Mr. ELLIOTT. It seems to me there might be an opportunity for another cooperative of some kind, a business cooperative to gather these articles, the handwoven articles, together and bring them to the States and sell them.

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir. We have hopes in that direction. There is a cooperative in existence down there similar to the cooperative for copra, known as Samoan Industries, Inc. And they do attempt, in their limited way, to produce and market these curios, so to speak, in increasing quantities.

I might say that the greatest part of the present market is in Honolulu where you have a considerable number of tourists come through which you do not have in Pago Pago.

Mr. ELLIOTT. But you are hopeful that the tourist trade in Pago Pago and in all the American Samoan area may grow?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. I had a letter not long ago from the Attorney General of Samoa, a man named Peter Coleman, who is an old Army friend of mine, sending me an airmail letter on the first airmail flight out of Samoa to this country. That has been just a few weeks ago. So I assume that communications between Hawaii and Samoa are improving with the passage of time. Are they not?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir; that service that you speak of is a nonscheduled operation of Pan-American Airways. They do not go in there on any regular schedule. They go in on an if-as-and-when-needed basis at the present time.

I might say, as we have indicated in our statement, that we do contemplate some airport improvement in Samoa so that we can accommodate the Boeing stratocruisers which cannot land there now because of the limitations of the runway. At present a DC-4-and that only partly loaded-can land there.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Are there landing facilities in British Samoa?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir; some of the British airlines operate out of western Samoa.

Mr. ELLIOTT. I was interested to note that the American Samoa Fono, or legislative advisory body, had voluntarily adopted a resolution expressing its desire that steps be taken to induce industry to locate in American Samoa and to obtain an exemption for Samoa from the Federal minium-wage requirements.

I would like for you to tell the committee, please, sir, how the fono is elected or chosen or organized, so that we will have some understanding of its place in Samoan life.

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir.

There are two houses of the fono. And I am going to ask Mr. Yeomans to explain that to you in detail. He understands it better than I do.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Yes, sir.

Mr. YEOMANS. We have a two-house advisory legislative body. They do not have legislative powers at the present time, but they are advisory to the Governor; it is a senate and a house.

In the upper house, in deference to Samoan customs, only those who are Matais are eligible for election. And they are elected in what is known as the traditional Samoan manner. In other words, they are selected in the Samoan councils.

In the house, however, we have the universal secret ballot. Any Samoan resident is eligible for election.

So that we have tried to tie together the old Samoan system with the more modern democratic system as we know it.

Mr. ELLIOTT. How often are the representatives in the Samoan Fono elected?

Mr. YEOMANS. Every 2 years.

Mr. ELLIOTT. What percentage of the people vote?

Mr. YEOMANS. I do not have a specific figure, but it is relatively good. I cannot go any further than that.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Does the Fono meet on regular schedule or at the call of the Governor, or how does it meet?

Mr. YEOMANS. They meet twice a year in regular session, and they can be called into special session by the Governor.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Is there any considerable conflict as a result of advices made by the Fono to the executive, and his refusal or, for some other reason, failure to carry out those advices? Does that bring about a system where the conflicts are emphasized, or what effect does it have?

Mr. YEOMANS. No, sir; the process has worked very smoothly. There have been no major instances of conflict that I can recall having taken place in the 5 years that I have been associated with the problem. For the most part, there is fairly close consultation between the advisory legislative body, the Fono, and the Governor or the Governor's staff on matters. And the resolutions are usually of the type that the Governor can act upon. He does not accept all of them. He rejects some of them. But he presents to the Fono the reasons for his failure or inability to accept them. And I am not aware that it has caused any unusual attention.

Mr. ELLIOTT. His reason for failure to accept the recommendation, if any, is in the nature of a veto message, I presume?

Mr. YEOMANS. That is right; yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Is it your opinion that the wage-and-hour law minimum of 75 cents an hour is now as a matter of law applicable to American Samoa as it is applicable to the State of Alabama or any other State?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir; it certainly is.

Mr. ELLIOTT. In other words, the legal minimum wage in Samoa is 75 cents an hour now.

Mr. ARNOLD. That is correct.

Mr. ELLIOTT. And that legal minimum, come March 1, will increase to $1 an hour.

Now you gentlemen who are charged with the administration of American Samoa feel, I gather from your statement, that conditions in American Samoa are such that the islands, the unincorporated territory, should be exempted, and, instead, the Secretary of Labor should be given the power, after hearings, to prescribe wages for industry on American Samoa?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Do you think that such a situation as that will have the effect of enabling the islands to grow in the three categories that you mentioned in your statement, namely, industrial, tourist, and the other?

Mr. ARNOLD. I think probably that any legislative wage treatment applying there might have an effect on industrial development, and I suppose, to an extent, in the field of tourism, but probably not too much in the field of agriculture.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Do you think, so far as agriculture is concerned, that there is no more land or very little additional land that can be cultivated or farmed or turned to the type of agriculture that they have? Mr. ARNOLD. That is correct; yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Can just anybody who wants to, put a plant on Samoa now? Or does he have to have permission of somebody or comply with some law?

Mr. ARNOLD. They have to apply to the Governor for permission to establish a plant here. There is not at the present time any corporate code for American Samoa, although one is contemplated, so that any new industry that might establish there would have to meet certain requirements of the government of American Samoa.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Who would work out such a corporate code?

Mr. ARNOLD. The Governor would do so. He would no doubt consult with the Secretary of the Interior. And I am sure that he would also consult with the Fono.

Mr. ELLIOTT. The Fono would not necessarily have to originate this code governing corporations, but it would originate with the Governor, and you think it is very likely that he would submit his plan of corporate law to the Fono for its consideration and recommnedation?

Mr. ARNOLD. That is right; yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. And at the same time he would consult with the Secretary of the Interior, his superior in the system of government of the island?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. And you say, I believe, that there is under contemplation now a corporate code of laws for the islands which will govern such business corporations as may develop?

Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Those that will develop in the future.

Mr. ARNOLD: That is right.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Mr. Landrum?

Mr. LANDRUM. Is there any direct cost to the American Government because of the lease arrangemnt between the government of American Samoa and the Van Camp Seafood Co. ?

Mr. ARNOLD. I don't believe so, sir. I don't believe there is anything that could be described as a direct cost.

Mr. LANDRUM. Is there any subsidy paid to the cannery?

Mr. ARNOLD. No, sir, none whatsoever.

Mr. LANDRUM. By either the Government of the United States of the government of American Samoa?

Mr. ARNOLD. None at all.

Mr. LANDRUM. All expenses and operations, whether experimental or whether actually operational then by the Van Camp Seafood Co., are borne by the company itself?

Mr. ARNOLD. That is right.

Mr. LANDRUM. Now with regard to your cooperative, for instance, who furnishes the capital for the operation of that cooperative?

Mr. ARNOLD. Mr. Landrum, may I ask Mr. Yeomans to answer that?

Mr. LANDRUM. Yes, sir.

Mr. YEOMANS. The capital for that cooperative was initially supplied by the naval government in the early days when it was set up. It was a loan. And that loan has since been repaid so that the cooperative is operating on its own capital.

Mr. LANDRUM. It is self-sustaining now?

Mr. YEOMANS. That is right; yes, sir.

Mr. LANDRUM. That is all.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Mr. Coon?

Mr. CooN. You mentioned tourist trade as one possible expanding industry down there. Do you see very much chance of expansion in that in the immediate or near future?

Mr. ARNOLD. I would say, Mr. Coon, that it will probably be rather slow. At the present time there are no regularly scheduled commercial ships or planes going through there. There may be an occasional cruise ship. But until you have the establishment of the type of recreational facilities, for example, that the tourist expects to find when he goes to a tropical paradise-and all of those things are going to take a lot of time to develop-I do not see it in the very near future.

But I do not want to leave the impression that we do not hope to be able to do something along that line on a very large scale over a period of time.

There are no hotels there.

I should qualify that. There is one very small hotel which is not at all suitable for any influx of travel. It is not big enough. Mr. Coon. It will be a continued but quite slow growth?

Mr. ARNOLD. I am sure it will be.

Mr. CooN. That is all.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Mr. Fjare?

Mr. FJARE. Does the Van Camp Co. pay taxes on that plant?

Mr. YEOMANS. No. The local taxes have been waived, as you might say, as an inducement or incentive for the establishment of the plant there.

Mr. FJARE. Is that a permanent thing or temporary?

Mr. YEOMANS. It is on a 20-year basis at the moment.
Mr. FJARE. Who makes that decision?

Mr. YEOMANS. That was made in the negotiations under which Van Camp originally went down there. The lease was approved in the Interior Department. So I suppose the decision, in effect, was made in the Interior Department.

Mr. FJARE. You mentioned the coconut industry a minute ago. Do the people involved in that agriculture, such as the raising of copra, own the land or are they landowners in the sense that we recognize them in this country?

Mr. ARNOLD. Oh, yes.

Mr. FJARE. Or do they go at random and pick coconuts?

Mr. ARNOLD. No.

Mr. FJARE. They own tracts of land as individuals?

Mr. ARNOLD. I will ask Mr. Yeomans to explain this matai system we speak of.

Mr. YEOMANS. The land situation there goes back to the native social system. There are a few what we call freehold parcels held by individuals in the Pago Pago area. The remainder of the land in Samoa is owned under the matai system.

The matai is the head of a family group.

That land is utilized by the whole family. The matai tells which members of the family which pieces of land they can use to grow what they need upon, and he rather supervises this thing.

But the land is considered to be owned in the name of the family. And, by Samoan law, that land cannot be sold nor leased without the permission of the Governor.

Mr. FJARE. Do you see an ambition on the part of those who grow and market coconuts to increase production and to increase sales? Or is it true, as I think Congressman Aspinall mentioned, that they go out and pick coconuts when they want to?

Mr. YEOMANS. There is a desire on their part to have money for items which have become in the nature of necessities to them, such as corned beef and some other canned foods. There is also a desire on their part to buy certain items which are appealing to them.

By and large, they will increase copra when a program is put up to them, assisting them to do so, giving them an incentive to do so. If everybody just ignored it I have no idea how much copra would be produced.

Mr. FJARE. I think that is all, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Well, I certainly desire to express my appreciation to Mr. Arnold and to Mr. Yeomans for the very informative testimony that they have given us about this difficult problem.

Before we close with you, however, Mr. Arnold, you submitted a copy of the lease between the Department of the Interior or the Government of American Samoa and the Van Camp Co. for the record, did you not?

Mr. ARNOLD. Mr. Moore of the Van Camp Co. submitted his copy of the lease for the record.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Have you seen a copy of that lease that he supplied? Mr. ARNOLD. Yes, sir. I have examined our original signed copy, and find it identical.

much.

Mr. ELLIOTT. Thank you very
Mr. ARNOLD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ELLIOTT. At this time I have a letter dated February 2, 1956, from Richard Barrett Lowe, Governor of American Samoa, addressed to me from his office at Pago Pago, American Samoa. I would like to ask Mr. Derrickson of the committee staff to read this letter to the committee at this time.

I might say by way of background that Governor Lowe was here for a few days, and during that time he came to see me and discussed this question with me at some length. I asked him to reduce what he said to writing, and told him that if he would so do, when this matter was heard by the committee I would see that it was made a part of the record.