MASSIE TRIAL.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 1

MASSIE TRIAL.

Honolulu Position “Bolt from the Blue to U.S.A.” BITTER FEELING AROUSED. “ My investigations disclosed that it was not a case of racial antagonism. There was no such thing in the Hawaiian Islands up to the time of the outrage, but racial antagonism has certainly been brought about by the situation that developed.” This statement was made on the Niagara at Auckland by Mr P. Kinsley, a representative of the Chicago “ Tribune,” who spent three months in Honolulu “ covering the Massie trial ” and investigating the social conditions in the islands. He has now been assigned to write a series of articles on the social and economic conditions of Australia and New Zealand. He intended starting with the Dominion, but the political situation that has developed in New South Wales since he left Honolulu has decided him to go on to Australia with the Niagara and to return to New Zealand later. “ The Honolulu position struck the States‘like a bolt from the blue,” said Mr Kinsley. “ Nobody in the com- j munity imagined that there was anything approaching a bad situation out there. The criminal assault case last September in which the young wife of Lieutenant Massie, a naval officer, was concerned was only briefly reported, j and in the dispatches we received no names were mentioned. Everything was hidden, on account of the Navy and the tourist agency interests. We knew very little until the murder of Kahahawai on January 8. “ The Navy then came out with big reports, which were made public, in which was recorded the whole history of the case with the statement that Honolulu was unsafe for white women. “ Organised Propaganda." “ I suppose there is no other com- ; munity in the world where such a peculiar situation could arise. I found Honolulu a hotbed of gossip and violent opinions. A great body of opinion was j to the effect that the wrong people J had been identified, the implication being that an innocent man had been I ! killed, and the Navy led into a trap, i That was the first thing I had to in- | vestigate. There was a strong belief I that a tragic error had taken place. “ Many people firmly believed that, i and still believe it. There was organised i propaganda against the girl and her - story, a tremendous effort being made to discredit her. Lots of people said j there had been no criminal assault; , J that the girl had been going about with 1 j naval officers and that the whole thing j was a * cover up.’ These statements could not be laid to any particular group or race. “ Racial peace has been put back for a long time by this case, which became a straight-out conflict between the Navy and the civilian population. The naval element is very strong in Honolulu. It has 10,000 men, and plant worth hundreds of millions of dollars in ■ Pearl Harbour; while the Army is 16,000 strong, a full division being quartered in the islands. “ During the whole case the Army stood in the background and said nothing, but was ready to back up the Navy had it become a fight between ; the Navy and the townspeople. The . latter are dominated by the white business element, consisting of the old missionary group and their descendants, who have full control of banking and of the two basic industries—pineapples and sugar. j “ Many of them feared that the Navy wanted to supplant the territorial form j of government by some form of Com--1 mission Government dictated from Washington. There was an intertwining of interests with Hawaiian politics, the great majority being opposed to the suggestion of interference by Commission Government. As a matter of fact, the position that arose over the Massie case has been to alter the former elective system of public prosecutor and chief of police, these officers now being appointed b} r the Governor. The whole atmosphere was surcharged with intrigue, politics and public policy. All Sorts of Pressure.

“ Normally one would think that a white community would support the story of the girl and demand the conviction of the criminal,” said Mr Kinsley, “The white community, however, did not do that. There were seven white men of the jury which brought, in a verdict of manslaughter against those charged with the murder of Kahahawai. The jury, you must understand, had nothing to do with the sentence. “ Washington and Congress had all sorts of pressure brought to bear on the | Governor to pardon the offenders, and J the sentence of ‘ not more than ten years * was commuted to one hour’s imprisonment by the Governor, Lawrence Judd, who was forced into making that decision. It was not the will of the Hawaiian people that was being considj ered. They were sore at this action, 1 and regarded it as a travesty of justice. “ The aftermath is bitter feeling between the Navy and the townspeople, and a deep distrust of the Hawaiian Government on the part of Washington. Several Bills have been presented to Congress since the case, seeking to further deprive the Hawaiian people of J local power, and the chances are that j there will be some form of Commission Government instituted to take the place of the present Government. There is one big element in Honolulu, ocmposed of missionaries and church groups, aided by Japanese born in the Islands. For years they have been conducting a campaign to bring the territory into the status of a State. This movement has. had a great jar as the result of the Massie trial, and I think it will now have to be abandoned. Statehood seems to be out of the question for an indefinite period.” Mr Kinsley said, in conclusion, that there could be no retrial of the criminal assault case without Mrs Massie being present to give evidence. She left Honolulu for America, defying the authorities and eluding subpoena servers by the aid of the Navy, who, by force, prevented the police from serving Mrs Massie.