Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-14
Stars, Men and Atoms
AnthropoIogists Survey
Life in Munduted Islands
Experts Turn Over Report to Nays
Formula for Administration Doubted
By Thomas r. Henry

By Thomas r. Henry
The Nays administration Of Americas man.
dated islands-the archipelagos known a.
Micronesia, which stretch east and west ap'
proximately 5000 miles but have only 800
square miles of land surface with q total popu-
lation of about 700o0-is being guided by an
intensive survey Of the ways Of life Of the
people by 40 expert anthropologists.
Before the war these islands, including the
Gilberts, Marshalls, Carolines and Marianas,
were among the least known parts Of the world.
About all that was known Of the inhabitants
came from the reports Of German explorers.
Since the First World War they had been un.
der japanese domination and practically moth"
ing had leaked out about them.
The anthropological survey was set up with
Navy cooperation by the Pacific Science Board
Of the National Research Council. The report
now is being prepared, but everything impor"
tant for administration has been turned over
to the Navy oficials As q result, according
to DR.. George p Murdoch of Yale University,
who headed the survey, they are in a fair
way to providing model for the government
of primitive peoples. The only danger Is that
Congress, shocked by some things 1t doesn't
understand. may impose some restrictions.
Own Institutions Good.
BY and large, the anthropologists found, the
natives own institutions were pretty good
They had served the people for thousands Of
years. While they might seem queer to
Americans or Europeans, any but very gradual
changes were likely to cause trouble. Both
Germans and japanese, it was found, had made
mess Of things, although perhaps with the
best intentions.
Says DR.. Murdoch: The inhabitants Of the
tive people in all essential respects. They are
far indeed from being ready to accept our own
complex legal and political institutions and
make them work satisfactorily. Their tradi.
tional governments still operate reasonably
well and can be transformed into democracies
in the modern sense only through long
evolutionary process
They fall into number Of cultural and
linguistic groups with very different needs and
attitudes. The people of Palau, for example,
are progressive and eager to adopt Western
ways. The Yapese are deeply conservative
and suspicious of the ways of foreigners The
Trukese desire material advantages but are
satisfied with their traditional social structure.
An attempt to administer these varied groups
according to a single inflexible formula would
invite disaster"
Mice are home loving animals.
They seldom will move more than 30 feet
away from their food supply.
One seldom lives more than a year. Only
five out of 80 ever live to maturity, even under
ideal conditions.
These are some of the findings to date Of
a study of these pests by University of Wis
consn socolog,sts in an effort to find better
means OF eliminating them.
foppi will IN
long as the food holds out and then leave
reluctantly, it was found When threatened
with starvation, however, they may migrate
as much as half mile. Rats have similar
practice. Rarely do they move more than
100 feet from their food depot.
Survival of Fittest
The mouse population, it is pointed out by
Prof. John T. Emlen, who is directing the
study is kept down by a constant struggle for
survival of the fttest. AS soon as competition
for food develops there Is hard fighting and
the younger weaker members Of a colony are
squeezed out
The studies have convinced the Wisconsin
scientists that no poisoning procedure yet de-
veloped be relied upon to eliminate mouse
colonies The animals are intermittent feeders.
They seldom eat long enough at time to
get a fatal dose of poison bait. A good cat,
they found, is a more effective killer. The
reproductive rate is very high-about 30 Q
year for each female. This more than COM
pensates for any that may be killed by poison.
The high death rate is a mystery to the
scientists. Enough always survive. however.
to increase the population to the point where
all available food is utilized.
To insure permanent freedom from the
nests their food supply must be cut Off it Is
stressed.
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