The Samoan archipelago, a series of sparsely populated islands in the south Pacific, is located about 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii. The area is divided into two parts: Western Samoa, formerly British and now independent; and American Samoa, a cluster of about half a dozen islands governed from Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila. The population of the American group, although rising rapidly, is estimated to be about 60,000. Contacts between the Samoan islands and the United States developed late in the 19 th century, but they were infrequent. A coaling station was opened at Pago Pago, but only in the wake of the Spanish-American War (1898) did the American presence become permanent. In 1900, President William McKinley "directed the Navy to assume responsibility for Eastern (thereafter, American) Samoa." His directive remained in effect until 1951, when the naval station was closed and jurisdiction was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. During the middle 1950s, an insular constitutional government was developed; in 1960, a constitution was formally approved. The islands are mountainous, the climate tropical. There is little land suitable for commercial agriculture. Fruits and vegetables, along with various root crops, are grown locally and consumed largely by the families of the growers. More diverse products are imported. The harbor at Pago Pago provided, during earlier periods, a naval base, but now it appears to be especially notable as a tuna port. Although some tourism has developed over the years, the relative isolation of American Samoa has rendered the islands a somewhat exotic destination. Fish processing is Samoa's single primary private-sector industry. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the insular minimum wage has been fixed by the Secretary of Labor through a Special Industry Committee (SIC). In early 2007, the rate for the tuna canneries was $3.26 per hour; the federal rate, $5.15 per hour. Then, in late May, Congress adopted a new minimum wage standard: to escalate to $7.25 per hour over several years. At the same time, the SIC system was abolished and the insular rate was raised, though in more extended steps, until it might coincide with the federal rate. In 1938, Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)—a measure designed to provide minimum wages and overtime pay, to limit child labor, and to restrict industrial homework. Although the act would seem to have applied to the states and the territories (to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, etc. ), little thought appears to have been given to how that act might be applied to jurisdictions that were, in significant ways, economically different from the U.S. mainland. Shortly after its passage, the act was modified. In response to industry complaints, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were exempted from the full force of the act (1940), being placed under a special industry committee (SIC) structure. Thus, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were set aside for special treatment under the FLSA—a process that would continue, in part, for the next 50 years. Under Section 8 of the original enactment, the Department of Labor (DOL) was required, "from time to time," to convene an industry committee for each industry covered under the act and, through the committee, to "recommend" a rate (or rates) of wages that might be higher than those established by the act. Section 8(b) states: The industry committee shall investigate conditions in the industry and the committee ... may hear such witnesses and receive such evidence as may be necessary or appropriate.... The committee shall recommend to the Administrator the highest minimum wage rates for the industry which it determines, having due regard to economic and competitive conditions, will not substantially curtail employment in the industry . (Emphasis added.) Rates the committee could recommend were not to exceed the statutory standard (40 cents per hour). The Administrator was admonished to "consider among other relevant factors ... competitive conditions as affected by transportation, living, and production costs...." Discretion rested with the Administrator. Following World War II, an unrelated circumstance brought American Samoa to governmental attention. The issue was a 1948 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court: Vermilya-Brown Co. v. Connell [335 U.S. 377 (1948)]. It involved application of the FLSA to employees of American contractors building a military facility for the United States in Bermuda (part of Great Britain). In its decision, inter alia , the Court identified a "possession" covered under the act as including "Puerto Rico, Guam, the guano islands, Samoa and the Virgin Islands." Even in dissent, Justice Jackson stated that a U.S. facility in Bermuda was of a character different from that of "our possessions" as specified by the Court's majority—and, thus, covered by the act. In 1953, development of a tuna canning operation commenced in American Samoa, an industry which quickly became the island's primary private-sector employer. With the Supreme Court decision in Vermilya-Brown , Samoan industry became gradually—and increasingly—aware of the likely enforcement of minimum wage and other FLSA standards. In 1955, William D. Moore, Jr., Foreign Production Manager of the Van Camp Sea Food Co., wrote to Representative Graham Barden (D-NC), chair of the House Committee on Labor and Education, urging that "Samoa should be exempt" from the FLSA. He emphasized that few industries were located in the islands. "This company, at the behest of the Department of Interior, has gone to Pago Pago for the purpose of endeavoring to establish a fishery and a fish processing and canning plant. It is on a trial basis," he suggested. "In the first 12 months of our experiment, it has been found that the American Samoans are adaptable to catching, cleaning, and processing fish and seafood, but it takes 3 to 5 people to do and perform what one American laborer or worker in the States can do." If federal wage/hour standards continue to apply in Samoa, "... there will be no incentive for American concerns to move in and build up the island." Further, Orme Lewis, Assistant Secretary of the Interior (DOI) wrote suggesting "the need for special consideration" for American Samoa. He explained to chairman Barden that Samoans "have clung to their ancient ways of life and their traditional forms of economic and social organization." Thus, "...any justification for protective labor legislation in American Samoa should be cast in entirely different terms." Lewis urged that the Secretary of Labor be allowed to "establish minimum wages for workers in American Samoa" as he may find that "economic conditions warrant." C. S. Thomas, Secretary of the Navy, wrote to House Speaker Sam Rayburn to urge amendment of the FLSA to include a new provision for off-shore jurisdictions. Thomas reviewed the Vermilya-Brown decision and the likely impact if "...wage payments on the part of contractors performing work for the Department of Defense [were] to be made at higher wage scales than those generally prevailing in the area." These wages, Thomas stated, "would obviously distort the local economy and, in some instances, objections have been received from foreign governments." Thomas advised the Speaker: "In addition, such payment would result in higher costs to the United States." But, Representative Barden decided not to act "at this time." It was with Vermilya-Brown in mind that representatives of Van Camp Sea Foods appeared before the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, May 1956, seeking FLSA amendment. William Moore spoke for the company. In 1952, DOI had circulated an invitation to bid on an unused facility at Pago Pago. Moore went out to the islands and presented a "discouraging" report, noting that the supply of fish was not apparent and that the local refrigeration plant (government owned) was "in rather poor repair." Further, Moore stated: "We were aware, or soon learned during our survey, that the wage-and-hour laws applied to American Samoa and it was very unlikely, although we had not gotten into any operation at that time, whether or not our company could pay the minimum wages as required in the United States." Nonetheless, Van Camp bid on the operation and was awarded "a 5-year lease with the provision that the first year would be an experimental period." Under the lease signed with the government of American Samoa, the firm agreed "... to provide for improvement of the economy of American Samoa by developing the skills relating to fishing and fish processing among the Samoans, by providing local income through wages, and by insuring a local supply of raw, frozen, and processed fish." Moore explained that, though the company was operating at a loss, the loss was gradually diminishing and that the company was "...the only industry that has come into the island from the outside." In 1956, the company had about 300 employees—reportedly a mixture of British and American Samoan. Their productivity, it was explained, was somewhat less than cannery workers on the mainland. "Climatic conditions are not particularly conducive to energy and activities." The temperature runs about 70 to 90 degrees throughout the year—but there is high humidity: upward of 80%. In terms of turnover, Moore stated, "... I am quite sure that the changeover in personnel there is less than it is stateside." He added: "Most of our employees are women." Moore then turned to the wage/hour law, stating that the cannery paid "from 27 cents an hour to $1 an hour, which is only paid 1 employee."