Military | Page 2 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

January 12, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Money to Burn

“After the Pearl Harbor bombing, people in Hawai’i hoarded money against an emergency such as a possible invasion. Fearing that the Japanese might capture Hawai‘i and find all this money, the U.S. government on Jan. 2, 1942, made it illegal for individuals to own more than $200 in cash. Businesses could own $500.”

“Everybody was supposed to turn in their cash and securities. Patriotically, they did so – $200 million worth.” (Krauss)

“From the time of the Blitz, everyone realized the possibility of the return of the (Japanese) and naturally gave consideration to the safety of their money.”

“Those who had bank deposits began to worry about the security of their deposits and as a result many withdrew their savings and secreted them in various places considered safe.”

“This worried the banks, but a more serious problem was occasioned by the cashing of drafts by Navy ships for paying the crews in cash and for other purposes and depositing drafts to cover the withdrawals.”

“The money received by the ships, which was used to pay the sailors, was all too quickly spent in Hawaii, but the receivers of that money carefully withdrew a considerable portion of it from circulation and secreted in places best known to themselves. The result was that the banks were gradually running out of cash.”

“During the first week in January 1942 a group of bankers called on me to assist them in getting the Army and Navy to fly in money from the Mainland for them. They had plenty of credit, but their actual cash had shrunk to an alarming state.”

“I had a great deal of sympathy for the bankers, but their plan had two very serious objections.”

“First, neither the Military Governor nor anyone else in the military service had a right to place the Government in the position of insuring private money.”

“Second, the admirals and the generals were using every available airplane for military purposes and both were pleading for more.”

“Both of these reasons forbade the use of military aircraft for the purpose, but it was clear that some remedial action had to be taken and promptly, since the situation was worsening rapidly.”

“The bankers informed me that there was plenty of cash in the Territory but that it was not in their banks. I agreed to think the matter over and late that night I came up with a plan which was a little frightening to me but it would work.”

“When I informed the bankers of it the next day it not only frightened them but astonished them as well.”

“The Military Governor would issue an order prohibiting the withdrawal of more than $200 per month from a bank and forbidding the possession of more than $200 in cash.”

“Exceptions to the order included the Federal Government, the Territorial Government, banks, trust companies, finance companies, building and loan associations, etc.”

“There was also a catch-all provision which permitted anyone to be exempted from the provisions of the order upon a showing of the necessity therefor.”

“The bankers agreed that it might solve their problem, and I became more convinced than ever that some means must be found for substituting some form of legal tender for our present paper money.”

“The so-called ‘money order’ was issued as General Orders #51 and dated January 9, 1942. The effective date of the order was January 12th, three days after the issuance of it.”

“The new bills were similar to the ordinary bank note except that the seals and the numbers were printed in brown ink instead of green and the bills bore the word ‘Hawaii’ overprinted in black on both sides. It was explained to me that the printing of red money would require prohibitive changes in normal Treasury practice and processes.”

“As the old bills came into banks they were exchanged for new bills and then bundled up and destroyed”. (Maj Gen Thomas H Green)

“At first, the money was incinerated at the O‘ahu Cemetery crematorium, in Nu‘uanu Valley. However, it was soon discovered that the facility couldn’t handle the large quantity of bills, it was decided to burn the bills in the ‘Aiea Sugar mill.” (Numismatist)

“All of this was done with the full cooperation of Governor Poindexter and was under careful scrutiny by a committee composed of a local banker, a Treasury representative, and a junior Army officer.”

“Applications for the last-named post were numerous and it was not until I learned of the practice of lighting cigarettes from bills of large denominations that I understood the desirability of such duty.”

“This ritual was enjoyed, especially by young officers who had little prospect of handling, much less burning, bills of large denominations.”

“The objective of the plan was now complete. It placed the Treasury in the position of being able to declare our overprinted Hawaiian money not legal tender in the event that the (Japanese) were able to take the Hawaiian Islands.”

“The plan worked so well in Hawaii that the use of scrip was adopted all-over the world wherever our troops served. While the need for ‘Emmons Money’ ceased with the termination of hostilities with Japan, the money is still in use and I have personally received some of the bills in change in various parts of the United States. (Maj Gen Thomas H Green)

“By October of 1944, the U.S. no longer felt the threat from Japan, and they took the emergency bills out of circulation, allowing normal currency to re-enter Hawaii. The treasury took some of the overprint bills out of circulation and pushed some of them to other islands in the Pacific.” (Numismatist)

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Oahu-cemetery-crematorium&chapel

C. Brewer’s Honolulu plantation mill (1898-1946) located at ‘Aiea, O’ahu, ca. 1902

US-$1-SC-1935-A-Fr.2300

US-$5-FRN-1934-A-Fr.2302

US-$10-FRN-1934-A-Fr.2303

US-$20-FRN-1934-A-Fr.2305

January 9, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Emmons Money

“Delos Carleton Emmons was born on January 17, 1888, in Huntington, West Virginia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in June 1909 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry. He later transferred to aviation and rose through the ranks, becoming a major general in 1939.”

“He was soon promoted to lieutenant general and became chief of the Air Force Combat Command in June 1941. He replaced Major General Walter C. Short as commanding general of the Hawaiian Department on December 17, ten days after the Pearl Harbor attack.”

“Emmons oversaw the implementation of martial law in Hawai‘i and is credited with preventing the mass exclusion of Japanese in the Islands. He also promoted the entry of the Nisei into the military with the formation of the 100th Infantry Battalion and eventually encouraged the end of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans on the mainland.” (Nakamura)

“Martial law involved the outright suspension of constitutional liberties as civilian courts were declared closed. Additionally, all government functions—federal, territorial, and municipal—were placed under army control, and a military regime was established. “

“As the commanding general, Emmons held the title of the ‘Military Governor’ of Hawai‘i and controlled the entire civilian population with absolute discretionary powers.”

“According to some ‘Emmons played a key role in the fate of Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i’ by challenging allegations of sabotage made by Navy Secretary Frank Knox. Emmons is thus credited with preventing plans for the mass forced removal of Japanese from the Islands citing logistical problems, cost, and labor shortages.”

“However, in lieu of mass removal, the army and the FBI quickly rounded up aliens and other suspicious persons in the Japanese community who had been investigated earlier for being disloyal or dangerous during a war. Of the 1,569 persons eventually detained on suspicion of disloyalty, 1,444 were of Japanese descent.”

“Emmons also played a key role in the formation of the 100th Infantry Battalion and supported the entry of Nisei into the military who were partly responding to ‘extreme insecurity’ in wartime Hawai‘i.”

“During the period of military rule in Hawai‘i that lasted until late October 1944, some 181 general orders were issued under the names of the commanding general Emmons and Lt. Col. Thomas H. Green, the latter having been given the title of ‘Executive, Office of the Military Governor.’” (Nakamura)

“The so-called ‘money order’ was issued as General Orders #51 and dated January 9, 1942. The effective date of the order was January 12th, three days after the issuance of it.”

“Before the effective date of the order, more than one and one-half million dollars had been deposited in the banks and on each of the following days there were queues of people waiting to deposit their money in the banks.”

“Suddenly, the banks found themselves with more than twenty million dollars on deposit. Some of the money deposited was in the form of gold certificates long outmoded by the Treasury, and much of the money was moist and even wet, indicating that it had recently been excavated.”

“The public response to General Orders # 51 was instantaneous. Perhaps some of it was motivated by fear of punishment because the penalties prescribed were severe. However, I think the major factor in this, as well as in all other undertakings, was that the public trusted the integrity and intelligence of the Military Governor.”

“The problem of keeping the banks supplied with money having been solved for the moment, there still remained the greater problem of substituting something for that money. I was obsessed with the idea that something further must be done in the interest of security.”

“I finally came up with the idea of exchanging United States currency for some other form of legal tender which, in the event of invasion, could be outlawed as legal tender and therefore defeat its use by an invader.”

“I appreciated that any such plan would have to be approved by the United States Treasury. I began discussing the idea with my staff and decided upon a substitute paper money which would be red in color instead of green.”

“I began calling it ‘Emmons Money.’”

“I took up the matter with General Emmons who scoffed at the idea of calling the substitute money ‘Emmons Money’ but he told me to go ahead.”

“Early in March 1942, a Treasury detail came to Hawaii from Washington to close the deal with us whereby regular currency would be exchanged for specially printed paper money. The agreement was consummated and some twenty million dollars on regular currency was exchanged for the special issue money.”

“When the new money arrived I was disappointed as I hoped that it would be red in color and have ‘Emmons’ written all over it.”

“The new bills worked out well, in fact there was an immediate demand for the new currency and the transfer from the old to the new was made without incident.”

“The plan worked so well in Hawaii that the use of scrip was adopted all-over the world wherever our troops served. While the need for ‘Emmons money’ ceased with the termination of hostilities with Japan, the money is still in use and I have personally received some of the bills in change in various parts of the United States.”

“I obtained the first four one dollar bills of this Emmons money to be issued in Hawaii by exchanging for it four one dollar bills of regular currency.”

“At my request, General Emmons endorsed his name on all four bills and I did likewise. I then sent all four bills to Admiral Nimitz with the request that he endorse his name on all four bills, retain one for his scrap book and return the other three to me.”

“In my letter of transmittal, I explained that I intended to give General Emmons one of the bills for his scrap book, retain one for myself, and send the fourth to The Adjutant General of the Army for historical purposes, because, to my knowledge, it was the first time such a money transaction had been accomplished.”

“With his reply, dated July 29, 1942, Admiral Nimitz returned all four of the bills, duly endorsed, and stating that he was not including American currency in his scrap book and added, ‘No doubt you will have constructive use for the one allocated to me.’”

“At the bottom of the letter was a pen-written postscript which typifies the keen sense of humor possessed by that great commander. It read, ‘I have a particular yen for Japanese yen taken from captured or destroyed planes – and if you get a collection of that kind of currency please don’t forget me. CWN.’” (Maj Gen Thomas H Green)

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US-$1-SC-1935-A-Fr.2300

US-$5-FRN-1934-A-Fr.2302

US-$10-FRN-1934-A-Fr.2303

US-$20-FRN-1934-A-Fr.2305

Oahu-cemetery-crematorium&chapel

C. Brewer’s Honolulu plantation mill (1898-1946) located at ‘Aiea, O’ahu, ca. 1902

December 21, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Through the Eyes of W Somerset Maugham

“The Pacific is inconstant and uncertain like the soul of man. Sometimes it is grey like the English Channel off Beachy Head, with a heavy swell, and sometimes it is rough, capped with white crests, and boisterous.”

“It is not so often that it is calm and blue. Then, indeed, the blue is arrogant.”

“The sun shines fiercely from an unclouded sky. The trade wind gets into your blood and you are filled with an impatience for the unknown.”

“(Honolulu) is the meeting place of East and West. The very new rubs shoulders with the immeasurably old. And if you have not found the romance you expected you have come upon something singularly intriguing.”

“All these strange people live close to each other, with different languages and different thoughts; they believe in different gods and they have different values; two passions alone they share, love and hunger.”

“And somehow as you watch them you have an impression of extraordinary vitality. Though the air is so soft and the sky so blue, you have, I know not why, a feeling of something hotly passionate that beats like a throbbing pulse through the crowds.”

“Though the native policeman at the corner, standing on a platform, with a white club to direct the traffic, gives the scene an air of respectability, you cannot but feel that it is a respectability only of the surface; a little below there is darkness and mystery.”

“It gives you just that thrill, with a little catch at the heart, that you have when at night in the forest the silence trembles on a sudden with the low, insistent beating of a drum. You are all expectant of I know not what.”

“If I have dwelt on the incongruity of Honolulu, it is because just this, to my mind, gives its point to the story I want to tell. It is a story of primitive superstition, and it startles me that anything of the sort should survive in a civilisation which, if not very distinguished, is certainly very elaborate.”

“I cannot get over the fact that such incredible things should happen, or at least be thought to happen, right in the middle, so to speak, of telephones, tram cars, and daily papers. …”

“The place seemed to belong not to the modern, hustling world that I had left in the bright street outside, but to one that was dying.”

“It had the savour of the day before yesterday. Dingy and dimly lit, it had a vaguely mysterious air and you could imagine that it would be a fit scene for shady transactions. It suggested a more lurid time, when ruthless men carried their lives in their hands, and violent deeds diapered the monotony of life.”

“When I went in the saloon was fairly full. A group of business men stood together at the bar, discussing affairs, and in a corner two Kanakas were drinking. Two or three men who might have been store-keepers were shaking dice. The rest of the company plainly followed the sea; they were captains of tramps, first mates, and engineers.”

“Behind the bar, busily making the Honolulu cocktail for which the place was famous, served two large half castes, in white, fat, clean-shaven and dark skinned, with thick, curly hair and large bright eyes. …”

“‘What’s Iwelei?” …

“‘The plague spot of Honolulu. The Red Light district. It was a blot on our civilisation.’”

“Iwelei was on the edge of the city. You went down side streets by the harbour, in the darkness, across a rickety bridge, till you came to a deserted road, all ruts and holes, and then suddenly you came out into the light.”

“There was parking room for motors on each side of the road, and there were saloons, tawdry and bright, each one noisy with its mechanical piano, and there were barbers` shops and tobacconists.”

“There was a stir in the air and a sense of expectant gaiety.”

“You turned down a narrow alley, either to the right or to the left, for the road divided Iwelei into two parts, and you found yourself in the district.”

“There were rows of little bungalows, trim and neatly painted in green, and the pathway between them was broad and straight. It was laid out like a garden-city.”

“In its respectable regularity, its order and spruceness, it gave an impression of sardonic horror; for never can the search for love have been so systematised and ordered.”

“The pathways were lit by a rare lamp, but they would have been dark except for the lights that came from the open windows of the bungalows.”

“Men wandered about, looking at the women who sat at their windows, reading or sewing, for the most part taking no notice of the passers-by; and like the women they were of all nationalities.”

“There were Americans, sailors from the ships in port, enlisted men off the gunboats, sombrely drunk, and soldiers from the regiments, white and black, quartered on the island; there were Japanese, walking in twos and threes; Hawaiians, Chinese in long robes, and Filipinos in preposterous hats. They were silent and as it were oppressed. Desire is sad.”

“‘It was the most crying scandal of the Pacific,’ exclaimed Davidson vehemently. ‘The missionaries had been agitating against it for years, and at last the local press took it up.’”

“‘The police refused to stir. You know their argument. They say that vice is inevitable and consequently the best thing is to localise and control it.’”

“‘The truth is, they were paid. Paid. They were paid by the saloon-keepers, paid by the bullies, paid by the women themselves. At last they were forced to move.’”

“Iwelei, with its sin and shame, ceased to exist on the very day we arrived. The whole population was brought before the justices.” (W Somerset Maugham, 1921)

William Somerset Maugham (born Jan. 25, 1874, Paris, France – died Dec. 16, 1965, Nice) was an English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer. He wrote about the Islands in ‘The Trembling of the Leaf’ in 1921.

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Iwilei-‘Rooms’-(Greer)

Iwilei-red_light_district-(ghosttowns)

Iwilei-‘Rooms’-(Saga-Scott)

December 7, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Prince Kūhiō’s View on Pearl Harbor

“I shall simply cite some historical facts to show how conclusively and for how long a time the strategic value of Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian Islands has been officially recognized by the Government of the United States.”

“Beginning in 1842, President Tyler gave notice to European nations that the United States would never consent to their occupying the Hawaiian Islands.”

“In 1851, when the French were threatening to occupy Hawaii, Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, wrote: ‘I hope the French will not take possession of Hawaii; but if they do, they will be dislodged, if my advice is taken, if the whole power of the Government is required to do it.’”

“William L. Marcy, when Secretary of State, reiterated the declaration that Hawaii would not be permitted to fall into the hands of any European nation. Up to that time there was no menace of Hawaiian occupation by any nation other than European.”

“Almost a third of a century ago, when King Kalakaua was the reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the United States, by reciprocity treaty, obtained rights over the waters of Pearl Harbor. This was the first step toward carrying out the policy announced by President Tyler thirty-five years previously.”

“Coming down to the days of Blaine and McKinley, we find those, statesmen repeating the declarations of their predecessors.”

“By the time that President McKinley reached the White House, it had become apparent that the danger of the occupation of Hawaii by a foreign power had been shifted from European nations to those of the Orient.”

“Finally, ten years ago, when the unexpected events of the Spanish-American war thrust a new situation upon this nation, it became apparent that it was necessary for the United States to acquire the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands, both for the protection of the Pacific coast and in order to make it possible to maintain any naval base in the Far East.”

“But although this Government annexed the Hawaiian Islands for the particular value of their strategic location, they have permitted almost ten years to pass without turning a sod or laying one foundation stone toward the actual construction of a naval station at Pearl Harbor.”

“It is true that a magnificent site of over 600 acres of ground has been acquired for this purpose.”

“The 10 square miles of landlocked waters in Pearl Harbor could easily accommodate the combined fleets of this nation and of Great Britain, but that can never give shelter to a battle ship till docks are built and the channel approach is straightened.”

“The importance of Pearl Harbor as a naval and military base has been repeatedly urged by men able and experienced in military and naval science; among them Captain (now Admiral) AT Mahan, who pointed out with unanswerable arguments the commanding importance of Pearl Harbor as the key to the Pacific.”

“Gentlemen of the committee, this Government has for ten years neglected the safeguard of preparing a naval base in the mid-Pacific.”

“Our relations with other nations are such to-day that it would be inexcusable neglect of the responsibility of Congress to the nation to postpone the beginning of this work another year.”

“The Navy Department and the General Board are at last keenly awake to the urgent need of opening Pearl Harbor and building a dry dock there at once. Both these lines of work should be carried on together, and both should be provided for in this bill.”

“I would respectfully suggest that your committee invite Admiral Dewey or some member of the Naval Board to appear before you and state to you personally in an executive session some of their reasons for the urgency of work at Pearl Harbor, which they may not care to transmit to you in writing.”

“The development of Pearl Harbor is not a Hawaiian proposition; it is a national need. But as my nation gave over its sovereignty to this country ten years ago, we have a right to ask, and we do ask that adequate protection be provided for our islands, so that we could not be captured by a single hostile battle ship as could be done to-day.”

“Coast fortifications alone are not sufficient; there must be an operating base for war vessels as well as coast defenses, and the latter are useless without the former.”

“Hawaii should be defended for its own protection; but I repeat that it is far more important for the offensive and defensive plans of the nation as a whole.” (Prince Kūhiō Statement, Committee on Naval Affairs, January 29, 1908)

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U.S.. Naval Station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, looking North East by East,(NHHC) circa 1918

December 4, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Thrift Stamps

“Department of the treasury officials are planning a campaign beginning December 3 (1917) to raise $2,000,000,000 in small savings through the sale of thrift-stamps, war-savings stamps and war-savings certificate.” (Star Bulleting, November 14, 1917)

“If you own a Thrift Stamp, it means that you want to help Win the War that you belong to the big, invincible Army of Thrift which is standing like a human wall behind that other Army, the Army of our fathers and brothers, and all the men we are so proud of ‘Over there.’”

“It doesn’t take much to buy a Thrift Stamp save up the nickles and see! When you have bought one Thrift Stamp, it doesn’t take long to fill up your card and get a War Savings Stamp and with every Stamp you buy, you are helping the Flag to go forward. Don’t forget that!” (Thrift Stamp Advertisement, The Garden Island, May 28, 1918)

“The war stamp drive begins next Tuesday. Everybody – old and young – are expected to sign a pledge agreeing to buy a certain number of thrift stamps every week for the remainder of the year.” (Maui News, May 17, 1917)

“Details on the war savings certificates, war-savings stamps and thrift stamps campaign to be opened by the United States department of the treasury on December 1, have been received by Robert F. Stever, general executive secretary of the local liberty loan committee during the recent campaign.”

“The sale of the war savings certificates will give the citizens of small means an opportunity to make investments in government securities.”

“The war-savings campaign will be in line with the general movement towards economy which has been inaugurated through the United States and its territories.”

“The war-savings certificate will be worth $100, when it matures on January 1, 1923. The war-savings stamp will have a maturity value of $5 in five years. A thrift stamp will be valued at 25 cents at the time purchased.”

“The plan makes it feasible for anyone to buy a $100 certificate in instalments of 25 cents. A thrift card will be provided and every time one has 25 cents to spare a thrift stamp can be purchased.”

“When the sixteen spaces on the thrift card are all filled with ‘two-bits’ thrift stamps the card is worth $4. It is then turned in together with the difference between $4 and the current price of a war-savings stamp. The war-savings stamp will be issued for $4.12 with a maturity value of $5 in 1923.”

“So that when a thrift card is filled, it can be turned in together with 12 cents for a war-savings stamp which has a par of $5 in five years. With the purchase of a war-savings stamp a $100 war-savings certificate with 20 blank spaces to which war-savings stamps may be affixed will be given.”

“When the holder of the certificate has finally filled the document with 20 war-savings stamps he will have a government paper that will be worth $100 in 1923, but which has cost him $82.40 to get.” (Star Bulletin, November 24, 1917)

“Chairman R. A. Wadsworth states that he expects Maui to average $20 per capita. This should be entirely feasible. It means the saving of only about 70 cents per week per person.”

“Of course there are many who will not be able to do this well, but there are also a great many others who should do so very much better that it will bring up the average.”

“A big corps of workers have been appointed for the different districts and they will begin having pledge cards signed up on next Tuesday. When a solicitor gives you a card fill it in for every cent you believe you can spare each week and then keep your promise.”

“Don’t forget that while you are helping Uncle Sam by lending him your money, you are also saving the money for your self and getting good interest for it. You will be glad to have a nice little next egg at the end of the year.” (Maui News, May 17, 1917)

“A small-sums war thrift plan has been organized by the Federal government to go into operation Dec. 3, probably somewhat later here.”

“Twenty-five, cent thrift stamps are being issued to be sold by the post office and various other agencies.”

“These stamps are to be affixed to a card, and when this card, which will hold 16 stamps, is full, it can be exchanged for a War Saving $4 stamp which will bear interest at 4%, compounded quarterly.”

“These stamps in turn will be exchanged, when they amount to that much, for US $100 certificates, which will finally be redeemed in 1923.”

“Having the entire wealth of the United States back of them, and being redeemable as above stated, there is no danger of any depreciation in value of the certificates.” (Garden Island, December 4, 1917)

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