$25 Per Coconut

Tree

Canard Which Angered the Americans

OFFICIAL announcements from all the interests concerned —including the British Government and Levers Pacific Plantations, Ltd—flatly deny the truth of the report that the United States Government is being debited with $25 for every coconut tree destroyed in the course of American war operations in the British Solomons Islands, It is a good thing that the report was dealt with. It has had a wide currency among American personnel and, as was natural, it has caused much resentment.

This writer heard it first, months ago, in a Sydney restaurant. Two young Americans told him there that “Levers were demanding £4 a coconut tree—and were getting it, with the support of the British Government,” Both lads were exceedingly angry over it. I said that I could not believe it; but one of them insisted that he knew, from personal experience, that the report was correct.

It is officially stated that, not only is the report totally untrue: but, also, there seems to have been no basis for it.

Probable Start Of Story

THE basis possibly lies in efforts that are being made, by administrative officials in the Solomons and else where, to assemble some sort of data for use after the war, when an attempt prob ably will be made to give compensation for war damage to planters whose pro perties have been ruined by direct war operations. If a hundred coconut trees on a plantation have been destroyed by war, it would be the duty of administra tive officers there to make a record of it, and to get the OC of the forces there to testify in writing to the fact. If either the administrative officer or the OC were stupid, the procedure could be com pletely misunderstood. As Levers’ plan tations are all over the Solomon Islands which have been involved in war, Levers necessarily will figure prominently in any compensation picture of the future.

But it would be absurd to expect the United States to pay for damage incurred in a country, in the process of saving that country from invasion.

Not one word has been said officially to indicate that the British Government will pay compensation in the war-blasted British territories of Solomon Islands, Gilbert Islands, Borneo, Malaya, etc., and it is unlikely that any promise will be given before the war is over. Property owners, however, are confident that, even tually, they will receive help in rehabili tation.

In the Australian Territories (Papua, New Guinea and Northern Territory) a large fund for the payment of compen sation has been created by a special tax (in the shape of “compulsory war dam age insurance”) upon all real estate in Australia; and this fund now is so big that sufferers from indirect as well as direct war damage could be compensated therefrom.

Already, however, there are indications that the greedy eyes of Australia’s Social ist Ministers are upon this fund. The fund was raised for the restoration of war-damaged property, especially in the Islands; but these Ministers hope to use the millions that are left, after paying for direct war damage only, for the advancement of some Socialistic plan or other in Australia. —RWR.