USVI Public Records

Document text

\ | ' / 7, } i : i 3 s >‘:- \ \\ Q\}“\ P\\ : ?-.' i N (o= R S SNAS SO /A RN S s b | | [V %=LH @ ‘%.':\ta‘“ ) \ / //L—\ : ) ;| . ~ > @ \\_/ ‘ ’Q V. /_\ e 75TH YEAR. THE ST. CROIX AVIS x is printed and published daily (Sundays and Holidays excepted) by G. Johansen at the Avis Office. TSR MS---50 cents monthly in advance 2 cents per single copy. intered as second-class matter May | 26th 1917 at the Post Jice at Christian- ol W riie. V. L ofthe U. Ssad., an der the Act of March 3. 1879. s | Contribution to this paper will be glad- Ly received when the same deals with mat- ters of general tn#rest,@nd vs accompa nied with the author’s name, as a quai- antee ofyood faith. The editor cannot be responsible for the views-of his correspon- | dents nor does he necessarily endorsethem. oAe52 I 2 e t PROCEEDINGS | OF THE : e s . NN TATVEC | COLUNIAL COUNCIL FOR ST. CROIX. | T | Continued from yesterday’s Avis : Ist Men ber for Frederiksted Couniry | District (Andersem) remarked: Mr, | Chairman. [ have listened carefully to : the remarks of the Despatching Secre- | tary and I understand from what he says | that it is the intention to bring in another | Food Commission 3ill; [ rhink that would I be a wrong step. It would be better to | bring in the bill which is so be proposed | be ore the present Food Commission Law | is repealed. Let us not throw away the | dirty water before we have the clean } water. 4th Member for Christiansted Country ‘ District [ Ramsay] remarked: Mr. Chair- *man. !t seems to me that a good many | mis:akes are made as regards the Food ; Commissien, The Secretary says thst | raw sugar is sold herein St. Croix at | 16c. per pound, that is not correct, raw | sugar is sold here today for 26c. per | pound. It would be interesting to know ; how a poor man will get along with | such high prices. ' { I am glad to know that Gowernment | intends to bring in a new ordinance to replace the one now in existence, but | unless Government gets the correct in- | formation there never will be a Food Commission that will work effectively in l this island. : ; Ist Member for.Ghristiansted Country UHRISHANS.FED. V.1.U.8 A.. FRIDAY 18t JUNE_I92O District [Stakemann] remarked: Mr. “hairmane [n regard to the rquestion caised about sugar there is a reason why St. Thomas can, at present, sell cheaper than St. Croix, it is because St. Thomas was more far seeing and . bought sugar when the price was low. There ils no question that sugar cannot be bought today for what it iwas bought three months ago. Os @purse, St. Thomas bought, not to make gny profit, naturally they can sell at a mueh cheaper rate. When you come 0 the proaucer no one can be deprived of his property with- out recompense; whatI think would be reasonable is, that the producers should be made to sell their sugar at the same price here as wha it would net them if shipped to thie United States, The United States Constitution says— ‘‘a man’s pro- perty cannot be taken away from him without due process of law.”’” If the Colonial Couneil withes (6 make a law that it would pay the priee, it is then left to the community to take the chance and sell the sugar at a lower figure. 1 do not see any use for us to try to force a thing that we cannot carry through; let us have a law which would prevent profiteer- ing, let us have a law which would allow the manufactarer to receive the same price that he would receive if his sugar were shipped to the United States. 1 do not consider ‘it uiifair in any way to ailow the manufacturer the same price here that he would get [ his sugar were shipped. 4th Member for Caristiapsted Country District (Ra say) remarked: Mr. Chair- man. Lhe last Honorable Speaker seems to forget that we are talking about su- gar that is _consumed here on the island. We all have heard ®f what Mr. Hoover is doing in the United States. The Hon- orable Member says that the manufac- turers should have what their sugar would net them in the (inited States, does that mean if Japan is willing to pay them one dollar per pound for their sugar thev must have the same dollar here? We all know from what Dr. Longfield Smith has said that the Factories will make over one million and a half dollars this year, if that is not profiteering then I don’t know what is profiteering. Ist Member for Christiansted Country Districtt [Stakemann] remarked: Mr. Chairman. I think every man in a free country is entitled to make what he can. I am quite cerctain that Mr, Hoover in New York did not go to the merchants and say: you must sell your sugar for what I want you to sell it. It is the mer- chants that are doing it—they are hold- No. 139. ing their stock and causing the price to 0o up. Some members here i: the Coun- cil have good stuck and yet trying to get more but did not succeed, so let us not 20 too far into this matier 1 still main- tain that a man having sugar has the right to get here what he would get if his sugar were shipped, and 1 al- so maintain that th% merchants must have a profit. : ond Member for Frederiksted Coun- try Distriet (M. M. Skheoch) remarked: Mr. Chairman. We hear, on several occasions, what the people would say and what the people would think. It would be interesting to me, at this time, to know what the people wish. Some- time ago the ‘‘St. Croix Avis’” criticised the Food Commission in every shape and form and the moment it learned of the likelihood of the Food Commission ceasing to exist it spoke of the good it wight be to the public if it remains in existence; that seems to be a case of let well alone. I think if we have a Food Commission that is not drastic it would be very beneficial, but there was such diversity as to how it should be worked that we had no mutual agreement on it. It is true that sugar is king today, but there is such a thing calied dry weather and that might make a very big differ- ence next year. The cattle owners here depend on shipping their cattle to Porto Rico, and if we have a long drought we may lose our cattle also. 1 believe if Government introduce a new bill and call a meeting and have several of the merchants present at that meeting and get their honest opinion a food com- mission ceuid be put into effect which, I believe, will be satistactory to all con- cerned. Ist Member for {Christiansted Country District [Stakeman] remarked. Mr. Chairman I advocate t a2t the present Food Commission remain in effect until the new bhili is itroduce. 1 believe 1t would be dangerous tc have any space ol time between the repealing of the pres- ent Ordinance and the introduction of the other, because vrices will soar high above the means of the poor peopie. 4th Member for Christiansted Country District [Ramsay] remarked. Mr. Chair- man. 1f lam not mistaken this make. the tourth time the last speaker has spoken on the Food Commission; he made elaborate defenses in his first three remarks, but he is going back on them. 1 want to know who authorized the Factories to raise the price of their sugar to $51.00 per bag which is higher than the price fixed by the Food Uommniission.