"BOE ARCHIVE: ee ee pee ree te . a Aviso! . roy Aodidye OAs Outs eee ine what tne nealth question is answered woicener or not there is a con= one Atoll which would preclude ; island. is unsafe S oursclves to th *we if the island a ae SUt e ron z is dcvemsined to ve cata, we sna ately approach the avbrorriace Dofensc officials w % vo this second question. Trae Doparvucnes of Derense is awa wills gucsvion may be raised, and thay it will need to nowered promptly. As 2 cnivd stop, again ascuning that tae island is safe from the health stancpoine anc thay the Dalense rcquircments are such that wae poople can return, iv will be nececcary to mount a mascive dancclecrins program, villese recoasuruction program, and cropmlanting program. In addition, tae Hi Commissioner and we would certainly intend to do all moscible to vrovide economic opportunities Sor tne ve turned teonle which would a them beyond the mere sube mnomy vnicn tney nad prior to their removal from the fF Tae major islands of the Bikini Atoll are very heavily overgrow With an. alnoct impenetrable growth of vesctation which has little c onnomic value. This growth must be removed before any but meaver subsistence would se possible on the island. It se derstanding that there remain very Sew coconut trees, without which lite on a coral atoli is virtually impossible. ‘There ave Tow if any ovner viants crowing on the island which would ‘ sustain lize Por the returned pecple. Accordingly, once the noneconomic overgrowth has beon removed a & major replanting program will red. Waile :some crops in the Pacific mature rapidly, it yea ra newly~plonsed ecconut tree to bear fruit. Cavicusiy, the solut ton %o the sroolem of the people of Bikini is not one“yeh can be effected immediately, even if we assume that alfimmasvive answers to our first iquestions were availaole today. ef . o mom oO Ho wp ti chtd oe ow oO a nope the forezoine information will be of help to you and to senator Case, We in the Demartment of the Interior regret most Serioucly that Mr. Jcnicins hog chosen to try to help the people of Mili through an anpoal to the Drusteeshin Council and thereby to the res Unfortunately, tne solution %o the problem requires ivic answers to scientific questions, plus a major effort in f providing massive clearing, reconstruction, and replanting. p> ct o latser can only be accomplished, we believe, with the cooperation of the several involved exccutive asencies of-the United Staves, the Congress, and the people of the territory. At best, despite tne goense of wecency which the High Commis Sioner and we have, 1% cannot be acconr Lisned forthwith. - :