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January 13, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Patterns of Hawaiian Culture

According to the theory underlying Hawaiian natural philosophy, all natural phenomena, objects and creatures, were bodily forms assumed by nature gods or nature spirits.

Thus, rain clouds, hogs, gourds, and sweet potatoes were ‘bodies’ of the god Lono. Taro, sugar cane, and bamboo were bodies of the god Kāne.

Bananas, squid, and some other forms of marine life were bodies of Kanaloa. The coconut, breadfruit, and various forest trees were bodies of Kū.

Wherever it was possible to grow taro, even though it necessitated complex arrangements, Polynesians did so, for taro was the basic – the original – staple of life for these people.

So far as the Hawaiians were concerned, the place of the taro in the diet, in the horticulture, and in mythology, makes this evident.

Taro as the staff of life, the land which provided subsistence, the people who dwelt on it, the ritual and festival in honor of the rain god …

… the role and place of fresh water upon which the life of food plants depended, the dedication of boy children to the gods of food production and procreation.

These provided the basic patterns of Hawaiian culture.

The fundamental patterns of this culture were determined by the habits of growth and cultivation of taro.

The terms used to describe the human family had reference to the growth of the taro plant: ‘aha, the taro sprout, became ‘ohana, the human extended family.

Taro, which grew along streams and later in irrigated areas, was the food staple for Hawaii, and its life and productivity depended primarily upon water.

The fundamental conception of property and law was therefore based upon water rights rather than land use and possession. Actually, there was no conception of ownership of water or land, but only of the use of water and land.

The term for land had reference to subsistence: ‘āina, ‘ai to feed, with the substantive suffix na. The people who dwelt or subsisted on the land were the ma-ka-‘ai-na-na, ‘upon-the-landers.’ And a native in his homeland was a ‘child of the land,’ kama-‘āina.

The fundamental unit of territory was the ahupua‘a, so called because its boundary was marked by an altar, ahu, dedicated to the rain god Lono …

… symbolized by a carved representation of the head of a hog, pua‘a, which was a form of Lono, the rain god and patron of agriculture.

The life of taro was dependent upon water. In his role as life-giver, Kane the procreator was addressed as Kane-of-the-water-of-life (Kane-ka-wai-ola).

Water (wai) was so associated with the idea of bounty that the word for wealth was waiwai. And water rights were the basic form of law, the Hawaiian word for which was ka-na-wai, meaning ‘relative to water.’

Although women cultivated small sweet-potato patches by the shore and in the vicinity of dwellings, farming was essentially men’s work.

With their digging sticks they prepared land for cultivation, excavated and constructed ditches and lo’i (irrigated terraces) for wet taro …

… and cleared land on the slopes and in the upland where dry taro was planted along with sweet potato, breadfruit, banana, and sugar cane.

The breadfruit is another of the Polynesian staples that was brought from Malaysia into Polynesia. Breadfruit is spoken of as ‘ai kameha‘i, meaning that it is a food (‘ai) that simply reproduces itself ‘by the will of the gods,’ that is, by sprouting. It is not planted by means of seeds or slips. (From Handy, Handy & Pukui)

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Ka’anapali 200 Years Ago-(HerbKane)

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 11, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The King and His Court

“The king and his small court, have for several years resided chiefly at Lahaina, in the island of Maui; but since the end of June, they have been living here (Honolulu); and I understand, this capital is to be their permanent residence.”

“It is desirable that his majesty should not be too far removed from the seat of his government, as his absence subjects his ministers to misrepresentation, and creates delay from the necessity of consulting him on all important measures of administration.”

“I understand that during the recent troubles of his kingdom, and till the ‘fiat’ of her Britannic majesty’s government, upon the questions referred to them, were known, it was his majesty’s wish to keep himself out of the way of unnecessary intrusion, whereby the prestige of his prerogatives might be impaired.”

“There never was, nor could be any wish on the part of his ministers to throw his majesty into the shade by studiously keeping him in retirement. In the existing state of things, it became their duty, in concurrence with the royal wish, to shield their master’s prerogatives from any encroachment that could prejudice them in the eyes of his subjects.”

“Now, his majesty appears on the arena as a member of the family of recognized independent sovereigns, and the ministers are attempting to place his court, and organize his tribunals, upon a footing suited to his altered situation. In all this they only do what is their duty to the king, and what foreign governments will expect them to do.”

“Where everything was to be created de novo, errors are but to be expected; and fault has been found with the code of court etiquette decreed, and with the etiquette observed on the laid festival of the 31st of July,”

“After the explanation rendered, I believe by authority, in the Polynesian of the 31st of July, an intention to avoid any offensive preference becomes manifest; and with a government so young and surrounded by so many embarrassments, in my opinion offence ought not be felt, where no intention to give it can be suspected.”

“On proper application being made previously, the representatives of foreign powers are at all times admitted to a personal interview with the king, for the purpose of submitting to his majesty any case of well-founded grievance which any of their countrymen may have against the government or authorities of the country.”

“In speaking of the court, I cannot well omit making some allusion to the King himself. In all countries the character of the sovereign is to be approached with respect, and in this particular instance I do so in strict accordance with the feeling which I entertain towards the king of these islands.”

“It is not a little remarkable that in a society where there are some few individuals disposed to blame, censure and find fault with everything and everybody, I have never heard a single remark unfavorable to his majesty Kamehameha III.”

“All admit the goodness of his disposition; none profess to doubt the soundness of his intentions; none accuse him of cruelty, tyranny or oppression; and those who have familiar access to him, all concur in ascribing to his majesty much natural talent, and a good deal of acquired information.”

“Amongst those, I am happy to quote my friend Major Low, of the Bengal army, who lately made a tour in these islands, and after presenting to the king an introductory note from HRM’s consul general, experienced from his majesty the utmost kindness, rendered in the most frank, generous and gentlemanly spirit.”

“The Major retired from these islands with the most favorable opinion of his majesty’s character and talent. “

“His majesty of late years has become both the patron and the example of temperance among his subjects; and no one can be more regular in his attendance at church, or more zealous in discouraging the pagan rites, ceremonies and superstitions that formerly prevailed amongst the natives.”

“Kamehameha III is now about thirty two years of age, and though less robust than some of the chiefs, enjoys good health. On the 29 February 1837, he was married to Kalama, now aged twenty-seven years, but by whom he has no offspring.”

“In the event of his having no succession, the crown will devolve upon Alexander Liholiho, whom his majesty has adopted for that purpose. He is a sprightly promising youth, now in his eleventh year.”

“A singular feature in this monarchy is the custom of appointing a female to be premier of the kingdom. This custom seems to have originated in the will of Kamehameha I, which declared the kingdom to belong to his son Liholiho, but that Kaahumanu, (one of his queens,) should be his minister.”

“The present premier is Kekāuluohi, aged forty eight, and apparently much respected by all classes. Her attributes under the constitution are to carry into execution all business which the king wishes to transact – to be his majesty’s special counselor in the great business of the kingdom …”

“… to receive reports of all government property and make it over to the king and to concur with and approve all important business which the king may transact in person.”

“Whatever business in the kingdom she does, is to be considered as executed by the king’s authority—but the king has a veto on her acts, while his own are not binding unless approved of by her.”

“The premier has one son, William Charles Lunalilo, an interesting youth, now in his tenth year, but I presume his sex disqualifies him from being her successor, as Victoria Kamāmalu, now in her sixth year, is the reputed heir to the premiership.”

“I may add here that no pains are spared by Mr. and Mrs. Cook, through proper education and training, to fit these young persons, Alexander and Victoria, for the high functions which they are to be called upon to perform.”

“They are the children of his excellency Kekūanāoʻa, governor of Oahu by Kīna’u or Kaahumanu the second premier.” (Wyllie; The Friend, November 1, 1844)

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Kamehameha_III-Kauikeaouli

January 10, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Emil Van Lil

“In September, 1865, the spit of land on the northern or windward side of the island of Molokai was chosen as a suitable site for the establishment of a settlement for the segregation of lepers.”

“The site is probably one of the most suitable and isolated that could have been chosen for such a purpose. It is surrounded on the north, east, and west by the sea, and the base or southern side is placed beneath a steep pali or precipice from 1,800 to 2,000 feet high, which discourages communication with the rest of the island.”

“The first settlement was at Kalawao, on the eastern side of the spit of land. It lies close to the mountains at the rear and is much exposed to the northeast trade winds.”

“Kalaupapa, the more recent and larger settlement, is situated on the plain to the westward, is further removed from the steep cliffs, and is somewhat protected from northeast winds by the crater of Kahukoo.”

“When the board of health first opened the settlement, and for many years afterwards, much difficulty was experienced from the presence of persons who owned parcels of land in this tract and who were called Kamainas or old settlers. They were not subject to the laws governing lepers, and were free to come and go from the settlement at will.”

“The Hawaiian government has secured the property owned by those Kamainas, and they have been removed from the settlement. Molokai is probably the most complete settlement of its kind in the world.”

“It has hospitals, churches, homes for leprous children, male and female, stores, market dispensaries, cottages for leper residents, jail, storehouses, etc. The majority of the lepers live in cottages built by themselves or by the government, and in the settlement there is a total of all buildings of 716.” (Carmichael, Leprosy in the US, December 30, 1898)

“At a distance Kalaupapa looks like a prosperous little town, and in anticipation of the visit of the board of health a large number of the habitants had gathered at the landing place, some on foot and many mounted on horses.”

“Some difficulty was experienced in landing, which was done by open boat, there being no docks or wharves, as there was a strong northerly swell and the surf was somewhat dangerous. In the hands of natives skilled in surfboating this was soon accomplished without accident, and the entire party landed.”

“Here were seen the different churches, Protestant, Catholic, and Mormon, including that built by Father Damien, and the grave of this leper martyr by the church side. The Baldwin Home for leprous boys was then visited, and the hospitals and cottages for the accommodation of lepers in various stages of the disease.” (Carmichael, Public Health Reports, December 30, 1898)

American Protestant missionary H Harvey Hitchcock held a three-day meeting at Kala‘e, on the cliffs above Kalaupapa, in 1838, which was attended by many from the peninsula and the northern valleys. (An out-station of the Kalua‘aha mission was established there around 1840.) In 1839 a Hawai’ian missionary teacher named Kanakaokai was stationed on the peninsula.

Siloama Protestant Church was the first church to be erected at Kalawao Settlement at Kalaupapa, it was originally constructed and dedicated on October 28, 1871 by the Protestant Congregational Church.

Kana‘ana Hou Church (New Canaan church) was a branch of Siloama’s church; it was built in Kalaupapa in 1878 and enlarged in 1890. In 1881, the congregations of Kalawao and Kalaupapa united as Kanaana Hou. Siloama Church was rebuilt in the 1960s.

Belgium-born Joseph De Veuster arrived in Honolulu on March 19, 1864. There he was ordained a Catholic Priest in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace on May 31 and took the name of Damien.

Another Belgian, John Emil Van Lil, son of John Francis Van Lil and Marie Teresa, came to the peninsula near the turn of the century. He was a lay Catholic brother assisted at the Baldwin Home.

He later was in “charge of all (animal) stock. Mr. Van Lil is a practical farmer, and enthusiastic in his work and I feel that our dairy and farm matters are in good hands.” (Report of the Superintendent of the Leper Settlement, BOH Annual Report, 1903)

“(A) hog ranch (had previously been started) with one boar and ten sows. We have now over one hundred pigs. but through lack of food am unable to go ahead as fast as we might. As the pork is to be issued to the people in lieu of beef, I do not believe it would be a paying proposition to purchase food from the outside.”

“We have cleared about six acres of land in one of the sheltered valleys and planted four thousand papaia trees; about 50 per cent. of which are coming along nicely.”

“We have also planted about two acres in pumpkins which are also doing well. As papaias and pumpkins make good hog feed combined with the cooked offal from the slaughter house. it is only a question of time until we will have sufficient food for all the hogs we can raise.” (Report of the Superintendent of the Leper Settlement, BOH Annual Report, 1903)

“The general health conditions of the Settlement have been excellent … and I here with wish to express my appreciation to Superintendent McVeigh for his foresight in establishing and maintaining this dairy …”

“… as well as to Mr. Emil Van Lil for his able management of the same; not one of the numerous daily milk orders issued having been dishonored, although some 56 gallons of milk are requisitioned daily.” (Board of Health Annual Report, 1906)

A patient from Lahaina, Elizabeth Kaehukai (Baker) Napoleon, had “married Walter U(w)aia Napoleon on April 26, 1890 and they had 12 children together. Seventeen years later, she and Uaia divorced on Dec. 27, 1907.”

“The divorce decree states, ‘On 11 Nov. 1907, Uaia, without just cause or provocation, turned Elizabeth out of his house, and refused to allow her to re-enter their house. Uaia utterly failed, neglected and refused to provide Elizabeth lodging, clothing, food and other necessities. Uaia also refused to allow their children to see or talk with her.’”

“It is likely that Uaia suspected Elizabeth had early signs of leprosy and this is why he kicked her out of the house. By court order, Elizabeth was allowed visits with her children on Saturdays and Monday from 9 am to 7 pm. On Sept. 22, 1911, she was taken in for suspicion of leprosy. She was sent to Kalaupapa on April 9, 1912.” (NPS)

There, she met and married (October 12, 1914) Van Lil at Kalawao. “Six months later, Van Lil was examined on April 10, 1915 and found to have leprosy. He was 59 years old.” (NPS)

“The huge Belgian dairyman, good Van Lil, of old memory, now a patient, had married another, and the pair lived happily in a vine-hidden cottage near Kalawao, making the most of their remaining time on earth.”

“Beyond a fleeting embarrassment in his vague blue eye, he met us on the Damien Road with the undimmed buoyancy of other years, and our eyes could see no blemish on his face. Probably we were more affected than he, for in the main the victim of leprosy is as optimistic as he of the White Plague.”

“And Emil Van Lil was not the only one whom we saw who had perforce changed his status toward society in the intervening eight years. The little mail-carrier who had led us up out of the Settlement, we found in the Bay View Home, cheerful as of yore, although far gone with the malefic blight.”

“And, auwe! some of the men and women we had known here before as extreme cases still lingered, sightless perhaps, but trying to smile with what was left of their contorted visages, in recognition of our voices.”

“Others, whose closing throats had smothered them, breathed through silver tubes in their windpipes. Strange is this will to persist tenacity of life!” (Charmian London )wife of Jack London), 1917)

“Van Lil died four years after Elizabeth on May 2, 1925. He does not have a marked grave.” (NPS)

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John Emil Van Lil

Kalaupapa Molokai-Bertram

Kalaupapa Dairy-Van Lil in white-NPS

Kalaupapa Dairy-Van Lil center-NPS

Catholic Mission_Church-Bertram

Kalaupapa, Molokai-Bertram

Catholic Mission Church-Bertram

St. Philomena’s Church-Bertram

St. Philomena Church-Bertram

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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