With Cap And Beils!

An Official Cheerer-Up for Sad Micronesians

Equipped with pingpong bails, horseshoes, novelty tricks and bits and pieces of sporting goods, Mr. A. K. Powlison has de parted from Honolulu for the Korror archipelago, in the Western Carolines, on a mission that is new in Pacific Islands history.

According to one of the Planners of the Trust Territory of Micronesia (now in the care of United States) the native people of Korror are suf fering “cultural dislocations and emotional stresses,” as a result of the impact of foreign ways upon their traditional manner of living.

In the last 150 years, they have been ruled by Spaniards, Germans, Japanese and Americans and, in the view of the Planners, their out look on life has been sadly dis rupted.

And so—believe it or not, Mr, Ripley!—it has been decided offici ally that they must be cheered up.

Mr. Powlison is to be the cheer leader.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin of No vember 24, says that Mr. Powlison “is a former director of recreation for City Parks and playgrounds; he has had more than 30 years’ ex perience in organising recreation.”

He is to spend the next 15 months “on a pioneer project designed to help smooth out alien influences that have disrupted the lives of the people of the Palau Islands (Korror) for 40 years.”

The Honolulu writer says: “Mr, Powlison’s job is to try and help convince the Palauans that they want to un-dislocate and un-stress themselves, and then help them proceed to do it.” Mrs. Powlison is to go and assist her husband in Korror when a house is available, [t is also noted that Mr. Powlison’s project is under the direction of the South Pacific Commission and the Administrator of the Trust Ter ritory. * * * The foregoing is a condensation }f the article in the Honolulu news paper which purports to describe seriously a project of the South Pacific Commission and the Trust Ferritory Administration. We pre :er to present it as a prime ex ample of irresponsible journalism md American ballyhoo. , It is difficult to believe that the sPC —the solemn embodiment of six esponsible Governments— would de spatch a games organiser, complete vith pingpong balls and novelty ;ricks, on a mission designed to )rmg back the sparkle to the eyes )f the melancholy half-breeds of he Western Carolines. That surely vould be the reductio ad ahsurdum )f the important tasks that have >een allotted to the SPC