Hawaii's Racial

Mixture

Remarkable Economic and Social Conditions

Honolulu, Aug. 29.

IN the past month there have been some enlightened surveys made of certain social aspects of the Hawaiian islands, the paradise of the coloured magazine advertisements. Honolulu, the capital, came in for particular attention.

A board of health summary estimates the population of the group at 412,000 (Honolulu 150,000) and, because the races have inter-married so much, the most difficult task is to classify the popula tion correctly. Outstanding in the pro portion of Japanese: 37 per cent, of the population, and one-quarter of the Jap anese is alien born, the balance claiming U.S. citizenship because they were born in Hawaii. It is noteworthy that the Japanese rarely inter-marry with other races.

There are some 25,000 soldiers and sailors permanently stationed in Hawaii, and if this number was withdrawn there would be but a comparative handful of whites left. In Hawaii, however, Caucas ians include such European races as Span ish and Portuguese. There are 30,000 Portuguese. Another heavy rate is the Filipino. 53,000. More than one-fifth of the total population is alien born.

An important angle is that there is an excess of 80.000 males over females in the islands, mostly agricultural workers. This fact, plus the largest military population under the Stars and Stripes, has given rise to a big white slave traffic that oper ates between San Francisco and Los Angeles and Honolulu.

The University of Hawaii has completed a social study of 218 average white fami lies in Honolulu. Of all white families in Honolulu, the survey indicates that 35 per cent, earn £4OO and £6OO p.a., and almost 30 per cent, earn between £6OO and £BOO. One of every four families in the lower income group have to borrow or liquidate their capial assets to make ends meet at the year end. The average amount paid in direct taxes by all white families studied was £2O. Largest item of expenditure was for food, Hawaii’s cost of living being notoriously high, much higher, for example, than highly taxed California, from which Hawaii buys the bulk rvf its food.

The whole industrial and economic life of the islands is monopolised by five major companies, the directorates of which interlock. This was revealed in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

The monopolies control the sugar and pineapple industries, all the public utili ties. the hotels, even the passenger and freight services to the U.S. mainland.

Sir Walter McNicoll (Administrator of New Guinea) and Lady McNicoll, will leave Rabaul on September 24 by the “Nellore” to visit Japan on holiday. They will leave Kobe later by the “Jean Gerard ’ for Saigon, where they will tranship for Singapore. They will subsequently travel to Australia by the “Nieuw Holland” ar riving early in December.