Building Boom

American Samoan Building Boom

American Samoan Governor H.

Rex Lee passed through San Francisco en route to Pago Pago on February 17 expressing “great optimism” about the territory’s whopping $l4 million 1961-62 fiscal year budget.

THE Governor and Treasurer James Flannery had been in Washing ton, DC, to argue their case for the increased budget before Congressional committees.

Last year’s American Samoa budget totalled $9.5 million, including a large supplemental appropriation granted late last year.

The $14.5 million is necessary, the Governor said, to complete many programmes already under way. These include rehabilitation of the school system, airport construction, highway improvements and general modernisa tion and replacement of public build ings and utilities. He said that work had been completed far enough so that “Americans need feel no shame when the South Pacific Conference convenes in Pago Pago in July”.

Pictured above are new schools be ing built at Utueli, Pago Pago. They will house the South Pacific Con ference in addition to two more buildings going up in the same area.

The building on the right is to be demolished.