HBP CONTENTS Page Ammons, Teller, attorney at law (former Governor of the State of 42 Bordallo, A. T., president, Guam Chamber of Commerce- Hotz, William J., attorney at law, 1530 City National Bank Building, Lemke, William, United States Representative from the State of North Warne, William E., Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior, Wash- Silverman, Irwin W., chief counsel, Division of Territories and Island Pos- Won Pat, A. B., speaker of the house of assembly of the Guam Congress.. 48 Report on the organization of the present government of Guam, prepared by Stewart French, an attorney on the staff of the Senate Committee on León-Guerrero, Francisco B., member of the house of council of the Guam McDonnell, Pierce, attorney at law, Army and Navy Club, Washington, 53 III CIVIL GOVERNMENT FOR GUAM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1950 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m. in room 224 Senate Office Building, Senator Clinton P. Anderson (New Mexico), presiding. Present: Senators Clinton P. Anderson (New Mexico) and Glen H. Taylor (Idaho). Senator ANDERSON. The meeting will be in order. We will take up S. 1892 and companion bill H. R. 7273, and S. 185. [S. 185, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To provide a civil government for the island of Guam, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of this Act, and the name "Guam" as used in this Act, shall apply to and include the territorial domain, lands, and waters ceded to the United States in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of peace between the United States and Spain, signed at Paris, December 10, 1898, and entered into April 11, 1899. SEC. 2. Guam is hereby declared to be an unincorporated insular possession of the United States, and the capital and seat of government thereof shall be located at the city of Agana, Guam. SEC. 3. (a) All Spanish subjects residing in the island of Guam on April 11, 1899, (b) all natives of Guam who were temporarily absent from that island on said date, and (c) all natives of Guam born subsequent to such date are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States, if they are residing on the date of approval of this Act in the island of Guam or other territory over which the United States exercises rights of sovereignty and are not citizens of the United States under any other Act: Provided, That any person hereinbefore described who is a citizen or national of a country other than the United States and desires to retain his present political status may do so by making, within two years of the effective date of this Act, a declaration under oath of such desire, said declaration to be in form and executed in the manner prescribed by regulations. From and after the making of such a declaration any such person shall be held not to be a citizen of the United States by virtue of this Act. The Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, with the approval of the Attorney General, is hereby authorized and empowered to make and prescribe such rules and regulations not in conflict with this Act as he may deem necessary and proper. Section 501 (d) of the Act of October 14, 1940 (ch. 876, 54 Stat. 1137), is amended to read: "The term 'United States' when used in a geographical sense means the continental United States, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States." BILL OF RIGHTS SEC. 4. No law shall be enacted in Guam which shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any person therein the equal protection of the laws. 1 In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to have a copy thereof, to have a speedy and public trial, to be confronted with the witnesses against him, and to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law; and no person for the same offense shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment, nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. All persons shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. No law impairing the obligations of contracts shall be enacted. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in case of rebellion, insurrection, or invasion, the public safety may require it, in any of which events the same may be suspended by the President, or by the Governor, whenever during such period the necessity for such suspension may exist. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use except upon payment of just compensation ascertained in the manner provided by law. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the power of the legislature to enact laws for the protection of the lives, health, or safety of the inhabitants. No law granting a title of nobility shall be enacted, and no person holding any office of profit or trust under the government of Guam shall, without the consent of the Congress of the United States, accept any present, emolument, office, title, or decoration of any kind whatever from any king, queen, prince, government, or foreign state, or any officer thereof. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. The right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated. No warrant for arrest or search shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Neither slavery nor peonage shall exist on Guam. Involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, by a court of competent jurisdiction, shall not exist in Guam. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference shall forever be allowed. No political or religious test other than an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution and laws of the United States, and the laws of Guam, shall be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the government of Guam, or as a qualification for any public or private employment on Guam. No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or association, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such. Contracting of polygamous or plural marriages is prohibited. No money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper officer in pursuance thereof. The rule of taxation in Guam shall be uniform. All money derived from any tax levied or assessed for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund in the Treasury and paid out for such purpose only, except upon the approval of the President of the United States. Eight hours shall constitute a day's employment in all cases of employment of laborers and mechanics by and on behalf of the government of Guam, except in case of emergency. The employment of children under the age of fourteen years in every occupation injurious to health or morals or hazardous to life or limb is hereby prohibited. Education and schooling in a school approved by the board of education and the Governor of Guam shall be compulsory for all children between the ages of six and sixteen years. Public Law 396, Seventy-ninth Congress, second session, the National School Lunch Act, is hereby amended by inserting "the island of Guam," after the comma following the words "Puerto Rico" in section 4 of that Act. There shall be equal pay for equal work in Guam, regardless of the citizenship, place of permanent residence, race, color, age, sex, creed, or other circumstances of the person employed: Provided, That nothing herein shall be construed in such manner as to prohibit the payment to any civilian officer or employee of the United States or the government of Guam of any so-called overseas bonus, cost-of-living differential, or other payment in addition to basic wages or salary as is compensation for overseas or tropical service or cost-of-living differential. No law shall be enacted nor shall any rule or regulation be issued to effect, authorize, or condone segregation of or discrimination against any resident of the island of Guam by reason of race, creed, color, sex, or political status. SEC. 5. (a) The title to all property owned by the United States and employed by the naval government of Guam in the administration of the affairs, or for the substantial benefit of the local inhabitants of Guam, including automotive and other equipment, tools and machinery, water and sewerage facilities, bus lines and other utilities, hospitals, schools, and other buildings, and the Naval Government Bank of Guam, its property and assets, shall be transferred to the govern ment of Guam within one year after the date of approval of this Act. (b) All other property owned by the United States in Guam, including property which may have been acquired by the United States in accordance with the aforementioned treaty of peace with Spain, or otherwise subsequently acquired, not heretofore or within one year hereafter reserved by the United States, is hereby placed under the control of the government of Guam, to be administered for the benefit of the people of Guam, and the Legislature of Guam, hereinafter provided for, shall have authority, subject to such limitations as may be imposed upon its acts by this Act or subsequent Acts of the Congress, to legislate with respect to such property in such manner as it may deem desirable. (c) All property owned by the United States in Guam, the title to which is not to be transferred to the government of Guam by paragraph (a) hereof, or which is not placed under the control of the government of Guam by paragraph (b) hereof, is transferred to the administrative supervision of the Department of the Interior, except as the President may from time to time otherwise prescribe: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall be authorized to lease or to sell on such terms as he may deem advantageous to the Government of the United States any property of the United States under his administrative supervision in Guam not needed for public purposes. (d) The United States shall pay annually into the treasury of Guam, with respect to any real property owned by the United States in Guam which is used for ordinary business or commercial purposes, amounts in lieu of taxes equal to the amount of taxes that would be payable on such property, if such property were in private ownership and taxable, but the valuation placed upon such property for taxation purposes by the local taxing authorities shall be reduced to a reasonable amount by the Secretary of the Interior, if after investigation, he finds that such valuation is excessive or unreasonable. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SEC. 6. (a) All local legislative powers of Guam, except as herein otherwise provided, shall be vested in a legislative body which shall be designated "the Legislature of Guam" (hereinafter referred to as the "legislature") and shall extend to all subjects of local application not inconsistent with this Act or the laws of the United States made applicable to Guam, but no law shall be enacted which would impair rights existing or arising by virtue of any treaty or international agreement entered into by the United States, nor shall the lands or other property of nonresidents be taxed higher than the lands or other property of residents: Provided, That the laws of the United States applicable to Guam on the date of approval of this Act, and all local laws and ordinances in force on such date in Guam, not inconsistent with this Act, shall continue in force and effect: Provided further, That the legislature shall have power, when not inconsistent with this Act and within its jurisdiction, to amend, alter, modify, or repeal any law of the United States of local application only, or any ordinance, public or private, civil or criminal, continued in force and effect by this Act, except as herein otherwise provided, and to enact new laws and ordinances not inconsistent with this Act and not inconsistent with the laws of the United States hereafter made applicable to Guam, subject to the power of Congress to annul the same. The laws of the United States relating to patents, trade-marks, and copyrights, and to the |