Samoa's Boom Meeting

Trade Restrictions

From Our Own Correspondent APIA. April 22.

WESTERN Samoa is still booming, under wartime prosperity—high produce prices, and high wages.

So far, Western Samoa has been able to get a fair amount of the necessary goods for European and native trade from USA. Australia and New Zealand, supplemented by locally-produced meat, vegetables and fruit. In this respect, according to travellers’ reports, we are actually better off than New Zealand and Fiji, though clothing, footwear and hardware are difficult to obtain.

However, there may be restrictions imposed on imports from USA. where rationing has been imposed on many foodstuffs and on drapery as well as hardware.

Mr. G. O. Higgins, representative of the US Board of Economic Warfare, arrived at Apia recently and has opened an office here. Orders for USA by local importers have now to be submitted to him before despatch, and he makes his recommendations to Washington regard ing freight priority, at the same time eliminating non-essential lines. and goods necessary for the USA war effort.

New export restrictions just announced in Australia, particularly in regard to meats and fruits, may also reduce the quantity of foodstuffs available for import from Australia, while meat orders from New Zealand are also consider ably reduced in volume.

Regarding American goods, however, it is believed that the interest taken by the States in South Pacific air bases will safeguard our interests, so we should be able to get essential imports, even if in somewhat reduced quantity, from Amer ica—especially as the latter country takes an appreciable portion of our exports of copra and cocoa beans.

The Rev. L. D. Fullerton has been accepted for service with the Methodist Overseas Mission in Fiji.