"Dictators" And

Bananas

Complaint From Western Samoa

Letter to the Editor IT is common knowledge that, when the prices of our principal indus tries in Western Samoa fell to below cost of production, the banana industry came to our rescue and has helped us along considerably.

But there is one fact which the people of Samoa do not realise fully—banana planting does not pay. A poor man, who starts a banana plantation, with the object of making money, will find himself puzzled and humiliated, because the supply is much greater than the demand.

Worse still, the banana industry is in the hands of one “dictator”, and it is well known that dictatorial powers can be harshly exercised.

There are several copra and cocoa buyers in Samoa; hence, there is keen competition among the buyers. More over, cocoa and copra can be held; but bananas cannot be preserved—one is compelled to sell them, or let them rot.

And there is only one banana-buyer.

Every banana-planter in Samoa has to annroach this high authority respect fully, and accept his dictum —an intoler able situation. It is better for planters to quit banana-planting, as the writer of this letter has experienced. Thank God, all people are not built the same: there are yet people who will sacrifice everything for principle and justice.

I am, etc.,

Seeker Of Justice.

Apia, March 19, 1940.

EDITORIAL NOTE:—The Western Samoan Administration, during the past four years, has carried out with success a vigorous policy of settling families <mostly Eurohesians) in group settlements of small plantations. These settlers and their families have worked hard, and have succeeded in producing large quan tities of bananas, in the belief that there was a market for all their produce. It now appears that the production of bananas in Western Samoa is about double the demand, and a good many of the smaller settlements have been ser iously affected.

It is another example of the stupidity of Pacific Islands administrations gener ally. They actively encourage settlement and production, but do not seem to recog nise any responsibility in regard to pro viding a market for the product of the new enterprises. There are millions of acres of good land available in the Pacific Territories, and thousands of men eager to turn those acres to production; but only a co-ordinated and intelligent effort by the various administrations will pro vide the third essential factor—namelv, a reasonably safe and profitable market.

Mr. A. D. Patel, M.A., LL.B., a promin ent Indian lawyer in Fiji, left the Colony in mid-April to spend a holidav in India.

He has been living in Fiji for the past 12 years and during that period has done valuable work in furthering the rights and privileges of the Indians in Fiji.

Mr. T. Tsiang, Chinese Vice-Consul in Suva, Fiji, has been promoted to the post of Consul at Bombay, India.