MODERN HAWAII

foreign [Music] as a place of beautiful beaches but there is much more to see and learn about this island territory and about our fellow Americans who live here as you probably know Hawaii is located far out in the Pacific Ocean its position has made it a center of the great shipping lanes between North America Asia and Australia today airlines are making Hawaii even more important as the crossroads of the Pacific Hawaii is actually a group of many islands which taken together have a land area about the size of New Jersey the five largest islands are kawaii Oahu Molokai Maui and the largest Hawaii from which the whole group gets its name all the islands are the tops of volcanic mountains that were thrust Up From the Bottom of the Sea the volcanic action that resulted in the formation of the islands is still visible on the island of Hawaii where there are three active volcanoes one of these Mauna Loa erupts about every nine years and sends out great streams of molten lava that flow down the slopes of the great volcano the molten lava when cool solidifies into lava rock this lava rock continually being worn down by the weather and pounded by the sea is pulverized into sand as the action of weather and sea continues over a long period of time the pulverized lava decomposes into a rich soil it is this fertile soil plus a tropical climate which makes the islands so productive scattered throughout the coastal plains and Inland valleys are small farms here tropical and semi-tropical crops such as Taro rice corn and bananas are grown but the major crop of the islands is sugar cane which is grown on big plantations sugarcane cultivation was begun by the Europeans who settled in Hawaii in the early 19th century today sugar cane is the economic King of the islands the cane is grown on the tropical lowlands bordering the coast where the climate is suitable for sugar production it takes 18 months to two years for the first crop to ripen during this time cultivation requires much hand labor to fill the great Labor demand workers were imported from other countries largely from Asia today about half the population of the islands is of Japanese or Philippine origin work on the sugar plantations goes on throughout the year when a crop is mature it is burned to remove the excess leaves then the stalks are harvested here we see the old hand method of harvesting with sharp knives and the modern method which uses this machine called a grab Harvester labor-saving machines are part of the efficient system of running a modern sugar Plantation each Plantation has its own Sugar Mill some plantations have their own railroads for carrying the sugar cane to the mill While others use trucks for the same purpose in the mill the cane is crushed and the juice is processed into raw sugar the raw sugar is sent to the mainland United States to be refined into the white sugar that we use second in importance to sugar production is the pineapple industry pineapples grow on the plateaus above the cane fields workers of almost every nationality cultivate and harvest the pineapples most of which are exported to the United States as in the sugar industry American industrial methods are used in handling the pineapples and preparing them for export above the sugar and pineapple plantations on the cool dry Uplands the land is suitable for grazing cattle the rich productive land of the islands the pleasant climate and a variety of natural beauty have attracted people from all parts of the world first to arrive were the Polynesians a Pacific Grace that probably came from Islands far south of Hawaii they settled the islands and cultivated tropical plants for food here a Polynesian shows us the native method of catching fish the native Hawaiians used products of the land and sea for food and built houses of grass similar to this today this old Hawaiian or Polynesian culture has been replaced by a way of life which is much like our own most of the communities such as Hilo on the island of Hawaii resemble any other medium-sized American town largest city in the islands and capital of the territory is Honolulu located on the island of Oahu it is the political and commercial center of the territory the city borders Honolulu Bay Honolulu the Hawaiian name for Fair Haven is a major world Port where ocean Freighters bring food products and manufactured goods from the United States in exchange for Hawaiian pineapple and sugar chips also bring hundreds of tourists who are a big source of income for Hawaii in Honolulu visitors are introduced to one of Hawaii's oldest Customs the wearing of a Garland of flowers called a lay Hawaii's romantic past is recalled by the statue of the famous Hawaiian King Kamehameha which looks out over Modern Honolulu the city itself is very much like any other American city with stores theaters and modern transportation English is the language of the islands and three-fourths of the people are citizens of the United States orientals Caucasians and Polynesians have made Honolulu one of the world's greatest melting pots we can see this mixture of many races in the children of Hawaii they are an outstanding example of the way in which people of every color and race can learn to live work and play together these boys and girls are practicing the meaning of democracy and American citizenship Hawaii is proud of its University in Honolulu it's Academy of Art and its parks and public buildings not far from Honolulu is the great Naval Base of Pearl Harbor which played such an important part in the history of World War II also on Oahu are Hickam Fields an important Army Air Base and John Rogers Airport where great clipper ships come and go connecting this Crossroads of the Pacific with the rest of the world of all our possessions Hawaii is probably the most unusual because of its Island possession its pleasant climate and its blending of a romantic Hawaiian culture with a mixture of other races and modern methods of working and living the Commerce and Industry of today and the Romantic history of the past these together are modern Hawaii [Music] foreign