1 - American Memory

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I can tell you from experience that during shipping stoppages we in
Hawaii pay more than twice the mainland costs for basic food items.
We either paid the price or went hungry,
I have just about used up my allotted time and I have not begun to
list all of the dexails of how we in Hawaii suffer due to shipping stop-
pages. But let me emphasize in summary to the broad picture I have
presented that we are in no way against labor. We sympathize and
support labor. But by the same token labor cannot sit by and see us
lose our jobs and go hungry in Hawaii in order to get what they want
If you fail to act positively on the measure before you to protect
the people of Hawaii, then I will go home a very sorry woman for
learning that the great system of government that we are now a part
of in the United States cannot give us the same protection in Hawaii
that you enjoy elsewhere.
Thank you very much.
Mr. DiNGELL. Mrs. Kahihikolo, you have given the committee a most
impressive statement. We thank you.
Mr. Matsunaga.
Mr. MATSUXAGA. Mr. Chairman, our final witness, who also traveled
5.000 miles for the specific purpose of testifying before your subcom-
mittee, is a housewife, a former school teacher, member of Citizens for
Hawaii, a consumer-oriented group in Hawaii, Mrs. Helen Griffin.
Mr. DiNGEiA. Mrs. Griffin, we are certainly pleased you are with us
today. We appreciate your coming this long way.
STATEMENT OF HELEN GREFTIN, MEMBER, CITIZEirS FOE HAWAH
Mrs. GRIFFIN. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my
name is Helen Griffin. I am here to ask for a favorable consideration
of H.R. 7189.1 am speaking today from the point of view of the aver-
age consumer of Hawaii.
The cost of living in our State is, with the exception of Alaska, the
highest in the Nation. We are all aware of this. And soon we may have
population problems because of our limited size. This seems inevitable.
Still, we in Hawaii consider our State a very special place, just as
others in this country consider their homes special. However, in Ha-
waii wp arp also unioue—not in our love for our State or in our prob-
lems, but in our vulnerability. We are unique because the whole State
is almost totally dependent for its survival on a single mode of trans-
ertation, shipping. This extreme situation is the reason this bill
fore you today is so vital to us.
Mr. Chairman, we are not antilabor. Hawaii has been essentially
prolabor for over 25 years and I believe we still are. We are not asking
for a vote against collective bargaining or strikes; Hawaii has a his-
tory of supporting the unions. In asking for this legislation, we are
asking for lower prices, relative stability in our economy and peace
of mind. Mr. Chairman, these are not unreasonable requests. We are
innocent bystanders with no voice or influence in the west coast's
problems, and yet we who nre 2,400 miles away are the ones who suffer
most when people on the west coast cannot reach an agreement.
Since World Wnr II there has been a cumulative total of over 4
years of interrupted transportation to and from Hawaii. Add to that