USVI Public Records

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large New York, Porto Rico anélr St. Thomas mail, ‘also a largecargoand" the following passengers® .& ° o o - FromgPorto Rico; Wilhelmina Thom- as, Clothilda Mareus; Ovan lLarke, Charles B. Colmore. : - From -St. Thomas: Mr. Earmest Van Beverhoudt, and 2 children, Mr. Joseph Kitnurse, Mrs. Agatha Bennett, Mrs. Diana Isaac, Miss Lucreasia Petersen, Mr.Rothchild Francis. iz She sailed yesterday with absat 25 passengers. : ; St. Thomas News. We understand that on Monday morn- ing the 2nd inst., in the District Court here, and before Acting Judge Chr. H. Payne, Alphonse P. :Camisuli, represent- ing the Sugar Produing Co. Inc., of New York. brought suit for $400,000 demu-- rage against the. British schooner Edge- wood,, Capt. Von Richter, now lying in port. - St. Thomas Mail Notes, Aug. 4th. The St. Thowas Food Commigsion has “bren advised by the West India Sugar -Factory of St. Croix, that they are un- able to make further delivery of sugar under contract dated 16th March 1920, “ but that they can supply sugar at $40.80 “‘per bag of 250 Ibs. net delivered on wharf at Fredericksted. ‘The St. Thamas Fnod Commission has -addressed the Governor with a view to ~obtaining legal assistance in.bringing suit to effect- delivery of 180 tons re- .maining -undelivéred under the contract at 114 eents per lb. It will be remembered that 12) tons were delivered in March. For the information of the pubiic the contract is quoted in fuil. Christiansted, St. Croix \’irginllslands ‘ March 16, 1920. - It is hereby agreed between the St. .Thomas Food Commission, through Des- patching Secretary, and the West -Indi- an ‘‘Bethlehem Sugar Factory, that the latter furnish said Food Commission with sugar up to 300 tens f. o. b. Fred- eriksted or Christiansted ata price not to exceed 11.5 p>r pound. ‘ “It is. further agreed that the St.. Thomas Food Commission willbe given any financial benefit- which may .result -in the @#eecline of the market of sugar. And it is further agreed that should the market price of sugar advance, the price of 11.5 per pound willstill obtain. “'On behalf of the West Indian Sugar gactory.” . ' ) P. ADAMSEN. \ Director. FRED. B. COLBY, Despatching Secretary. -—ibid. : - : S . A very acute crisis in the life of the community was reached yesterday mori- ing, when a-portion of the supply of sugar ST NI ANYLS econtracted for with the West Indian Sugar Factory of St. Croix,“and brought over from' time {p time in Government vessels, and rvetailed at 14 cents per pound, gave out, and the people—in par- ticular, the pour—found themselves sud- denly without this very much-used com- medity. : : I was, indeed, pitial:le to see the peo- ple rushing from shop t) shop in search of this much-needed article, and to hear their cries of distress upon learning that. there was none to be had. : The gravity of the situation will be bet- ter understood when it is taken into con- sideration that this commodity like bread, forms one of the chief- mainstays in the life of the poor people, many of whom are oft-times from dire necessity compelled to make a meal—if such a term can be applied- of sweetened bush-tea, and bread. What helps to aggravate the situation is the knowledge appertaining to the direct cause of this sugar famine, so suddenly thrust upon us. It is true, that suck a calamity had ' een long foreseen: but steps to prevent the evil had been undertaken by.the Food Commission in the interest of the people by the contracting with the above men- tioned sugar concern,-for the purchase and delivery of 300 tons of sugar, at'the stipulated price of 114 cents per pound. Os this amount contracted for, but 120 tons have been delivered. Within the present week, on Wednesday, presuma- bly, the Food Commission was advised by the Factory ofits inability to make f r- ther deliveries upon the price contracted for, but offering to de so if the sum of $40.80 per bag of 250 pounds was offer ed; that is to- say at the rate of 16 8-25 cents per pound. The error 'ofthis proceedure is plainly manifest. ~Werge it extra sugar being thus charged for, -ene would be able to understand ‘‘the move’’, but it is the re- mainder of the sugar ‘contracted for at a given price, thatis being re-charged. Again, too, it must be had in femem brance that, but for the action tgken by the Food Commission for the ameliora- tion of the threatened situation, that merchants here would not have cancelled their intentions of importing sugar for home consumption. - The Colonial Council, however, during its session held yesterday afternoon, in- troduced and adopted a resolution to the effect that in view of the gravity of the gituation that has arisen, and the hardships, entailed upon the people by the inability to procure sug r thro the refusal of the St. Croix Sugar Factory to comply with its obligation in the deliv- ery of the 180 tons remaining fronf the amount contracted for, that the Government lay an embargo upon the sugar required, inspite of what- ever - steps the Factory might take. Neediess to say, -this met with tke hearty endor.ation of aii the mem- bers. ‘There was however, during this period of the proceedings of the council. a little something ‘‘quizzical and dubi- ous,’” but of which, more anon. Today the people areon their “‘mettle’”’ there being a firm belief evinced thaf® there is sugar being stored up somewhere here, for future financial manipulation. -Let us sincerely hopethat the recom- mendations of the Council will be heed ed, and that Government’s action will be swift and decisive, to the betterment and interest of the community at large. —St. Thomas Mail Notes, Awugust 6th. Needs of the Virgin Islands. "‘With irrigation sugar production in the Virgin Islands could be doubled," declared Robert L.. Merwin, of St. Croix, former American consul general there, at the Willard. '‘This year the total production will approximate 12,000 tons. TLe rain’all in the Virgin (slands aver- ages 45 inches a year, but has never been conserved by impounding. This could be done, in my judgment, without a great deal of difficult engineering, and with the utilization of this water it would be possible to more than double .produe- tion. Sugar is the principal crop of St. Croix, and there are perhaps 10,000 acres of arable lands. The three principal islands comprising the Virgin group are St. Thomas. St. Croix and St. Jotn. Sf. Thomas is almost exelusively given « vey to shipping, but St. Croix is an agricul- tural Island. There is very littde pro- duced there in an agricultural . way ex cept sugar, but it would be entirely possi ble to raise other things with an adequate water supply. z “‘Since the United States acquired the Viirgin Islands from Denmark about three ysars. age at 8 cost of $25,000,000 they have been under the administration of the Navy Deparftment, but under the act of Congress the islands are directly under the President. A congressional committee that visited the islands recent- ly made a report that contains a great many inaccuracies as o the conditions in the islands, but this is not surprising, inasmuch as the members of the commis- sion, headed by Senator Kenvon, spent only one actual working day in St. Croix. The people of the islands would prefer to have the Navy Department continue its administration of the islands. "“The future of the Virgin Islands will depend to a great extent upon the atti tude of government at Washington and the pleasure of investment America. St. Croix could be made one of the greatest tourists spot in the West Indies. OQur trouble is that we have neither hotels nor transportation. The establishment of one depends in a measure upon the other. The climate of St. Croix is delightful. I think T have never known the tempera- ture to go above 89 degrees Fahrenheit. while the minimum is about 73, although there have been times when it went as low as 65 degrees.— Washington Post. July 23rd.