Donald I. Marshall
Waterfront Superintendent/Personnel Director/General Manager (1951-1955)
LUZON STEVEDORING CO. INC.
My name is Donald “Don” Marshall and I was assigned at Camp Roxas by the LUZON STEVEDORING CO. INC. (LUSTEVECO) starting December 1951 until we lost the contract to the VINNELL CORP. in 1955 through competitive bidding.
In 1956, the contract was recaptured by the LUSTEVECO affiliate MASDELCO, whereupon I commuted from Iloilo to oversee this U.S. Navy contract, aside from assuming additional duties as the general manager of VISTRANCO, a LUSTEVECO subsidiary in Iloilo. This supervisory responsibility continued until the MASDELCO operation closed as the result of the application of the U.S. minimum wage. In 1951, until the camp’s closure, Camp Roxas averaged about 5,000 Filipino contract workers. Since then, I’ve been living in the Philippines, Guam and California.
The first group of Filipino contract workers came to Guam from Iloilo in November 1946, after a brief stint at the Admiralty Islands. The population increased rapidly in 1947 as the Ilonggos earned the deserved reputation as “hard workers”: quick to learn and boasting a superior performance ethic. These recruits were hired through VISTRANCO’s union, the Consolidated Labor Union of the Philippines (CLUP), headed by Congressman Pascual Espinosa. It was difficult for the union to function within a U.S. Navy reservation. So, after a few years, the union terminated its Guam role.
Congressman Espinosa became embattled with Philippine Sen. Rodolfo Ganzon which resulted in negative media leading to Philippine Congressional investigations into “Camp Roxas living conditions.” My direct “boss,” Mr. Edward “Pete” Grimm, the Chairman/CEO of LUSTEVECO made frequent Guam visits to make certain that the negative allegations were quickly investigated and, where factual, cured within our very tight U.S. Navy budgets based on annual competitive bidding.
There simply weren’t enough skilled workers on Guam to handle the military and civilian reconstruction. So, most of our recruits were in the building trades, i.e., carpenters, welders, etc. To bring in the Filipinos, we had to get U.S. Department of Labor clearances which, with U.S. Navy endorsement, were never withheld.
As recruiting for the Navy became more involved, with a need for sophisticated categories, workers were sourced from Manila. However, when these workers from Manila arrived on Guam, they strongly objected about being billeted with our Ilonggos. So, we opened Camp Busanda. We had Camp Roxas where the Ilonggos lived. And, on the other side of the road from Camp Roxas, we had Camp Busanda for the Manila recruits.
We had “contract workers” that would opt to stay continuously for two years or more when permitted. When they went home, it was only for a week or two and they would be back on Guam. It made them very proud that they were putting their kids through school and supporting their families with wages higher than those prevailing at Iloilo. The U.S. Federal Immigration Service didn’t want any workers to stay more than 36 months because, if they remained for over three years, they became eligible to become U.S. permanent residents. And that wasn’t the intent for which they came to Guam.
These “fellows” would sacrifice. They would commit to sending all their wages home when they left Iloilo via family allotments authorizing the company to deduct. What did they live on? They would work overtime for “cigarettes and beer.”
There was a tremendous effort to avoid the commencement of repatriation to Iloilo/Manila due to the application of the U.S. Minimum Wage law. Only a small fraction of labor force was successful in becoming U.S. permanent residents as very few had been able to maintain three years of continuous Guam residence.
Camp Roxas was no “walk in the park” when I arrived on New Year’s Eve 1951. I was taken aback by the primitive conditions, i.e., living in crowded Quonset huts with no heat protection. And they could be very hot. There would be 20 to 30 men to a Quonset with mosquito nets hanging for a stifling effect. We had community bathrooms - - - clean, but public. Despite the absence of “creature comforts,” at no time did we ever have a sit down strike or any threat or petitions to the U.S. Navy for better conditions to be required/mandated in the yearly competitive bidding for the Camp Roxas contract conducted by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Supplies and Accounts (Busanda).
The food was probably the most important threat to morale! We got only 75 cents a day from the U.S. Navy to feed them. That’s not a lot for three meals a day and it was very tough to get that raised. That’s not to be critical about anybody beyond noting that the U.S. Navy wanted to save money. Notwithstanding this government emphasis on getting the “cheapest bounce per ounce,” we were never confronted with threats of work stoppages, petitions or disruptions of any kind. The U.S. Navy always received 100 percent support from our Filipino work force.
The men were exceedingly patient about the quality of food. Once, by accident, the food sourced from the States was rabbit instead of chicken. This resulted in our men good-naturally banging on their plates loud enough to be heard miles away but they did it with a good sense of humor and patience. Their real overriding concerns were always family and to avoid any incidents which could lead to deportation.
I don’t think there’s any ethnic group in the United States that would have sacrificed like these guys did. They literally gave up their lives for their families. Most of them didn’t know if they ever expect to get permanent residence. They came to do a job and, although conditions were primitive, they considered it worth “the price” to pay to have a job earning at least “25 percent” more than existing Iloilo wages. There were a lot of sad stories. People would send all their wages home. “Wife gone” - - - that type of thing. That’s the only time we had fellows sort of lose control of themselves.
I didn’t hear any unreasonable “reclamos.” You never were faced by any work slowdown threats! There were no “letters to the Navy or to the Editor.” They just worked and that was it. They were very religious, too, which was a plus. The Catholic Church helped them a lot in coping with their loneliness. The entertainment was very slim beyond old movies every night so we developed a sports program team which was intended to “beat” the Navy. They were a very good group to handle (and coach) and they asked for nothing.
We had certain ways of doing things. Like, the Filipinos love to gamble. For recreation, our guys went outside the camp perimeter and put up cockpits and coffee-shop “barong-barongs” to shelter mahjong tables. For those of us who came from the Philippines, we thought this was natural/healthy entertainment. However, the Navy said: “Absolutely not”. They shut them down - - - all the cockpits, coffee shop, etc. - - - which definitely displeased our men. However, at no time, did they resist. I think other cultures would’ve rioted.
We had many Filipinos who were very resourceful and engaged in peso-dollar trading. If you got a few more pesos paid to your family, you were understandably going to do it. But, if the U.S. Navy caught you blackmarketing – it was HOME! My best two tennis players were sent home for black marketing just before the finals of the All-Island Tennis Tournament in which they were heavily favored to win.
When the U.S. Navy wanted to recruit more sophisticated trades, we couldn’t get them from Ilolilo so we looked to Manila, which created the problem of where to house this group. So, we constructed Camp Busanda because these “Tagalogs” wouldn’t come over to eat with our Camp Roxas “Ilonggos.” In due course, both ethnic groups came along real well with the various Guam civilian communities and if you look today at Agat and Santa Rita, we blended right in through intermarriage. We’re all Americans, now.
The Navy always tried, in fairness, to hire locals. But, you ran into a situation where our guys were getting 32.5 cents an hour and the locals would get more. So, the U.S. Navy got cheap labor but great performance from our Filipinos. It was ideal for the U.S. Navy, whose primary concern was to stretch the defense dollars.
The Filipinos were grateful to get a job. You didn’t have to worry about them stealing, misbehaving, etc. and, we had our own security force. The Navy said: “We’ll put our guys down there.” And I said: “No, we have our own.” We took care of everything. We never had any problems.
Our baseball team on Guam won the Island Championship, three years in a row, which was a real tribute to their team spirit which included both Ilonggos and a few Tagalogs. We built the only lighted baseball field on Guam and the first electric scoreboard for basketball. Our guys really were so proud to be playing for their company and the Philippines, and they were good sportsmen. The U.S. Navy and Air Force imported pitchers from the States, so I would bring in some from Iloilo. We would have huge crowds and it was great for morale! A big plus was in the last two years, we integrated Chamorros into our baseball team. People said it couldn’t be done but we did it. We were proud of that, too.
Now, when you go down to Santa Rita or Agat and adjacent areas, there’s no bitter feeling between Filipinos and Chamorros. At the airport, on the docks, in the offices, they’re AMERICANS.
There is a traditional trait of the Iloilo people regarding their workplace. When you put them on a ship, they become personally attached to it. They don’t even like to take time off and have a relief captain to get on the boat versus Statesiders who, when they finish their shift, bring the boat to the dock for others to maintain. The Navy couldn’t believe our low maintenance costs on our equipment on Guam because our guys would personally take care of their units at night. A little extra lubrication, a little extra whatever. They were terrific custodians with U.S. Navy equipment.
The Filipinos are tough people, particularly those from Iloilo! These fellows had their dreams of betterment for their families. So, no matter what hardships confronted them, they persevered. You look today at what they were able to do for their families, it’s amazing! They’ve gone all over the United States where they are admired for contributing that drive to better themselves for the benefit of their dependents. My Roxas/Busanda Filipinos, while lacking a “STANFORD degree”, taught me a lot about life and “How to Behave” which has been a cornerstone of my post-Roxas success. They’ll always be “family” to me!
FURTHER INFORMATION:
From: Peter Parsons (son of Chick Parsons, co-owner of LUSTEVECO)
To: Camp Roxas website
Date: Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Re: Memories of LUSTEVECO and Camp Roxas
I don't remember much about Camp Roxas. However, a source close to the Parsons family has shared some memories of Camp Roxas and Chick Parsons' involvement in the recruitment from Iloilo.
Most of the early workers came from Iloilo. Guam was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. The Philippines offered skilled and cheap labor. Unemployment in that area shortly after the war was huge. LUSTEVECO (Luzon Stevedoring Co.) and VISTRANCO (Visayan Transportation Company) had the management and skill to muster and send hundreds of men to Guam.
The problem was that certain influential labor and political groups were not included in this recruitment process. Some of the unhappy events at that time included the involvement of organized labor unions in the Philippines and Congressman Pascual Espinosa of Iloilo against Chick Parsons. Unfortunately, Edward "Pete" Grimm, Chick Parson's partner in LUSTEVECO, was not much help and/or was out of the country.
An investigation was launched by the labor unions. Chick Parsons was called in front of the Philippine Congress to testify on a number of occasions. Legend has it that Chick Parsons suffered one of his heart attacks during this difficult time. All this stress may have been the reason, among others, for the Parsons family to go on a prolonged tour of Europe.
Supposedly, the accusations centered on "imperialists underpaying our great and noble work force." A congressional record of the testimony delivered by Chick Parsons exists somewhere. It would be interesting to uncover this archival information, which was then called the Guam Labor case.
The Parsons family believes that Chick Parsons was kind, fair and loyal to his workers, as opposed to the body politic of the newly born Republic of the Philippines, which was more interested in personal gain.
A Jesuit priest named Father Hogan from Brooklyn, New York, worked to organize labor unions in Manila's North and South Harbors. According to sources close to the Parsons family, he was a huge bother to Parsons and LUSTEVECO, because he may have been among those who wanted to disrupt the LUSTEVECO-Guam connection.
In opposition, another Jesuit priest, Father Edward Haggerty, wrote a supportive tribute to Chick Parsons during this labor controversy, saying that Chick Parsons was a just and fair man in all his business dealings.
