Executive Order 10264 of June 29, 1951
Transfer of the Administration of American Samoa From the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior
Whereas the Island of Tutuila of the Samoan group and all other islands of the group east of longitude 171 degrees west of Greenwich, known as American Samoa, were placed under the control of the Department of the Navy by Executive Order No. 125-A of February 19, 1900; and
Whereas the joint resolution of February 20, 1929, 45 Stat. 1253, provides that until the Congress shall provide for the government of such islands all civil, judicial, and military powers shall be vested in such person or persons and shall be exercised in such manner as the President of the United States may direct; and
Whereas a committee composed of the Secretaries of State, War, the Navy, and the Interior recommended on June 18, 1947, that administrative responsibility for American Samoa be transferred to a civilian agency of the Government at the earliest practicable date as determined by the President; and
Whereas plans for the orderly transfer of administrative responsibility for American Samoa from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior are embodied in a memorandum of understanding between the Department of the Navy and the Department of the Interior, approved by me on September 23, 1949, and it is the view of the two departments, as expressed in that memorandum, that such transfer should take effect on or about July 1, 1951; and
Whereas the transfer of administration of American Samoa from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior, effective July 1, 1951, appears to be in the public interest:
Now Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said joint resolution of February 20, 1929, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows:
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).