PR-style history

of Matson Line

Cargoes: Matson’s First Cen tury in the Pacific. By William L Worden. Published by the University Press, Hawaii. Hono lulu. 1981. Hardback SUS 12.95.

Isbn 0 8248 0708 I.

The gentleman historian passed from the American scene a century ago, and with his de mise history retreated into the groves of academe. The reliance on academia to produce schol arly history has proven fatal to the development of Hawaiian

historiography.

In the interests of pro fessional advancement and mo bility, academic historians choose to specialise in over worked fields. Scholars of the history of American Puritanism and the European Enlighten ment, for example, abound.

They build their specialities into every university curricu lum, including that of the Uni versity of Hawaii. Hawaii’s 40-member history department includes but one Hawaiian specialist and a lonely prac titioner of Pacific Islands his tory.

Who then is left to write Hawaii’s history? Journalists,

for one. Two years ago Sanford Zalburg of the Honolulu Adver tiser produced the biography of Hawaii labour leader Jack Hall (reviewed PIM Feb p 49). Cor porate public relations staffs or those in their employ, for seconds. For almost three quarters of a century five firms, Castle and Cooke, Alexander and Baldwin, American Fac tors, C. Brewer, and Theo. H.

Davies, dominated Hawaii’s economic, political, and social life. Yet the story of the pivotal roles they and their executives played has been told, in the main, by their hirelings.

Cargoes: Matson’s First Cen tury in the Pacific is the most recent of Hawaii’s corporate histories. Matson’s founder was William Matson, a native-born Swede who arrived in the United States in 1863. Four years later he found his way to San Francisco, and at the age of 33 piloted a three-masted schooner, the Emma Claudia. into Hilo Harbor to launch what would become the Matson

Navigation Company.

Matson’s success was not entirely the product of his own efforts. His early operations

were conducted at the sufferance of Claus Spreckels, the California tycoon whose Oceanic Steamship Company could have put Matson out of business at will. Spreckels gave his friend Matson the San Francisco-Hilo route. When, in the first decade of the 20th century. Oceanic turned its attention to Tahiti, New Zea land, and Australia routes, Matson seized a larger share of the Hawaii market. In 1907 another benefactor emerged.

Castle and Cooke’s Edward Tenney agreed that the Big Five firm would serve as Matson's Hawaii agent. Matson’s pro gress to complete domination of Island shipping was thus as sured. In 1969 yet another Big Five firm, Alexander and Baldwin, gained sole ownership of Matson.

The story of that monopoly and the role it would play in the maintenance of Hawaii’s econ omic status quo is not told in Cargoes. But give Worden credit for what he does well. He tells the story of ships and men in a sprightly and engaging manner. Matson’s registry of ships included some which were star-crossed from the day they were launched. Worden tells of their travails and of the hard ships of their crews. Matson’s ships served the United States in both world wars.

He’s also willing to admit Matson’s managerial lapses.

Immediately following World War 11, Matson executives at tempted to start regular air service between the mainland and Hawaii. They failed to receive government approval.

Unwilling or unable to heed the wisdom of their own planners, they built more passenger ships instead. They paid the price when trans-oceanic jets look the passenger market away. In a second blunder, Matson sold four prime Waikiki hotels in 1959, the year Hawaii gained statehood and its tourist boom commenced.

Still, Cargoes fails to achieve the insight into Hawaii’s corpor ate world which history de serves. That will be achieved only when historians unbeholden to employers suc ceed in getting behind the

boardroom walls.

Dan

Boy lan.