Testimony of Frank G. Lujan

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"some basic law or grant not subject to change at the will of the

Governor."

This effort was coupled with the long quest for Citizenship. A petition by 1,965 Guamanian leaders to President Roosevelt

sought greater political recognition and was followed in 1936 by the Guam legislature unanimously requesting citizenship.

own

At its

expense--the federally appointed Naval Governor having refused the use of public funds for this purpose--Guam sent a

delegation to Washington (Messrs. Baltazar Bordallo and Francisco B. Leon Guerrero) in support of a citizenship bill. As a result, in 1937 the first bill to confer U.S. citizenship for Guam was introduced in Congress. Hearings were held, Secretary of Navy Swanson testified

that it would be prejudicial

to the best

they

interests of the United States and the local inhabitants to grant such citizenship, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull, upon being pressed, also favored delay. The representatives of the Guam Congress based their case on the statements of the U.S. Naval governor's themselves and, suppressing any dissatisfaction felt with naval rule, earnestly and sincerely indicated their desire to achieve the dignity and benefits of U.S. citizenship. In Executive session the committee held hearings on the Whatever relationship of citizenship to international relations. this relationship was, it seemed benefitted by lack of citizenship for Guam for the bill died in committee.

It proved, on the one hand,

World War II brought major ramifications States and Guam status relationship.

Testimony of Frank G. Lujan

Page 3

the loyalty and dedication

of the people of Guam; and, on the

other, the difficulty and basic injustice when major political institutions are not in the hands of those whom they are supposed

to serve.

After the war, Guam continued to press for civil government and for United States citizenship. Guam's experience with naval government had been, not unexpectedly, very bleak. Many of the naval governors had earnestly worked for the people of Guam, but others had a much narrower perspective. All of them had a very short tenure so that the continuing concern which a people expects from its Executive was never present.

In July 1946 the first legislation providing an Organic Act for Guam was introduced in Congress. Since it would transfer

jurisdiction from the Navy

Department to the Department of the

Interior, the issue of self-government for Guam became tied to the irrelevant question of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Navy's past administration.

delay.

In January 1947, the Guam

As a result, there was further

Legislature asked the naval

Guam

Governor to give it the right to take action on revisions, amendments and enactments of local laws before they became law on the Island. In August, the Governor announced that the Legislature was to have legislative authority, subject to veto; or, if a bill were repassed by a two-thirds vote, to the the Navy. Secretary of

ultimate decision

of the

his

The Governor

Testimony of Frank G. Lujan

Page 4

retained the right to legislate by decree if, in his opinion,

time were "of the essence".

The demand for citizenship and an Organic Act was renewed by

resolution of the Guam

Legislature in December 1948 and

unanimously the next year. conflict between Governor Pownall then the federally appointed Naval governor, and the elected Guam Legislature.

The year 1949 also brought a direct

The issue, the

power of the Legislature to subpoena witnesses, led to a major confrontation before it was resolved. The Guam Legislature refused to meet and the Governor attempted to declare the seats vacant and appointed substitutes.

Passage of the Organic Act in 1950, then, was the product of years of pursuit, struggle, and initiative by the territorial

populace.

However, the Act's provisions which contained were something of a

citizenship and

disappointment.

organized self-government

The Governor was still appointed by the for any representation in

President and there was no provision

Washington.

Guam persisted and in 1964 the Seventh Guam Legislature provided for an elected

representative

in Washington.

This

initiative and persistence resulted finally in obtaining for Guam

in 1968 an elected

governor.

In 1972 Congress granted Guam a

non-voting delegate in the Congress who has committee

objection of the Guam Legislature and sharp protest in testimony

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Page 5

of Guam

officials, a federally appointed Comptroller with broad powers was inserted in the Elective

judicial and executive

Governor Act of 1968.

The Organic Act has been amended numerous times but Congress has not, however, over the three-quarters of a century since the United States obtained control of the Island of Guam from Spain, fully reviewed or altered the political status of Guam as an unincorporated territory of the United States.

continual reevaluation and mounting

proper political aspirations of

With the

world-wide concern for the non-self-governing and non

independent peoples, now is the time for such review and readjustment of the United States Federal relationship with the Territory of Guam.

This Political Status Commission, authorized in 1973 by the 12-17, grew out of a it grew out of the

most notably,

the

Twelfth Guam Legislature pursuant to P.L. long-standing local concern. Within Guam recent renewed interest in status concerns: authorization by the Ninth Guam Legislature of the holding of the First constitutional Convention of Guam in 1968. The Legislature called for a comprehensive review of the Organic Act and suggested that certain provisions of that Act "are either outdated, inappropriate, Convention were elected pursuant to a general election and met in

plenary sessions

or unenforceable".

Delegates to the

to June 29, 1970.

from June 01, 1969, Public the Convention in each of the 19 villages

hearings were held by

in the Fall of 1969 in order to canvass the wishes of the public

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Page 6

at large.

Future political status was discussed at these hearings. Finally, we should note that the establishment of the Political Status commission had broad bi-partisan support in the Guam Legislature and was parallel by similar concern and activity in the Guam Executive Branch. 1

From the research and analysis of the various

status

alternatives performed by that Commission, we now have a specific

Commonwealth and Congress should respect that desire.

The United States, as a signatory of the charter of the recognized that the interests of the inhabitants

United Nations

of Guam are paramount and should ensure with due respect for our culture, our political, economic, social and educational

advancement and our just treatment.

Under the Treaty of Paris, Congress was given the moral and legal imperatives to determine the civil rights and political

status of the native inhabitants of Guam.

То the

question why should the U.S. Congress grant Commonwealth Status to the people of Guam, let me emphasize three

points:

I have quoted at length from the Status of Guam, Report of Political Status Commission of the Twelfth Guam Legislature (September, 1974)