[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 111 (Friday, August 7, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1588-E1589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP DAY GREETINGS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOOD

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 6, 1998

  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, the Guam Organic Act was signed into law 
by President Harry S. Truman on August 1, 1950. As this law granted 
citizenship to the people of Guam, August 1 is celebrated on the island 
as ``Citizenship Day.'' I would like to share with my colleagues my 
statement for this year's observance. I have also included a speech 
presented by a former Guam legislator. Carlos Taitano, was a member of 
the Guam Congress and the Speaker of the 8th Guam Legislature. For his 
contribution towards the passage of the Guam Organic Act, he was 
invited to witness President Truman sign the bill into law.

                   American Citizenship Day Greetings

                        (By Robert A. Underwood)

       As we commemorate the centennial anniversary of the 
     Spanish-American War, it is most appropriate to reflect on 
     this, the 48th Anniversary of the Organic Act of Guam and the 
     grant of U.S. citizenship. The dawning of the American Era in 
     Guam in 1898 brought with it the promise of the freedoms, 
     rights, duties and responsibilities of American Democracy, 
     and the birth of the Chamorro quest for political justice, 
     equality and self-governance under the American flag. Though 
     couched differently at various times, this has been our 
     unchanging theme for nearly a hundred years.
       In 1901, just three years after Guam became an American 
     possession, our grandfathers and great-grandfathers sent a 
     petition to Washington, calling on the Federal government to 
     clarify the political status of Guam and its people. 
     Subsequent efforts were geared toward the acquisition of U.S. 
     citizenship as a means of political rights and protection. 
     The passage of the Organic Act in 1950 satisfied the 
     Guamanian desire of citizenship and civilian governance, but 
     we still have unfinished business in the political status of 
     Guam. Our desire for greater self-government is undaunted, 
     even as we continue the quest. The struggle of the Chamorro 
     people has been long and arduous, the triumphs have been 
     hard-won, but our cause is steadfast and our faith in America 
     remains steadfast.
       Today, as we celebrate nearly half a century of U.S. 
     citizenship, enjoying the rights and privileges therein, I 
     humbly restate the undying commitment of the people of Guam 
     for political recognition, equality and greater self-
     government, in memory of all of Guam's political pioneers who 
     surely must be with us in spirit, happy to know that their 
     efforts were not in vain.
                                  ____


                          (By Carlos Taitano)

       At the end of the past century, The United States almost 
     simultaneously took possession of the Philippines, Guam, 
     Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The full or ``plenary'' powers of 
     the U.S. Congress were extended to these new possessions. 
     Fifty years later, all these territories, except Guam, had 
     received some attention from the U.S. Congress resulting in 
     some changes from their initial status. Hawaii, for example, 
     was made an incorporated territory and its people were 
     granted U.S. citizenship. Later, it would become a U.S. 
     state.
       In the Philippines, the military government which began 
     with the U.S. occupation after the end of the Spanish-
     American War, was replaced by a civilian government. The 
     Philippines was granted independence in 1946.
       In Puerto Rico, the military government that was 
     established after the island was acquired from Spain in 1898, 
     was replaced by a civilian government only two years later. 
     An organic Act for Puerto Rico was enacted by Congress in 
     1917, including a grant of U.S. citizenship.
       The treaty ending the Spanish-American War required the 
     United States to determine the civil and political rights of 
     the Chamorro people. By failing to act on this provision of 
     the treaty, the U.S. Congress allowed autocracy to exist 
     within the American democracy. Two generations of Chamorros 
     lived under a U.S. military government in which a single 
     person, a naval governor, exercised absolute control over all 
     Chamorros on Guam and every aspect of their lives. During the 
     50 years that Guam was under military government, the 
     Chamorros sent several petitions to Washington for U.S. 
     citizenship. All were denied.
       After 50 years living under conditions of inequality and 
     without regard for the rights of the individual . . .
       After 50 years of military occupation in which virtual 
     martial law applied . . .
       After 50 years of a government policy of discrimination in 
     our own homeland, resulting in the loss of our dignity, self 
     respect, and freedom . . .
       After a series of congressional legislation providing 
     opportunities for many people around the world to become U.S. 
     citizens . . . opportunities extended to Chinese, Filipinos, 
     and others . . . but not to Chamorros.
       By 1949, we were a restless people. We decided to demand in 
     an aggressive, but peaceful manner, some action from the U.S. 
     Congress hopefully, leading to some fundamental reforms in 
     the way we were governed.
       I was a member of the House Assembly of the Guam Congress 
     at that time. This body decided to stage a ``walkout'' on 
     March 5, 1949 and to stay out of the halls of the Guam 
     Congress until we saw some evidence that some reforms were in 
     the making. This was the first revolt by the Chamorros 
     against an occupying power since the Spanish-Chamorro wars at 
     the end of the seventeenth century.
       Unlike most other people under colonial rule, the Chamorros 
     were not seeking independence from the colonial power. On the 
     contrary, they had been petitioning all along for closer 
     association with the United States.
       The ``walkout'' received nation-wide publicity, made 
     possible by two newsmen that I had met three months earlier . 
     . . one from the United Press, the other from the Associated 
     Press. Influential newspapers and individual citizens across 
     the nation were now calling for fundamental reforms in the 
     Governance of Guam.
       President Harry S. Truman quickly took over and ordered the 
     transfer from a military government to a civilian government 
     of Guam. The President successfully convinced the leaders of 
     the U.S. Congress that organic legislation for Guam could no 
     longer be ignored.
       The Chamorros were finally granted U.S. citizenship. This 
     could have been the only grant by the U.S. Congress and the 
     Chamorros would have been happy and grateful. Citizenship 
     would open many doors leading to economic opportunities. But, 
     most important, the Chamorro was now an American.
       The government created by the Guam Organic Act was not 
     exactly self-government for Guam. It was limited Home Rule. 
     The people did not constitute a sovereign power. All 
     political authority was derived from the federal government.
       Nevertheless, when one considers the 50 years of political 
     neglect, these gains were substantial. 1950 is the most 
     important year in the history of Guam's Chamorro people over 
     the centuries since they lost their independence to Spain in 
     1693 at the end of the Spanish-Chamorro wars. Nothing that 
     has happened to them since that time can compare with the 
     dramatic reforms contained in the Guam Organic Act.
       Because of the role I played in the ``walkout,'' I was 
     invited to be present at the signing ceremony of the Guam 
     Organic Act at the White House on August 1, 1950. Also 
     present at the signing ceremony were senators and congressmen 
     who guided the Guam

[[Page E1589]]

     bill through Congress and the two men who would carry out the 
     mandate of the Congress . . . the Secretary of the Navy and 
     the Secretary of the Interior.
       While waiting in the Oval Office of the White House with 
     these dignitaries, I recalled the statement made by President 
     Franklin D. Roosevelt by radio to the nation in this same 
     Oval Office about a decade earlier. At that time, President 
     Roosevelt proclaimed that one of the post-World War II goals 
     of the United States would be to decolonize the various 
     territories under colonial powers around the world. As a 
     member of the U.S. Army at the time, and as a Chamorro, I was 
     overjoyed and encouraged. For me, it was another good reason 
     to serve in the military during that world conflict.
       Although the signing of the Guam Organic Act at the White 
     House took place five years after the end of World War II, I 
     thought at the time that it was the beginning of the 
     decolonization of Guam. Unfortunately, almost half a century 
     after the signing of the Guam Organic Act, the Chamorros are 
     still trying to set up an island government without the 
     bounds or restraint of colonialism.
       It is our hope that before another 50 years have passed 
     since the signing of the Guam Organic Act, we would see the 
     passage of the Guam Commonwealth Act, now before the U.S. 
     Congress.
       I took President Roosevelt's statement about decolonization 
     as a promise to me. I surely hope that the decolonization of 
     Guam would happen while I'm still around.
       Si Yu'os Ma'ase'.

       

                          ____________________