To give you an example of Thompson's power, not as an individual but as a mouthpiece and chief conspirator for the system which he serves: Thompson was disbarred several years ago because of conversion of funds from an estate. It is impossible to find this case indexed in the official reports of the Supreme Court.

Incidentally, the "Big Five" through its henchman, are now endeavoring to secure the appointment of their men to two judicial vacancies in the Islands. (Residential requirements make it impossible to get new blood.) Walter Dillingham who is one of the wealthiest men in the Islands, purports to be friendly to the New Deal. He acts as a lobbyist for the Island interests. He secures many governmental contracts. His name appears on several Boards of Directors of the "Big Five" and their subsidiaries.

To give you an example of how Dillingham works, I met Mrs. Claude Porter, wife of the Inter-State Commerce Commissioner on the boat going to Hawaii. She and one of her daughters happened to be returning on the same boat that I did. While making her table reservations, Mrs. Porter asked the steward whether or not I had made a table reservation. He looked at his card and told her that Walter Dillingham had made a reservation for me. Four days later I received a note asking me to call Mr. Dillingham. I did so and he invited me down to his cabin for the purpose of getting acquainted, as he explained it. When I arrived he told me that he had just learned that I was on board. He gave me to understand that plantations would not tolerate any unions among the Filipinos and gave a long explanation about the problems on the plantations. I believe he was trying to feel me out and find out just where I stood. He also explained to me a system of bonuses which obviously was adopted to prevent men from joining the union. My impression of Dillingham is that he is a very crafty individual. He and his secretary were on their way to Washington,

D. C.

ELECTION CONTROL

The "Big Five" is able through its henchmen to control elections in the Islands. To give you one example, during the 1st general election, in a race for delegate to Congress, a man by the name of Harold Fujimote who runs a general store in Wailea, in Hawaii, supported Loy McCandless against Sam King. Because of that support he was not permitted to make deliveries to customers of the Haklau Plantation.

On election day last November, the Republican Party (Big Five) leased a radio station for the day and evening. The nouncer kept stating that Landon was piling up substantial leads all over the country. He was deliberately misquoting the returns and making these announcements when the Republican leaders had conceded the election. The purpose of so doing was to influence the local elections, because of the difference in time, the polls in Hawaii had not closed. Their efforts were successful-Maine, Vermont and Hawaii!

NEWSPAPER CONTROL

The newspapers are all owned and controlled by the same interests who control the "Big Five." However, due to the fact that the editors of these papers have a high regard for newspaper ethics, the newspapers report the news more or less favorably although local news is frequently killed or played down. The conduct of the newspapers at least at the present time and during our hearing, was the most wholesome thing about the Islands.

However, a reporter by the name of Pat Brown was fired from the Honolulu Advertiser because he reported that Frank C. Atherton, while testifying, stated in effect that the "Big Five" were all one in that they all had interlocking Directors. This was a substantially true report of Atherton's testimony. Atherton called the City Editor and also the News Editor and instructed them to fire Brown. Atherton caused the paper to publish a retraction of the above report on the day following its appearance in the newspapers.

CHURCH CONTROL

Through the Hawaiian Board of Missions which is financed by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, or in other words, the "Big Five", money is given to Protestant Filipino ministers on the plantations although virtually no one attends their churches. These ministers have access to the houses of employees at all times. They are required to attend all meetings of Filipinos and to give

reports on all activities to the plantation managers. In other words, they act as the chief stool pigeons for the plantations. Filipino interpreters, also employed by the plantations, act in the same capacity.

Some of the ministers located in Honolulu have attempted to preach social justice. Because of their attitude their contributions from individuals high in the "Big Five" have been cut down or entirely eliminated.

PROSTITUTION

Certain white slave prosecutions have recently taken place in San Francisco arising out of the Hawaiian situation. All of the houses are leased, I am informed, through one central agency. By such centralized control, collections are well systematized. The information that I have is to the effect that the only police officer getting a cut is the Chief. The rest of the profits are divided among the powers that be.

Because of the fact that there are very few Filipino women in the Islands, the proportion being about 10 to 1, the Filipinos are unable to live a normal social life and consequently become a prey for this type of business. The large number of soldiers and sailors in the Islands also furnishes a large part of the dividends derived from this occupation. Many of these places are located in residential sections where there are many children. One of them is located on land adjoining school grounds. They are reputed to be well regulated.

HAWAIIAN HOSPITALITY

One of the most treacherous things existing in the Islands is the overabundance of hospitality. For the unsuspecting, it acts as a drug or sleeping potion. Instead of seeing conditions as they actually are, after having imbibed in such hospitality one is apt to visualize a paradise of grand people who will do anything to entertain and to make one's stay enjoyable. So subtly is the work performed that one does not realize what is happening. He is apt to see only what glitters and to think that it is gold clear through. One who has accepted such entertainment can hardly have the heart to do anything that would embarrass a genial host. It is so ingenious that a person becomes infected without knowing that he is contracting a disease. So cleverly is the other man's viewpoint and propaganda instilled into one that in a short time he can conscientiously see things through his rose colored glasses.

Cayetano Ligot was sent to the Islands by the Filipine Government as a Labor Commissioner. He was royally entertained, forgot his mission, became a tool for the sugar interests and accepted pay from the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association. His wife tried to get into the plantations to sell pictures which is one of the worst rackets used to fleece the poor Filipinos.

THE HAWAIIAN SUGAR PLANTERS ASSOCIATION AND PLANTATION CONDITIONS

The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association is a voluntary association of 38 of the 40 sugar plantations in the Territory of Hawaii. It was originally organized under the name of the Planters Labor and Supply Company for the purpose of importing alien labor to work on the plantations. Chinese were first imported in 1852; the Japanese in 1886; South Sea Islanders, 1878; Portuguese, 1878; Germans, 1871; Spaniards, 1903; Filipinos, 1906; Porto Ricans, 1901. Thirty-seven of the forty plantations are controlled by American Factors; C. Brewer & Company, Ltd., Alexander Baldwin; Castle & Cook; and T. H. Davies & Co., Ltd. One-third of the population of the Islands lives on the plantations, seventy per cent of the people are directly dependent on the plantation. The "Big Five," I believe, acts as factors or agents for all the plantations.

In 1933, over 48,000 men were employed on the plantation. Of these, nearly 32,000 were Filipinos and 10,000 Japanese. The Filipinos constitute 61% and the Japanese 21%. Because most of the Filipinos are unmarried they have only 45% of the total population and the Japanese have 41%. Most of the Filipinos purchase their supplies from plantation stores on credit. Field workers are assumed to work 8 or 9 hours per day but are actually away from home 10 or 12 hours. They get up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning and pack their breakfast and lunch. The first whistle blows at 5:00 o'clock warning the workers to be at the railroad crossing. Another whistle blows at 5:30 at which time assignments are made for the day. Workers are then taken to the field

by bus or train and begin work at 6:00 o'clock. They eat breakfast shortly before 8:00 o'clock in the morning. Mill workers on some plantations are on a 12 hour basis and others on an 8 hour basis. They start at 6:00 a. m. Some workers have worked as high as 90 hours per week. Some wages have been as low as 9 per hour. The base pay for plantation workers is still $1 per day. Plantation operators claim that the workers get much more. This is due to the fact that on one or more days per week an employee may work on a short term contract basis or piece work basis. On that particular day he may earn more than the base pay of $1. Because of the speed-up system, a plantation which formerly employed 2,300 men has been able to reduce its employees 1,660 without granting pay increases.

The proportion of male citizen employees on the plantation is 21%. Most of the citizens are not employed in the actual growing of cane. For instance. the heart of the industry is the cutting and loading of cane. On one plantation, only 7 citizens were cutting cane and 52 loading it.

One of the highest paid plantation workers on a plantation which was surveyed were two mill laborers earning $756 and $766. This same survey showed that family incomes range from $243.85 to $1,597.00 with half of the families earning less than $627. The difference between the family incomes was due largely to the number of people in the family who were working. The earnings of the husbands in the families having the highest income amounted to only $494. The long-term payment contracts during the year ranged from $172 to $343, an average of $249.99. When the contract pay is added to the income received monthly by contract workers, their average annual income amounts to $436. Non-contract workers have an average income of $508. Long-term contractors generally earn less than non-contract workers. The average annual plantation earnings of all husbands in the 101 families studied was $474.

The Plantation operators make a great play on paternalistic gratuities which they call pre-requisites. Each plantation workers' family covered by the survey was furnished with a house, running water, kerosene for cooking, and medical and hospital service. The Industrial Accident Board found that the cost of the pre-requisite rather than the value to the employee should be considered and fixed the value of the pre-requisites at $2.75 per week.

73 of the 100 families studied in the survey ended the year with either unpaid bills, loans payable or savings withdrawn. Net figures showed that 42 families spent $99 less than their income, and 48 spent on the average of $114 more than their income. In 11 families the income and expenditures balanced. For the 101 families there was an average deficit of $12.87.

41 of the families reported no savings during the time they were in the territory; 80 reported savings. The average savings for all families during the time they were in the territory was $169. 34 stated they had sent money to the Philippines; 21 of them to support relatives; and 15 to invest in land; one to make house repairs. Those who sent money to the Philippines for relatives averaged $66; those investing in land, $324. 76 families owe amounts ranging from $2.50 to $446,-averaging $104, on debts accumulated since they came to the territory.

A budget prepared by Elizabeth Bergstrom of the Social Service Bureau in Honolulu fixed a budget of $1,017 for white persons and $830 for oriental families. Of the 101 Filipino families studied, 99 spent less than the amount allowed for personal supplies. 94 families spent less than the budget for fuel, light, operating expense. 78 families lived in quarters more crowded than proposed in the budget. 86 spent less for transportation. 72 spent less on clothing. 70 spent less on gifts and taxes. 45 spent less on food. 23 spent less on recreation. 14 spent less on education. Because of expenditures on items not included in the budget, only 41 families spent a total less than $213.00 per adult male, the total amount of the budget suggested for oriental families. The Social Service Bureau in Honolulu provides food allowance for families on relief of $6.85 per week for a family of five, or $104 per adult male. In addition, bread is issued to the families. 75 of the Filipino families spent less on food than $104 per adult male, provided by the Social Service Bureau.

4 out of the 15 families own automobiles but had no beds. 6 had no chairs. Only 3 had washing machines. All 15 had electric irons-all but one had a sewing machine. Of 12 families having sewing machines, 4 did not have chairs. 1 family had no beds. Many of them had large framed photographs on the walls-pictures usually of relatives or funerals. 49 had attractive victrolas. Most of the living rooms had two wooden benches and a rough wooden table. Only half of the houses have chairs in the living rooms. Less than 1% of the

families have easy chairs. The walls of the houses are of wide, rough boards. 30% of the homes have no beds. They have sleeping mats rolled up on the floor, piled with bedding. The mats are of straw, about 1% of an inch thick. Each accommodates two members of a family. There are no clothes closets in the homes. 21 of the families had neither beds nor chairs. 29 families had beds but no chairs. 8 families had chairs but no beds. 43 families had both chairs and beds.

It is well to bear in mind that the survey above referred to was made on one of the best plantations in the territory. I am supplementing this report on the plantation situation by a copy of an article prepared by a man who was engaged as a welfare worker on one of the plantations.

These are the conditions which the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association is determined to keep. It will spare no effort or money to prevent the organization of its employees to obtain better wages and working conditions.

There have been two general Filipino strikes in the Islands. Thirteen Filipinos were killed in the first strike. The Japanese plantation workers also went on a strike which was a very vicious one. Filipino workers were imported to break this strike. By playing the Japanese against the Filipinos a strong racial prejudice has been build up. Let me quote from a confidential report made on one of the dances held at a Plantation Club House.

"Saturday evening, the 15th, I attended the dance given by the Continuation School at their Club House. I found the music good, he crowd orderly and the party generally as well conducted as any held in that building.

"One feature of the gathering is worthy of note. The girls, Japanese and Portugese women, refused to dance with the Filipino men who were present by virtue of having purchased tickets from some of these very girls and on the few occasions when there were tag dances, there was a noticeable arrangement among the other racial groups where one of their number was on the spot to tag any Filipino the moment he started to dance with one of their girls.

"It was not wholesome to see a large group of Filipino men occupying one complete side of the building, throughout the evening, glum and discouraged, and 'pondering these things in their hearts,' possibly for future action. There have been racial fights at these mixed dances at our Club House during the year, and there will be more in the future unless preventive action is taken. Possibly a City and County Policeman should be present at all such affairs. "The Filipinos are ultra-nationalistic and very touchy, and representing 55 per cent of our male personnel, cannot be publicly humiliated with impunity. Any program to unite the races which does not place emphasis on such a large percentage of our population has potential danger."

Here is another gem from a Plantation report, referring to a Christmas Tree Benefit Dance. "This party, given by a church crowd, was attended by too much drunkenness and fighting. The City and County police should be at all such functions."

The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association brags about what the plantations did during the depression. On one plantation there were, in March, 1931, 1479 Filipinos. By July, 1934, there were 427 less. Referring to this fact, a report to the company reads in part as follows:

"Personally, I am not as enthusiastic over the increase in the Japanese personnel in the last three years-102-as I am concerned over the decrease in Filipino personnel during the same period-427-on the ground that I have a suspicion that many of your young citizens of Japanese ancestry are going to leave us as soon as financial conditions improve.

"Not a single Filipino has been added to the payroll since March of this year, and only 11 have been taken on since last year. Sixty-eight Filipinos have been dropped this year, and a great many more will leave at the end of the harvest.

"Not being very enthusiastic about being able to get our havesting done by the citizen product of our Territorial Schools, I feel that special attention should be given to the question of adding, and certainly retaining, hardworking Filipinos."

Incidentally, in this connection, I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the plantations are now faced with a very serious situation. The Filipino Repatriation Act provided that Filipinos might be moved back to their native land from the mainland but because of the sugar lobby, an exemption was made as to the Hawaiian Islands. Due to the publicity given in the Islands about our investigation, there is little hope that the plantations can induce many more Filipinos to go to Hawaii under the glowing false promises which were made to them in the past.

There are about 1,000 Filipinos on strike on the Island of Maui at the present time, who demand that they either be given higher wages or be taken back to their native land.

The Japanese who worked on the Plantations more or less as coolie laborers are doing everything possible to educate their children so that they will not have to put up with the same conditions. These parents are making a great sacrifice so that their offspring will not have to live as they have lived. They do not want their children to be plantation coolies. For that reason there is developing an absolute shortage of plantation workers. The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association is at last realizing that its supply of cheap alien labor is cut off and that the offspring which they counted on so heavily to carrry on will not, because of their education and American environment, go on doing the things which their forefathers did. For this reason, efforts have been and are being made to better the conditions of the Japanese colonies so as to attract young Japanese. Large ads advertising the joys of plantation life are appearing in various papers in the Islands. Great efforts are being made to stir up interest in athletics so as to attract young Japanese citizens to the plantation.

All the paternalism, however, does not seem to be accomplishing the desired results. Only when the plantations finally realize that their workers must be given freedom and independence as well as better wages, can they hope to attract American citizens, even of Oriental descendants.

Judgment from what I learned from personal contact and interviews with various people in the educational field, most of the young Japanese are loyal to our country and if given an opportunity to live as Americans should, they would not create any dangerous military hazard. There are nearly 150,000 Japanese in the Territory whose total population is 393,000. There are 53,000 Filipinos and 57,000 Whites.

The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association dictates the labor policy of its members and has a Labor Bureau through which employees are engaged. It maintains a blacklist, has a widespread espionage system, headed by a man by the name of MacDuffy who was formerly Chief of Detectives for the Honolulu Police Department, but was kicked off because he was too crooked.

In this espionage system, the Filipino churches, supported by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, play a key part. It has a Press Bureau known as the Pacific Press Bureau which sends out propaganda and arranges to secure all reports on all organizational activities. The Association arranges for the employment of armed guards and detectives, dictates to the various governmental agencies, secures the passage of various anti-labor laws, and is the key to the whole industrial setup in the Hawaiian Islands.

To give you an idea of some of the tactics employed by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, which outwardly purports to be so interested in protecting its workers from graft, Butler, the former manager of the Association, issued passes to a man by the name of Valentino, one of the H. S. P. A. employees, so that he could go to the Plantations and sell large pictures at a great profit. The Filipino workers who have signed contracts to work three years are entitled to free transportation back to the Islands. Many of them are refused this transportation, or if they do get it, have to contribute $25 to the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association officials in order to get fixed up.

The Association sends out confidential lists which it directs the plantation manager to "read and destroy," to the effect that such and such men have left a given plantation because of union activities do not employ under any conditions. Every union organizer appeared on a black list. In order to avoid the black list many of the employees formerly changed their names. However, one cannot secure work now unless he shows a work record for three months previous so that there is no advantage in changing names. To give you a further example of the type of control exercised over the plantations by the Association, I call your attention to an exhibit attached hereto which was a letter written on March 24, 1932, by one of the Hawaiian officials in the "Big Five". Because this letter was written confidentially and came from a source which I cannot conscientiously disclose, I have eliminated the heading and signature.

"This will acknowledge receipt of your favor of November 23, on the subject of the twelve hour shift in the mill, and urging that with the present unemployment problem Waialua adopt the eight hour shift in the factory.

"This matter has been given very careful consideration by both the Trustees of the Association and the management. Last year a Committee of managers