Evening Star Newspaper, March 29, 1931, Page 91

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MARCH 29, 1931. Uncle Sam Plans New Civil Governnient For Virgin Islands New Governor and His Siaff]{a Ve Bl'g 1ask Bc’j‘orc’ Them—A Pioncering Efforf in State Building by One of the Newest Governmental Agencies, the Bureau of Ef ficiency. BY WILL P. KENNEDY. NDER the observing eye of Presi- dent Hoover, a small party of offi- cials who left the National Cap- ital a few days ago began the task of setting up an entirely new civil government for the Virgin Islands to replace the naval administration which has been in charge since these three little dots of land in the Caribbefin Sea were purchased by the United States in 1917. The President visited the islands witiin a few days after the new governor, Dr. Paul M. Pearson of Swarthmore, Pa., and his stafl, arrived to take charge of the duties which have required -the presence of 300 officers and men of the Navy for more than a decade. Plans for the creation of the new govern- ment for the islands, which probably will stand as one of the romances of the post-war period in international statecraft, were the result of a Winter of hard work, most of which was con- ducted in the National Capital. The new government is intended to be a model, par- ticularly adapted to the peculiar needs of the inhabitants, following an intensive study over a two-year period, and contemplates building of new industries and the rehabilitation of old industries to make these primitive people self supporting. The establishment of this government repre- sents a pioneering effort in state building by one of Uncle Sam’s newest governmental agen-~ cies, the U. 8. Bureau of Efficiency. Herbert D. Brown, chief of the bureau, has spent six months during the past yeir with a force of specialists in the Virgin Islands studying the needs of the natives and fashioning the new governmental institutions which now are being put in operation. He first went to the islands in December and January of last year with four assistants, and he went back again last June with three assistants, remaining there until late in the Fall. The studies upon which the new administration is being based were so comprehensive that four volumes were required to present them for the consideration of the President and Congres=-. THE visit of Presideni Hoover was most timely, coming as it did during the period of in- auguration of the new regime. His visit was expected to have a far-reaching and beneficial effect on the inhabitants of the islands, indi- cating to them that their affairs command the intense interest of the highest government officials and the people of the United States. The military government which has been funcicning 14 years is to be scrapped en- tirely, and the entire naval force, except a small radio station crew, probably will be with- drawn before the end of the Summer. The new administration, which will dircet the affairs of a population of 22,000 persons, has been built frcm the ground up. The party which left Washingtcn early this month to inaugurate the new government is composed of the heads of practically all of the governmental institutions. In addition to Gov. Pearson, there were in the party Lieut. Gov. Lawrence N. Cramer; Boyd J. Brown, commis- sioner of finance; Wallace Denny, chief of finance at St. Croix; Andrew Simpson, com- missioner of public works, and his secretary, Ann Sullivan; Harry E. Taylor, commissioner of industry; Ralph M. Dunbar, assistant com- munity director; Miss Ruth Morton, handcraft supervisor, and Miss Helen Cawley, home eco- nomies agent appointed by the Department of Agriculture. It will be the duty of these care- fully selected officials not only to safeguard the welfare of their native charges but to educate them and prepare them for future ‘life as a self-government State. Though the government is being built from the foundation, the cost to the Federal Gov- ernment is surprisingly small. The total ap- propriations made by Congress for the purpose amount to only $763.000. This amount not only provides the expenses of the government but also covers the establishment of home in- dustries which it is hoped will put the poverty- stricken Virgin Islanders in a position of eco- nomic independence The natives of these three tiny islands, the largest of which is only 22 miles long, have been harrassed by repeated misfortunes since the United States took charge of their homes. They are hailing the creaticn of their new civil government as the beginning of a brighter day. It is probable that when the civil govern- ment is well established the naval base at St. Thomas, capital city of the islands, will be put on an inactive status and left with only a caretaker and a few radio operators to remind the islanders of the bustling naval establish- ment which has existed there since the begin- ning of the World War. The 300 Navy men, who will be withdrawn, probably will be scat- tered throughout the fleet. The Virgin Islands Dr. Herbert D. Brown (left), chief of the United States Bureau of Efficiency, who recommended the plan for setting up a civil government and rehabilitation of industries in the Virgin Islands, and Dr. E. W. Sheets, adviser from the Department of Agriculture. bocns and blessings without number when the great deed occurred. They knew that the United States was purchasing them at the rate of $300 an acre. They concluded that a country which could afford such a mighty sum for such relatively small bits of land could and undoubtedly would take care of them most The Grand Hotel, St. Thomas, which will be remodeled by the United States Government, always have been regarded as a powerful key to the defenses of the Panama Canal, and were purchased by the United States Government from Denmark for $25,000,000, largely to pre- vent Germany from acquiring a foothold at the front door of the Panama Canal. THE results of the purchase by the United States of the Virgin Islands were bitterly disappointing to the islanders, who expected The Governor's residence at Ss. Thomas. handsomely. Their hearts were high and their praises loud when the United States flag climbed into the sunlight above old Fort Chris- tian, in Charlotte Amalie. Their fond hopes were dashed, however. With the outbreak of the war the United States bad little time to devote to its new islands or their expectant inhabitants. In- stead of blessings, misfortunes seemingly with- out end crowded upon them, and they became poor, disappointed and discouraged. Prohibi- tion shattered their wealthy rum business. The deflation after the war distressed them exceed- ingly. Then came a long drought, which ruined the sugar crops. The final blow was the hur- ricane, which reduced them to penury. The Virgin Islands are the “out-riders” of the whole West Indian group. They form the most easterly land owned by the United States, being 1,000 miles out from Key West, Fla. The islands are small, St. Thomas being 13 by 2 miles in size; St. John 9 by 5 miles, and St. Croix 22 by 6 miles. They have a com- bined area of only 132 square miles, which is about twice that of the District of Columbia. The present population of 22,000 persons repre- sents a decrease of 5,000 in the past 20 years. One of the peculiarities of the population is that the women outnumber the men by 20 per cent, this condition resulting from the Though the islands are quite close together, conditions found on them are quite dissimilar, The most important of the three commercially is the Island of St. Thomas, which has a spleny did harbor and on which the capital is located The business of this island is essentially com- mercial and maritime. The business of th¢ Island of St. Croix, the largest of the group, is almost entirely agricultural. The people of St. John, the third island, have made their living principally in the production of bay oil, used in the manufacture of bay rum; the raising of a limited number of cattle and a small amount of fruit, and in the manufacture of charcoal. The crop of St. Croix is sugar cane, which in converted into raw sugar in the two towns of the island, Christiansted and Frederiksted, 15 miles apart. The islands were once very prosperous, the harbor of St. Thomas being the center of West Indian trade and the largest island of the group, forming one of the world's chief sources of rum supply and a considerable amount of sugar. The economic depression, which set in about the time the islands were purchased by the United States and which has reduced $he islanders to poverty, has been attributed to a series of calamities, beginning with the aban- donment of St. Thomas as the Western head- quarters for the Hamburg-American Steamship Co., which moved to the Dutch port of Curacao, in Dutch Guiana, ‘HOUGH their economic situation has be- come progressively worse over a period of 10 years, the islanders have reaped many bless- ings from American citizenship. The United States Government improved the sanitation of all the island communities and established schools and hospitals, ranking with the best in the entire West Indles. When the income of the islanders decreased so that they could not support these institutions, Congress made up the deficiency, contributing approximately $100,000 the first year and Increasing the Federal contribution to a present total of mong than a half million dollars a year. Realizing that the only hope for reducing the Federal contribution will be to increase the general prosperity of the islanders to an extent which will justify taxation, Congress wisely planned to rehabilitate the Industries of the islands under the new civil government. In the 14 years of American occupation the Federal Treasury has spent in the Virgin Islands, between $6,000,000 and $7,000,000, a sum in excess of Danish expenditures during 200 years of rule. All the American expendi- tures égr tl!m u::;;l year 1931, including com- pensation of avy personnel, will aggregate about $700,000, of 32 for each man, woman and child in the islands. One of the steps recommended by Mr. Brown, which is expected to prove of interest to hun.. dreds of American citizens, wilt be the building up of tourist trade to these little-known which it is hoped may become popular moda centers during the Winter months, ranking ¥ this respect with foreign possessions in the Wi