Ke Alakai o Hawaii, Volume IX, Number 26, 8 ʻOkakopa 1936 — WHAT SEZ YOU? [ARTICLE]

WHAT SEZ YOU?

(EDITOR'S NOTE.—This space is to be devoted to the pubiieaūon ot Lett«rs From the Feople~-ln other w&eās, a means by wiiicb the ooier» r ise jnart|colate of the commxmity>— RepubUtan, Prohibitionist, Soeialist, Comtnunist, Third-partyer or Independent—may biow off steam. AU that is asked is tbat the communieations be &s brief as possib!e and keep within the laws of libel and decency. The views espressed this eolunui do not necssarily represent the views of THE HAWAII DEMO( KAT, but we wiii be glad io print them—whatever they are—proviāeā the name of the writer appears on the communication, aīthough the n'ame will not be revealed when reft«ejst is made that it be kept secret). ■ THE ISSOE OF 1936 Ednor THE HAWAII DEMOCRAT; v is only ONE issue confronting the voters of the United tes m 1936. It is basically important to our future as a na-; tc\ that the peopie understand that issue. The Republicans ! v.311 do a!l in*'thelr power to throw up a smoke screen to hidej from the voters the REAL issue, and to turn attentlon to some-l thmg whleh is of minor import«nce. Their plan of campaign ] is clearly set forth in the "Washington Merry-Go-Round" in i the Star-Bulletin of Saturday, Sept. 5, 1936. ] The one issue whieh tnust he kept in mind and put i before the voters this year is tMs: Shall the United States fix for every person under the flag j certain Naiional Minima? I Lc-i"s get acquainted with those t-wo words. Let's make thera j a e&mpai&n slogan this year. They express fhe heart of thej bemocratic pnneiplea, as dlstinct from the methods being used to put, the principles into effect. The Rep<ublican attack is| dlrected entirely agalnst the methods. They do not dare at- j tack the principles, because they know that the people would: &tand by iose princ.ples. Attack on the principles wou!d help; to make them clear, and the Republicans wish to obscure, notj to clarify them! ] What do we mean by National Minima? ] We aiready have a Nalion'al nunimum in educatJoru Allj states and territories provide that every child shaJi receive ai minimum amount of education. In Hawaii a child must attend| school between the ages of six and 14. Other states provide somewhat different standards. But' all have them> and jtnany states are now endeavoring to raise this mlnimum, to take care of the gap b -tween leaving school and getting a job, a period whieh often re„\Jts in a child's moral collapse because of the feeling that life as now organized has no plaee for him, But suppose the Territory of Hawaii spends $S,OOO on the educ'ation of a boy, and ihen, at the age of 20 to 25, ht eolwith tuberculosb or some other malnutritional disease? Or at a slightly earlier age he becomes a enminal because of the slum environment in whieh he was raised? The Territory not on!y loses the amount spent on his education, but is eompeīled to expend further sums taklng care of him in a hospitai ot a prlson. j Not only does the Territory spend more money on him, but j lt loses the contribuUon whieh he might have made. to the eom- j munity welfare had hls envjranmenl aud heallh been givefij better superv!sion. This loss cannot be mea-sured, but it is tremendous. Waiter Pitkin, professor of psychology at Cfelumbia, says: "Had any singie country in the world given the same effort toj tiie development of its people as ali have given to developing their i physical resources, that nailon wc(uM hold the peoples of the wor!d in vassalage." For Hawaii the idea has been phrased: "We hafe been using men to prodtce sugar; henqeforth we must use sugar te p*oduce men." It logically follows # then, that we must fix not only a National Minimum in education,, but other National Minima. Here are the most important: O - Hralth: Fifty per cent of the people of Hawaii are eligrible for free medical service under present standards. That means that the iiicomes of one-half of our citizens are so low that they faU into the group whieh we feel cannot be req«iredl to buy its own medicaī service. A sad commentary on the d!stribution of wealih in The Paradise of the Paeilie! We MUST produce healthy and do it by co-opera-tive social action, Every cltizen must be guaranteed a j&ifficient and properly balanced diet. If his parente are not ahle to provide it for him, society will do so. If liis father is out of "-'ork. vociety must either find work for him, or take of him and his dependents unti! he does find work. Ciothing and sheltei« logicaUy follow as health requiremcnts. We must recogmze t(hat- physical health is not all. Children raised in slum envirorunente have the slum men- : t£lily. Destroy the slums and we destroy the soil in whieh: s!um-minded citlaeps develop. i We must go farther than the abcne mlnima. We must protect our people against the risks of atcident, sickiiess a»d oid ag-e. This protection ean be afforded by social insuranee and the co|| is eheap when compared \vith what we now spend to iake care of morale-broken \lctims of present neglect. Savafe peop!es knoek their aged in the head with a club —■ swlft and merclful end. We smother ou(r aged with the b!anket of neglect, and shudder at the cruelty of the sāvage/ Thesd National are ,the heart of the Deruocnatic principles. The Republican 1936 slogan is just the opposite: 'Tm sitting pretty; to hell with you!" _ RespectfuUy, MARSHALL L MeEUEN,