Editorials
Thursday, October 16, 1997HOPE that the dissension within the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs would end faded quickly when the losing faction in Tuesday's election failed to return to the meeting after a break. That left it to the five-member majority, led by A. "Frenchy" DeSoto, to decide committee chairmanships, which they took for themselves. Bickering OHA trustees
need to close ranksThe walkout following the ouster of Clayton Hee as chairman after six often-stormy years indicated that much effort will be needed to heal the wounds of political combat. DeSoto, who as a delegate to the 1978 Constitutional Convention was involved in the creation of OHA, declared that the agency "will be ready for the challenges and the opportunities that face the Hawaiian people, and all of the people of Hawaii, too." But it is difficult to imagine OHA operating effectively unless the trustees work together.
Hee was accused of exceeding his authority and failing to share important information with the other trustees. But Hee was openly scornful of DeSoto, commenting that it was up to the people to ask, "Is Frenchy DeSoto the kind of person that should lead a $300 million organization?"
OHA is currently embroiled in a dispute over the amount of money it should receive from the state as its share of revenue from ceded lands. Hee has been leading the effort to enlarge OHA's funding and his departure from the chairmanship could have a negative effect. If OHA is to fulfill its potential in working for the welfare of Hawaiians, DeSoto and the other four members of the majority should reach out to the ousted Hee and his supporters. A divided OHA board can accomplish little. But at this point the board remains sharply divided.
AS a representative of the nation's only Pacific island state, Senator Akaka is demonstrating appropriate concern for conditions in another U.S. Pacific possession -- the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, which is currently exempt from U.S. immigration and minimum wage laws. Northern Marianas
The Commerce Department has declared the commonwealth "an outpost for Chinese apparel production." Clothing manufacturers from China are reported to have transplanted operations to the islands, employing bonded and indentured Chinese laborers to sew Chinese-made fabric into garments labeled "made in the USA."
Last July, Akaka introduced a bill that would extend the Immigration and Nationality Act to the commonwealth, limit use of "made in the USA" labels and apply the federal minimum wage law to the Northern Marianas. In the House, Hawaii's Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Patsy Mink have also been involved in Marianas legislation.
Now Akaka and Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, have introduced legislation to further reform garment industry practices. The bill was drafted by the Clinton administration at the request of Murkowski, who is chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. Introducing the measure, Akaka cited reports that described garment workers in the islands as being confined to barracks ringed by barbed wire and being treated like prisoners.
In a letter in June to Gov. Froilan Tenorio, President Clinton said his government had used exemptions from federal laws to import thousands of temporary workers who are often poorly paid and mistreated in a pattern of practices that is "inconsistent with our country's values."
Congress failed to anticipate the abuses that would occur when it approved commonwealth status for the former district of the U.N. Trust Territory more than 20 years ago. It's time that the federal government took corrective action. Thanks to Akaka and other concerned legislators, conditions may improve.
HANDGUN manufacturers were praised by President Clinton for agreeing to include child-proof safety locks on new weapons, but an initiative in Washington state has the gun makers scrambling for cover. Washington voters will cast ballots next month on whether to make the firearms industry at long last join the rest of product manufacturers in having to meet government safety standards. Handgun safety
Washington's Initiative 676 has been proposed in recognition of the danger of handguns. Their intentional danger is well-known, making America the most violent nation in the industrialized world. The initiative is not likely to reduce the use of handguns in murders but it could reduce the rate of people killed in accidental shootings. In Washington, that rate is 4.5 times higher than that of 24 leading industrial nations, while the overall U.S. rate is nine times higher.
The proposal would effectively ban sales of up to 30 models of handguns, including so-called Saturday night specials. All new or used pistols would have to include trigger-locking devices to be sold. Such a requirement is little different than mandates imposed on manufacturers of household appliances and children's toys. In addition, handgun owners would be required to pass a safety test to obtain a license.
The National Rifle Association is calling the proposal to license gun owners an attack on personal freedom, but it is no greater threat than the licensing of automobile owners. Unlike Washington, Hawaii already requires gun owners to be licensed, although they are not required to record each firearm they own, as they should be.
The Washington proposal is a precautionary measure aimed at bringing controls to an industry that for too long has gone unchecked in selling instruments of death. Society should not have to rely on gun manufacturers' voluntary agreement that their products are safe. Handgun safety should be mandatory, as it is for other products.
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
