Micronesian Reporter 1961 V09 05

Micronesian Reporter 1961 V09 05. Micronesian Reporter (Report). Hagåtña, Guam: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. September 1961. p. 32.

• Has attachment: File:VHBRKCVU.pdf

Abstract: Beginning in 1951, the Headquarters for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) regularly published a magazine that detailed its work in the region. From 1951 through the first issue of 1956, the magazine was known as the Micronesian Monthly; from the second issue of 1956 through the end of the run in 1980, it was known as the Micronesian Reporter. From 1951 through December 1967, publication cycles varied: For the most part, the magazine was produced monthly, though certain issues cover two or more months. Starting in 1968, the magazine was formally shifted to a quarterly publication cycle, which continued through the first quarter of 1980, when publication ceased.

The September–October 1961 issue reported extensively on the first election under Moen’s new municipal charter in Truk District. On October 25, voters of Moen (now Weno) elected five congressmen to represent them in the First Truk District Congress. Ten candidates campaigned, and new procedures were followed: each required twenty-five nominating signatures, nomination postings were placed in villages, and official ballots carried both candidate names and distinctive pictorial symbols for illiterate voters. Election boards, composed of representatives chosen by each candidate, administered voting and ensured secrecy. The final elected representatives included Petrus Mallo of Mwan, Mifhi Kolios of Mwan, Napoleon Defang of Sapuk, Max Mori of Turmuk, and Ru of Sapuk.

The issue also documented the Second Annual Micronesian Leaders’ Conference, held in Guam in October 1961. Eighteen delegates representing all seven districts gathered to discuss key matters such as copra production, trochus harvesting, land and riparian rights, transportation, public health, and education. The conference resolved that a Micronesian should sit on the Copra Stabilization Board, that trochus transplantation programs should expand, and that territorial waters would remain protected from foreign poachers. Delegates called for more vocational training programs, particularly in Palau and Chuuk, and pressed for expanded scholarships and better medical training.

Further developments in transportation and infrastructure were addressed. Twelve surplus Navy landing craft were acquired from Japan for inter-island service, and construction of a new ship for Ponape District was announced. Plans were underway for dredging Rota harbor, while outer-island radio communication improvements were also proposed. Agricultural modernization, including hog and poultry upgrades and cacao cultivation, featured in discussions of new cash crops. The conference and related reports reflected growing coordination between district leaders and the Trust Territory administration .

Volume Nine, Number Five (1961) Index:

Doone 11 – 12 Guam I, 2, 7 – 11, 13, 17, 20, 22 Interior 2, 30 Kabua 24, 28 Kasiano 16, 20 Kusaie (Kosrae) 28, 30 Metalanim (or "Madolenihmw") 1, 5 Naval 9 – 10 Palau 1, 5, 9, 11 – 16, 18, 20, 22 – 24, 28, 30 Ponape (Pohnpei) I, 5, 9, 21, 23, 25, 27 – 30 Sengebau 21, 27 Swei 30 Tatasy 11, 24 Truk (Chuuk) 8, 11, 22 – 26 Yap 1, 3 – 5, 12, 18, 23 – 25