Ready & Waiting

"We, the people of the State of Hawaii, grateful for Divine Guidance, and mindful of our Hawaiian heritage, reaffirm our belief in government of the people, by the people and for the people, and with an understanding heart toward all peoples of the earth do hereby ordain and establish this constitution . . ."

Flowers were everywhere, even around the delegates' necks. The Royal Hawaiian Band played; a hula girl slithered. At week's end, 61 delegates--haoles (Caucasians), Hawaiians, Chinese-Americans, Japanese-Americans--stepped up to sign Hawaii's new state constitution in Honolulu's Iolani Palace.

Like many U.S. states, Hawaii had anticipated Congress' invitation to join the Union; Hawaii was tired of waiting. As a territory, it pays more taxes to the U.S. treasury than some states; its chief argument for statehood--"No taxation without representation"--is straight from the original 13 colonies. So are most of the ideas in the 13,000-word constitution. Others are borrowed from Lincoln, and from Senator Wagner (the constitution guarantees labor's right to organize).

To the great disappointment of the eleven Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians among the delegates, the constitution did not borrow from Hawaii's own Magna Carta, the "law of the splintered paddle."*After heated argument, it was struck from the preamble.

*The law comes from the reign of good King Kamehameha I (1782-1819). According to legend, while chasing two fishermen, he caught his foot in a cracked rock, was whammed on the head by one of the fishermen with a canoe paddle, which splintered. Asked why he struck the King, the fisherman replied that he feared him because the King ruled through fear. Chastened Kamehameha pondered, then issued the decree that became the island's bill of rights until 1840, when Hawaii got its first constitution. In effect the law urged: "Respect your God. Respect also the small man, the big man, women & children, and may they ever walk the highways or sleep by the wayside without fear."

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