Modern Hawaii (1948)

[Music] many of us think of Hawaii as a place of  beautiful beaches and palm trees 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 Kawai aahu mokai 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 volcanos one of these Mount aloa erupts about every  9 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  iCal 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 sugar cane 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 2 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 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 stocks 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 race that probably came from Islands far  south of Hawaii they settled the islands and cultivated tropical plants for food here a  poian 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 poian 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 aahu 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 worldport where ocean freighter bring food products and manufactured goods from the United  States in exchange for Hawaiian pineapple and sugar ships 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 lei Hawaii's romantic past is recalled by the statue of the famous Hawaiian King kameha  Maya 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 34s 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 prac  iing the meaning of democracy and American citizenship Hawaii is proud of its  University in Honolulu its 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 aahu are Hickam field an important Army  airbase and John Rogers Airport where great Clippers 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 RAC and  modern methods of working and living the Commerce and Industry of today and the Romantic  history of the past these together are modern [Music] Hawaii