1 - American Memory

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EXHIBIT IV
OFFICE or THE MAYOR — eounly •! kawill, kll*. kiwall «(1tt
September 17, 1971 •HUNICMI KIMWHA
Mr. Lawrence Dunn, Deputy Director
Office of Emergency Preparedness
Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Room 2029
San Francisco, California
71-9-66
This letter will confirm the telephone call made this morning to you
by M. O. Isherwood, Sr., Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator,
with reference to the referral to the Office of Emergency Preparedness
by the President's Cost of Living Council of a request from Governor
John Burns of Hawaii for an exemption from the price freeze as it
applies to food, grocery products and animal feed. It was explained
that Hawaii's prices have always been based on cost of the goods plus
the cost of transportation with a markup to cover the local operational
cost.
Prior to the shipping strike, a large majority of the goods used in
Hawaii were shipped from 'rfest Coast ports with a small percentage
being shipped through Gulf and East Coast centers. With the shipping
strike in effect on the West Coast, all goods coming by ocean freight
have been shipped through Vancouver, Canada, or from the Gulf and East
Coast ports resulting in transportation costs running approximately
three times greater than transportation costs before the strike.
Additionally, shipments by air have doubled and in some cases tripled
weekly at much higher landed costs. Prices on fresh vegetables, on
which the price freeze does not apply, are running two to three times
higher than before the strike.
Hawaii is the only state that has to rely on water or air transporta-
tion. We do not have the alternative of land transportation available
to the other states, including Alaska.
You questioned whether our request is the same as that of Senator
Hiram Fong. Our reply was that we are not cognizant of the contents
of Senator Fong's communication, that we are primarily concerned with
the health and welfare of the people of the County of Hawaii and that
We fully support the request made by Governor Durns for consideration
of an exemption from the price freci^e of the extra transportation
costs on food and feed products for the State of Hawaii.