St. Croix avis. [volume], July 16, 1926, Image 3

About St. Croix avis. [volume] (Christiansted, St. Croix [V.I.]) 1844-current

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ingness “to assist us by giving us an op
portunity in this tout ils of priceless
value.
I am not oniy scrry that 1 have not got
the Virgin lslands Band to piay at my
boeth. I am determined to make my
booth a- wonder if I could only get some
things.
But there is room for more as the ex
position won’t pe ready before six weeks
more.”’—The Bulletin, July 10th. 1926.
Portio Rico Faces Problems
(Los Angzles, Herald)
Porto Rico, the island possession of the
United States lying southeast of our con
tinental area and almost directly east of
Central America, is in financial difficulties
and an appeal {for aid has been made to
the Washington government by leaders
of the island’s sugarindustry, agricultur
ists and chamber of commerce. Although
large quantities of gold were yielded by
the island during the Spanish occapation,
in recent times the chief industries have
been sugar, tobacco, cotton, coffee, or
anges, pineapples and cocoanuts. The
principal mauuftactures other than sugar
and molasses are cigars and cigarettes,
ha's, embroidery and salt.
With the population heavily afflicted
by aremia and malaria, with a financial
budget larger than the annual receipts,
and with 400,000 of its 900,000 people of
working age unable to obtain employ
ment, Porto Rice has been struggling
urder a erushing burden. That this sit
uation can be ameliorated is the firm be
lief of the petitioners who have asked
the assistance of the federal government,
If the island with a density of popula
tion of 400 to the square mile, is to be
come what it«could and shou!d be—an in
dustrial community whose abundance
of labor is an asset instead of a lia
bility—some cousiderable readjustment
must be made in the near future. With
the Porto Rieans ina position to secure
self supporting lakor, there will bea re
sultant benefit to'the ertire mainland, as
the nation is strengthened or weakened
by the condition of its various parts.
Asserting that under present conditions
the taxes are so heavy that they cannot
be paid by many, either now orin tle
future, and that the legitimate obliga
tions of the islaad can be refunded with
out repudiation or loss in the operation,
the United States government is asked to
send to Porto Ricoa commission of ex
perts to study economie conditions and
public finances, and ascertain the real
ability of the peopile for taxing purposes.
- olt is also requested that governmental
assistance be afforded in the proposed
refunding plan, if thought wise, and that
financia! aid be granted to the island for
the purpose of improving the health con
ditions, which as before said urgently
need attention. In addition, an indus
trial survey of the isiand’s resources
S 03 = % 3. 5
should he made, lo:kine to the develop:
mert f irdusities and mwanuiacties.
Let it be said that this request, coming
as it dees from nen of prominence, is A
very resscnalile one. 1t asks ro more
than would willingly be granted by con
gress and the executive department to
any state or seetivn of states on (he
mainland.
Porto Rico must, in the nature of
things, be either an asset or a liability.
If, in the development of affairs from the
long -era of Spanish orpression to the
very recent position of American citizen
ship, it has beecome a liability, e€ither in
health or economics, it behooves us to
change that condition as soon as possible
There should be no hesitancy in granting
all necessary assistance to the island a
long the lines requested. —P. R. Progress
Tobacco Poison
The Danger Os The Relighted Cigar.
Some interestirg views on smoking
were given by Sir Humphry Rolleston,
professor of physic at Cambridge Univer
sity, in an address on tcbacco reported
in the Lancet. ‘“'‘From inguiry among
athletes I find that the most successful
are non-smokers,”” he says. What is the
least harmful smoke depends not only on
the content of nicotine. but also on the
rate of combustion. Thus while Virginia
cigarette tobacco centains twice as much
nicotine as Manpila cigar tobacco, the
smoke of the latter contains more than
double the nicotine of the cigarette
smoke.
The smoke of one cigar contains as
much nicotine as 12 to 18 cigarettes. The
amount of nicotine in cigarette smoke is
much less than thatin the smoke of pipes.
Neither a half-smoked cigar nor a pipe
should be relit; it has been found thata
smoker who relights a pipe or cigar ab
sorbs more poison than he would from 10
ordinary smokes.
Although tobacco has dangers, Dr.
Rolleston says that serious injury must
be rare considering the universality of
the habit.— London Daily Mail
How Babies Were Saved
And a Cross Father
Mr. Fred Fessler’s twenty.two-year
old son married without his father’s con
sent, and he gave I'is son a beating. The
father is in jail. ‘That’s a sign of pro
oress.
Not so long ago a man had the right to
kill his son—if he warted to,
And it isn’t so long since it was legal
to expose new-born babies in the public
square to be eaten by dogs, ortbroaght up
as slaves. :
~Christianity ended that. Lecky’s
“History of European Morals,”” which
you vaght to read, explains th. . Chris
tiarity, teaching that children unbaptiz
ed could not go to heaven, preserved the
lives of mary of them on this earth.
Christian parents feared to ex} sea
child witheout baptism, and didn’t dare
to expose it afterward, for then it was a
full-fledged Christian, and they would be
responsible for a Christian’s death.—The
Boston American.
Old Dogs---New Tricks
The Kaiser’s Property
Itis hard to teach an old dog new
tricks, or to eradicate devotion to the
emperor from an old servant of the em
peror.
The question was asked: ‘'‘Can Hin.
denburg forget the Kaiser and transfer
his allegiance to the German people?”’
when the old German general became
President.
Von Hindenburg has answered it in an
unwise letter unexpectedly published.
He denounces the suggestion that the
German people confiscate hundreds of
millions of royal property and calls the
plan ‘‘erass ingratitude.”’
Germans that lost their sons will very
likely decide to take over some of the
property that the Hohenzollerns and oth
er royalties took from them. And Von
Hindenburg’s letter might cost him the
Presidency. lbid.
GOES TO TEST IRISH AS THEY
SAIL FOR U. S.
With 335 passengers from Boston
and several hundred from New York,
the White Star liner Cedrie will sail from
Commonwealth pier today for Queens
town and Liverpool.
Dr. Riechey L. Waugh, U. S. Public
Health Service surgeon, will go to ar
range for the medical examination of
Irish immigrants at the port of embar
kation, instead of here. Dr. Alexander
Forbes. Harvard Medieal School, with
Mre. Forbes and their daughters, Kathe
rine and Janet, and Mrs. Roger Babson,
wife of the Wellesley statisticion, will be
among other notables aboard. Boston
Sunday Advertiser.
WALES TRIES AUTO 'SPILL
FOR CHANGE.
London, June 19.—The Prince of
Wales. apparently tired of being thrown
from horses, tried an automobile accident
today byway of variety.
He was driving to Sandwich with a
party of friends for the week end when
near the village of Littlebourne two
{ront tires burst atonce. The car swery
ed sharply, but the PFrince pulled it up
smartly before it could leave the road
way,— Ibid. .