WHERE RACES BLEND

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 121, 21 April 1938, Page 8

WHERE RACES BLEND

HARMONY IN HAWAII. SINO-JAPANESE AMITY. While the reverberations of the Sino-Japanese conflict have spread to the remotest parts of the globe, dividing even the peoples of other laces according to their sympathies, there remains at least one spot where the Chinese and Japanese themselves continue to live in tho greatest aunty and refuse to he affected by the Asiatic c.ash In the territory of Hawaii, where a large proportion of the population is comprised of Chinese and Japanese, the utmost friendship continues to be maintained between the two laces principally owing to the fact that are good American citizens. _ , This was the interesting position revealed to the “Standard” by Mr \Y. Twigg-Smith, of Honolulu, and formerly a resident of New Zealand, who is at present spending a long vacation in revisiting the Dominion. Mr Twigg-Smith is a Nelsonian by birth, but in 1904 left for the United States, and since 1915 lie has been a resident of Hawaii, where lie to-day is ail aitist in tlie employ of the 'Hawaii 1 meapple Company. ■ ; . . Illustrating the manner in which the Oriental peoples had settled down in peaceful relations under the American nag, Mr Twigg-Smith said that, at the peak of the propaganda period m connection with the war in China, an agitator arrived from the mainland in an endeavour to stir up feeling, but “he did not get a look in.” Practically all the Japanese population are American-born, and they are as active in politics as white Americans. Young Japanese graduate with honours at the university and to-day occupy high positions—the AssistantDistrict Attorney at Honolulu is a Japanese. The Japanese and Chinese maintain their own Chambers of Commerce, but there is no friction with the Chamber of Commerce of the white American, the former being concerned with safeguarding the interests of their own people. A third element of substantial proportions is the Portuguese, made up of descendants of the original labourers transported to the islands to work in the plantations." To-day they, too, occupy responsible positions in the civil lito of the country. Mr Twigg-Smitli stated that. although there had been assertions that the pure Hawaiian race was on the decline, this was not the case; the purity of the race was not only being maintained, but the number of Hawaiians was increasing. There was a certain amount of inter-marriage between the Chinese and the Hawaiians, and the Chinese and the whites, hut the Japanese adhered fairly strictly to their own race. The Hawaiian had a flair for politics, in which lie managed to infuse the musical element with glee parties, and so on. “Politics are a vacation to the Hawaiian,” remarked Mr Twigg-Smith. STRONG DEFENCES.

The majority in- Hawaii were desirous of acquiring Statehood, but no move had been made in that direction, and it was doubtful if any additional benefit would be conferred thereby, the visitor said. The territory was now under the jurisdiction of a Governor appointed by the President of the United States, and he had power of veto. The ties between the territory and the mainland were very strong indeed. Something of the extent of the defences of Hawaii was indicated by the visitor. The importance of the Pearl Harbour base could, be gleaned from the fact that it was large enough to accommodate the whole of the American Fleet. The military strength of Hawaii was enormous. At the Scliolefield Barracks alone there were 10,000 men stationed on a permanent basis, and there was room for .40,000 while there were three other big barracks in addition, each with its large personnel. The insular position of the territory had prompted the authorities to pay particular attention, to the air strength, and it was a common thing to see hundreds of aeroplanes every :day ; no one. took particular notice of them any longer- . . Speaking of conditions generally in Honolulu, Nlr Twigg-Smith stated that business was good and that there was very little unemployment—indeed it was almost negligible. The whole outlook appeared to be healthy.