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Despite the big spending of the venture capitalists on Oahu, the state as a whole still depends basically on income from sugar (1958, a strike year: $102 million) and pineapple (1958: $124 million) that has just about reached the outward limits of production. Nor can Bill Quinn escape the harsh fact that Hawaii lies at the end of a costly, 2,400-mile freight haul from the mainland. He is hopeful that mainland factories can be persuaded to open Hawaiian assembly plants to save money on shipping, help meet the demands of the expanding market.
Aloha. But Hawaii's brightest outlook lies in geography and in its blissful weather (mean annual temperature 74.6°), caressed by the northeast trade winds—just as the future of the 49th state, Alaska, lies in its wealth of untapped minerals. In Hawaii the broad base of military spending of the Federal Government (1958 peak: $327 million) keeps the Pacific strong strategically, as it keeps Hawaii strong economically. And the profitable tourist trade (est. income for 1959: $100 million) will keep growing as long as the trade winds blow, especially as jets will put the islands only four hours from the mainland.
In the "old" Hawaii, the challenges of boom and bloom would have seemed remote, if not insurmountable, just as in the old Hawaii a driving newcomer like Bill Quinn would not have had a chance to grasp the challenges. The new Hawaii, building on the strong foundations of education and tolerance left by the old, knows that it has already survived upheavals in the economy, politics and racial structure that would have rocked many another land. Thus, for all of their challenges, Bill Quinn and the 50th state never share a moment's doubt that they are heading toward a whole new future bright with aloha.
*Pronounced moo-oo-moo-oo. In transcribing Hawaiian, a spoken language, U.S. missionaries adopted phonetic spelling to facilitate reading and pronunciation.
* In January 1943, the War Department called for a Japanese-American division to fight in Europe, set a 1,500-man quota for the islands. Nearly 10.000 Xisei volunteered. Accepted were 2,686, who later became the backbone of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, trie war's most decorated and best disciplined unit. The record: more than 5,000 individual awards, including 3.600 Purple Hearts, 810 Bronze Star Medals, 342 Silver Stars, 47 D.S.C.s and one Congressional Medal of Honor, and a near-to-zero record of AWOL and similar offenses against good soldiering.
* The first or Great Mahele was ordained in 1846 by King Kamehameha III, who divided all the land in the kingdom between himself and his chiefs, then divided his share into two parts: "crown lands," which he kept for his own use, and "government lands," which could be sold to commoners or foreigners.