Dollar-Prosperity
pp. 33-34 · Read in the full issue
Official Report
On Samoa's
The 1941-45 Period in Statistics
From Our Own Correspondent
Apia, Nov. 5.
rR, the first time in four years an official report has been issued by New Zealand in respect of Western Samoa. This covers the period March, 1941, to March, 1945, inclusive.
In an introduction, the report discusses the arrival of the American Forces in March, 1942—the greatest single influence on the Territory in the period covered by the report; the construction of an airport out of Apia; and the appointment of Mr.
A. C. Turnbull as Administrator in Feb ruary, 1943. (Mr. Turnbull served as Act ing Administrator from 1935.) Other wise the report deals with the financial, economic and social conditions of the Territory, a summary of which follows: — Commerce r BLOWING the entry of the United States into thfc war, the prices for cocoa beans and copra rose consider ably. Since July, 1942, the total produc tion of copra has been purchased by the British Ministry of Food at a reasonable price, and appropriate prices to be paid by merchants to producers have been fixed by the Administration.
In 1942 the Food Controller purchased the cocoa bean crop for the year at satis factory prices, and the Administration fixed the prices payable to producers.
Since January, 1943, merchants have negotiated their own sales of cocoa beans at increased prices, and the Administra tion continues to watch the interests of producers.
The Price Tribunal established in Apia has controlled the prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities such as petrol, kerosene and building material, so that the profit is limited to the amount of the monetary margin of profit obtain ing at September 3, 1939, on the same or similar goods.
In the past four years 224 Price Orders covering 1,016 lines of goods have been issued. In February, 1943, all goods not covered by specific Price Orders were brought under control by the issue of a Price Order which fixed the selling prices of these goods at landed cost, plus 30 per cent, in Apia or landed cost, plus 40 per cent, in out-districts.
Generally, the prices fixed have been observed by the trading community, but prosecutions for overcharging were taken in 90 cases and convictions obtained in 78 instances.
No special staff has been provided to implement the policy of price control, which has, nevertheless, been reasonably successful in retarding the rise in the cost of living.
Imports and exports have been as follows, in New Zealand £’s:—
The extraordinary leap of imports in 1943 corresponds .to the peak of the dollar-prosperity .period. Except in that year, 1943, New Zealand was the country of origin of the bulk of Samoan imports.
In 1943, however, America was respon sible for imports valued at £243,850 £lO,OOO more than from New Zealand, Almost the same tale can be told of
Imports Exports £ £ 1940 221,733 1941 . .. 154,335 242,881 1942 , .. 299,664 385,409 1943 . .. 605,911 278,213 1944 . .. 460,764 391,317
the exports. In 1941 New Zealand took the bulk of Western Samoan produce, but by 1944 the United States was receiving Samoan exports to the value of £242,188 —more than double of those to New Zea land. This was caused to a large extent by the Anglo-American Agreement with regard to copra. All copra in the South Pacific goes to America; that in the South-West Pacific to Australia and Britain.
It is interesting to note that at the peak of the dollar-prosperity period in 1943, exports reached a five-year low; this was due to the Samoans’ neglect of plantations in favour of more payable work for the Americans and in making curios.
Financial REVENUE during the five-year period increased sharply from £107,708 total revenue in 1940-41 to £28J.,092 in 1944-45, the bulk of the increase being obtained from the Treasury and the Customs Departments. During the period, however, expenditure also rose from £llO,OOO in 1940-41 to £225,879 in 1944-45.
From 1939 to 1941 the Treasury showed a small annual deficit, but in 1942-43 there was a £9,000 surplus which rose, by 1944-45 to £55,154.
No new direct taxes were introduced during the period, although the scope of some of them widened. Direct taxes are levied as store tax, salary tax, building tax and water rates.
There was a gradual increase in the number of savings bank depositors over the period, 1943 again being the peak year for total deposits (a rise of 40 per cent, on 1940 figures). But by 1944-45, although the number of depositors had again in creased, deposits had fallen to almost 1940 figures. The inference is plain: that the Samoans have saved very little from the period of dollar-prosperity, Social Conditions rE report has this to say about the social conditions of the Samoans, some of which will be disputed by some European residents who have lived through the American invasion period;— “Inevitable increases in the prices of goods, as to which assistance has been afforded by a Government price control of all imported, and some local, commo dities, have been offset by marked re coveries in the values of copra and cocoa, and financially the Samoans have ex perienced, during the last three years, a large increase of prosperity. Perhaps even more influential than the higher values of produce has been the amount of money released by the spending of United States Forces and personnel.
“The Samoan reaction was that they undoubtedly enjoyed the ability to spend, yet there are signs that the fundamentals of Samoan culture were not upset. The money was freely spent, but not so much on luxuries of European style as in a greater indulgence in Samoan forms of social intercourse.
“Now that the tide of money is reced ing to normal, the Samoans are fortu nately not in a position of having adopted a different standard of living while money flowed.
“The Samoans have always had suffi cient funds for their money needs, and
have recently had the experience of re munerative employment offered by the United States military authorities under comparatively easy conditions of labour.
They have, therefore, not been so willing to become employed in continuous plan tation work, and consequently there has been a difficulty in obtaining sufficient labour for that purpose.
“Attempts to alleviate the position by the engagement of labour from Niue and the Tokelau Islands were not successful in the case of the latter, and owing to sickness and incompatibility the Tokelau labourers were returned to their own Group after less than the period of service that had been agreed upon.
“The Niueans have given very satis factory service. The general position is likely to ease with altered war condi tions.”
Public health appears to be normal, al though the infant mortality rate is still excessively high—somewhere in the vici nity of 70 deaths per 1,000 of registered births in four of the years under review, but with an interesting rise to 124 deaths per 1,000 registered births in the dollar prosperity year of 1943.
In 1945 there were 2.161 Samoan births and 647 Samoan deaths; 135 European and part-European births and 14 deaths.
It is worth noting that the native Samoan population has doubled itself in the past 26 years. After the disastrous influenza epidemic of 1918 the population was esti mated at 31 200; to-day it is estimated at 62,000.