FORTY-NINE years ago, the island’s newest newspaper, Marianas Variety, reported that the Marianas District Legislature would convene to establish the Marianas Future Status Commission.
In 1972, the NMI was still part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the U.S., but was eager for a closer affiliation with America. As a Congress of Micronesia senator from the NMI would put it, “Our concern now is to become part of the United States with the opportunity to negotiate whatever is best for the people of the Marianas.”
The TT consisted of six districts — the Marianas (the NMI), Palau, the Marshalls, Ponape (Pohnpei), Truk (Chuuk) and Yap — and its lawmaking body was the bicameral Congress of Micronesia. Each district, moreover, elected their local legislatures. In the NMI’s case, it also had mayors, municipal councils and village commissioners. The chief executive of the TT government was an American high commissioner, an appointee of the U.S. president. Each district had a district administrator who was an appointee of the high commissioner. And then there were the various executive departments, agencies and other offices across the districts.
Not surprisingly, the TT government was “the largest source of [local] employment and income.” (See the 1966 Nathan Report.) And the TT government budget’s primary goal was to fund government payroll. Says a former American TT official: “We will hire them and they’ll sit at a desk, won’t be very much to do, but we just can’t have them going out sitting under a coconut tree somewhere. They’re going to have to sit there eight hours a day and do the typing or push the paper or whatever it was that had to be done in order to justify this pay.”
In any case, one of the bills introduced in the Congress of Micronesia in 1972 would appropriate $10,000 (worth about $32,000 today) to pay for the travel and other expenses of the members’ wives to and from sessions of the Congress of Micronesia.
Marianas Variety’s 12th issue published on June 2, 1972 included a report on a local hardware and general merchandise store in Chalan Kanoa that had been “burglarized no less than six times this year.” The owner told Variety, “This is going too far. I have lost thousands of dollars worth of goods and the public safety department has not been able to put a stop to it. Now I am going to take drastic measures. I will have dogs and an armed guard to protect my property.” He noted that suspects had been “caught by the police or turned over to the police, only to return after several days for the usual pilfering.”
In other news: assault and battery, theft, drunk driving, drunken and disorderly conduct, the District Legislature building burglarized, and a report about fighting inside the Kon-Tiki-Room Bar, although when police arrived they “found no one fighting.”
In the same issue, the TT district economic development officer said the TT government should stop competing with the private sector. He cited three examples: Dr. Torres Hospital had been supplying party ice; the Central Repair Shop was repairing private vehicles; and the Refrigeration Shop was servicing private air-conditioners. Moreover, employees of Public Works were performing drafting and design work for private citizens.
“Cessation of government activities when adequate equivalent exist in private business is a prime economic principle,” said the district economic development officer. “We call upon all sectors of the TT government to cease such operation and allow the private sector to perform its functions and prosper.”
Variety asked its readers: What’s the difference between the two political parties?
Some of the answers:
• “The difference is that the Territorial Party wants to unite with the other districts [while] the Popular Party is against it…. The Popular Party [also] nominates candidates who are not qualified to hold public offices.”
• “The Popular Party has been lying to the people and I see no end to it. They make promises and then right after election, they are a do-nothing bunch….”
• “I don’t think there is any difference between the Popular Party and the Territorial Party.”
• “The big difference are the names. One starts with a ‘P’ and the other with a ‘T.’ ”
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