Samoan Banana

Production

Reply to Complaint About Official "Czars"

THE complaint of a correspondent, “Seeker of Justice”, who insisted that he was the victim of “little czars” of the banana industry in West ern Samoa, and who said that the pro duction of bananas in that Territory was equal to twice the demand, was pub lished in the “P.1.M.” in May.

The “Western Samoa Mail” of June 8. declared that our correspondent’s state ments were untrue, and proceeded:— “Seeker of Justice” first sought pub licity through the “Western Samoa Mail”, but as we were conversant with the facts of his complaint, which were that he packed fruit not in accordance with the regulations laid down for fruit for ship ment, and therefore gave himself a lot of trouble packing it, and the Admini stration the trouble of rejecting it.

Here are the facts as given to us by the Inspector of Produce: “The writer has no plantation of his own. Some bananas sent in by his son were rejected by my Inspector. The re jects were tipped out on the floor of the shed in the presence of himself, his son, and other settlers from Aleisa. I showed him the very immature bananas and he said that they were mature and that I should not have rejected them.

“I peeled off the skin of one, and showed him a banana no bigger than my little finger. I mentioned that I was re

sponsible for the quality of fruit arriv ing in New Zealand and I could not accept bananas of that type. He then said that I was not to send any more cases to his son as he would not ship any more.

“I showed the bananas I had rejected to the Acting Administrator and two members of the Aleisa Settlement Board (Messrs. Smyth and Paul). Th-y an 'agreed that the fruit was of inferior quality. I have told all settlers, many times, that I would take all the good quality bananas they had any time. They are given all the cases th°y can fill with good fruit.”

The statement in the complainant’s letter, to the effect that there is keen competition amongst copra and cocoa buyers is wholly incorrect. The price paid by all buyers is an agreed price, governed by the market value. There is nothing to hinder the Aleisa Settlers growing copra and cocoa for export if they wish to.

On one occasion a planter in the Aleisa Settlement made application for no less than one hundred cases, and as the In spector of Produce very much doubted if the plantation could produce more than thirty cases of suitable fruit for shipment, an inspection of the plantation was arranged, when every plant in the plantation was inspected in the presence of the planter and members of the Alesia Board, who agreed to the passing for shipment, or condemning as not fit fpr shipment, as each plant was con sidered. When this inspection was over it was definitely proved that, at the very most, the planter could not ship more than thirty cases, which was the original estimate of the Inspector of Produce.

Had a quota been given out for one hund red cases he would in all probability have had seventy cases rejected.

The following is the average allotment for each month which leaves Samoa, to gether with the value thereof:

Cases. £ Samoans .. 11,400 2,850 Local Born . . . . 3,520 880 Aleisa Settlers .. 1,280 320 Europeans . . .. 470 117 Chinese 140 35 16,810 4,202