chairman of the House Committee on Territories, to call a meeting of the full committee in the near future so that a date for hearings may be set on legislation now pending before the committee on statehood for Hawaii. The bill pending before the committee is an enabling act. Its adoption was set in motion, the machinery for the admission of Hawaii as a state. Twice before, committees of Congress have investigated this subject. In 1935, a subcommittee of the Territories Committee took testimony on statehood in Hawaii and concluded that another inquiry should be made, but on a broader basis. This inquiry followed in 1937 when a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives made a searching investigation into this subject, decided that a plebiscite should be held to determine accurately the sentiments of the people of Hawaii on this subject that no further action should be taken until the international situation had changed and suggested finally that the question be reexamined at a future date. The plebiscite was held in 1940, showing sentiments two to one for statehood. The war clouds on the Pacific sky have disappeared with the defeat of Japan. The question has been reexamined by an appropriate committee. Its report is now before Congress and available to anyone who cares to write for it. I will be glad to supply this to anyone who will write me at the House Office Building in Washington, DC. The time has come, we of Hawaii believe, for Congress and for you of the state to give us your answer. We are confident it will be yes. We are confident too that as a state, Hawaii will make a contribution to our national life of which all of you will be proud in the days to come. Thank you, Joseph R. Farrington. You have been listening to the Pacific Story, presented by the National Broadcasting Company on a affiliated independent station as a public service to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the cost currents of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to the University of California Press, Berkeley, California. May I repeat, for a reprint of this Pacific Story program, send 10 cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press, Berkeley, California.