WHAT were they complaining about in the NMI 49 years ago? At the time, the NMI was still part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the U.S., and Saipan was the seat of the TT government which was the main employer of local residents.
As the Nathan Report noted in 1966, under the U.S. administration, many islanders “were employed in [government] positions for which they did not qualify, and neither funds nor personnel were available to provide the necessary training or supervision to enable them to learn to do the assigned jobs. Productivity and performance on many programs were low, and costs…high….” When the TT government budget was increased by the feds, the result was “a new surge of government.” The additional funding “was generally used for doing about three times as much of the same kinds of things, in the same general ways in which they had been done during the previous decade” of U.S. rule.
Change you can believe in!
Among the letters to the editor published in the Oct. 5, 1972 issue of Marianas Variety was from a resident complaining about the island’s “critical” power situation. The power plant “burned to the ground” in August, and the letter writer wanted to know “if there is veracity whatsoever in the rumors that full power will not be restored until Christmas.”
Another letter to the editor accused the police of “brutality.” He said a detective “blew his top and kicked a prisoner on the shoulders.” The sheriff was present at the time “yet he did not do a thing to stop his detective…or even suspend him from work.”
The TT government, according to another letter writer, was campaigning for President Richard Nixon’s re-election. TT employees “received through [TT] mail an invitation to a fundraising dinner called ‘The Happening.’ Government employees are not allowed to campaign. Is it ethical then for the mail department to accept and send cards asking for donations to further propaganda for the Nixon regime? … Could it be that the guest list from this ‘Happening’ will be used for future promotions? ‘That’s politics.’ Whenever a question concerning ethics or honesty in our government comes up, this is [the reply] of 90% of the people. Should we accept this?”
Spoiler alert: Nixon garnered over 60% of the popular vote, winning in 49 of the 50 states.
An op-ed submitted by another unhappy resident asked MV readers, “Don’t you ever stop and think just what the hell our Congressmen are doing for us?” He was referring to the road conditions in the island’s primary villages: Chalan Kanoa, Susupe and Oleai/San Jose. They “are so lousy that a Sherman tank or an amphibious assault craft would make an ideal mode of transportation if you want to go around these villages.”
The op-ed writer likewise noted that while foreign investors were “pouring into the Marianas with their thick wallets leasing up all the choice public lands,” “hundreds of citizens are without land even though they qualify under the law to be given village or agricultural homestead.” Meanwhile, “our youths spend their free time puffing marijuana, guzzling beer or racing around public streets on motorcycles and cars because our leaders have made nothing available for them in the form of recreation.” As for the houses in Chalan Kanoa, they “are so closely packed together that in many areas you will find one’s outhouse only a few feet from his neighbor’s kitchen.” (Indoor plumbing was still a dream for many island residents back then.)
According to the op-ed writer, “Oh yes, our Congressmen tell us they introduce bills to remedy all of the above…. But the [TT] Administration, they tell us, will not cooperate with them, and other officials, especially Congressmen from the other districts, only turn deaf ears to our pleas. Hail! Our gallant crusaders, our courageous statesmen for their persistent efforts to deliver us from all these sufferings. By the way, have you heard about the new pay raise for members of the Congress of Micronesia? That’s right, twelve thousand smackers [worth about $78,000 today] for our valiant leaders. And let us not get angry when they take their wives along with them on a trip. After all they get lonely too…. Finally, your assignment for tonight is to sit down and design an official attire for our Congressmen. You wouldn’t want them to be seen wearing the same clothes as we do. Why, that’s revolting!”
He was referring to MV’s front-page story, “Congress of Micronesia Begins Fashion Contest.” A joint resolution was introduced in that “august body” to “provide for the selection of an official attire (men’s and women’s) for members” through a TT-wide contest. There would be two winners from each TT district, one for men’s attire and one for women’s attire. The winners would receive $250 each. (Worth about $1,600 today.)
“Entrants designing men’s clothes must create a garment or whatever to cover only the upper portion of the lawmaker’s body,” MV reported. “The resolution…does not specify what portion of the woman’s body is to be covered by the new fashion.”
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