Local attorney Howard Trapp has publicly commented that President Truman “stole Fena from us less than two months after we got it,” or words to that effect. We assume that the two-month period Mr. Trapp mentions is that beginning on Aug. 1, 1950, with the enactment of the Organic Act of Guam; the Act provided for transfer of ownership of certain U.S. government-owned properties to GovGuam and for other properties to be turned over to the control of GovGuam if not reserved by the president within 90 days.
On Oct. 30, 1950, President Truman promulgated Executive Order 10178 that identified properties to be reserved. Fena River Reservoir was, and is, among them. They were placed under control of the secretary of the Navy with provision for delegation of control to other agencies. Many of those properties have since been released to GovGuam, but not Fena.
It’s inappropriate to characterize the actions of Mr. Truman — now recognized by those who matter as one of America’s greatest presidents — in that fashion. His reservation of Fena was what he believed to be in the best interest and furtherance of national defense and security.
I believe it was a good decision. Nobody familiar with the GovGuam track record in maintenance and upkeep of utility systems can rationally argue that Fena, had it reverted to GovGuam in 1950, would exist as it does today, rather than neglected and rundown like the rest of Guam’s water and wastewater infrastructure. It’s unquestionably vital to the Pacific area military mission in Guam, and President Truman knew that.
Guam’s water systems and other public assets have deteriorated over the past 60 years, simply because our consummately dependent society refuses to pay to maintain them. Local politicians, of course, follow the path of least resistance as a means to stay in office. We’ve all seen the results of that denial and procrastination. We are all now paying several times — through federally imposed consent decrees, stipulated orders and receiverships — what it would have cost to do it right in the first place.
President Truman’s decision to reserve those properties also arguably violated the Organic Act. Here’s the timeline:
• Quitclaim deed dated July 31, 1950: Transferred property from the Naval Government of Guam to the United States of America as filed with Land Registrar of Guam on Aug. 4, 1950.
• Organic Act of Guam, effective Aug. 1, 1950: Transferred title to that same property to GovGuam, effective within 90 days. All other property, not reserved by the president of the United States within 90 days, would revert to the control of the government of Guam.
• Executive Order 10178, Oct. 31, 1960: Reserved certain properties to be placed under the control of the Secretary of the Navy. Most of those properties — perhaps all — may have been reserved in violation of the terms of the Organic Act. It’s certainly questionable whether the Act provided authority to reserve any of those properties noted in the July 31, 1950 quitclaim deed.
The Organic Act context leaves room for interpretation. Though I have no ready access to the land records, it’s likely that most or all of the reserved properties, including Fena, should have automatically reverted to GovGuam ownership not later than Oct. 31, 1950. Perhaps Governor Gutierrez caved too soon.
Fena is available to GovGuam at a fair market value price in the neighborhood of $300 million. President Obama, darling of Democrats across the nation including those in Guam, made that possible through his signature on the Defense Appropriations Act.
Sounds like a sweetheart deal to me. Where else could GovGuam find a fully functional, well-maintained facility of that magnitude for that price? I suggest that they take it while it’s on the table. Who knows what geopolitical or natural events might transpire to make the offer go away, or cause the asking price to go up.
DAVE DAVIS
Yigo, Guam
