St. Croix avis. [volume], October 31, 1929, Image 3

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

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ket opened todey with such low price
that heavy losses have occurred already.
The poor condition of the Brazilian mar
ket seems (o b 2 the ecause of the iow
prices.
Los Angeles, Oct 20th —Mickey Wal
ker the middie weizht champion witl
race Hudi®ns ionight at Wrigley Field
“Both wmea are aissatisfied with the ar
angemeant of the purse and a nard bacile
is expected.
COLONIAL COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
(Continued from yesterday’'s jAvis.)
The Chairman: Before giving th2
word to meambers 1 wouid like to say, the
annual report of the prospects of this is
land as reviewed by the Governor affords
material of interest and ol anxiety for
those to whom it relaies; but on the pre
sent oseasion perhaps thet interest on
the one hand and ce:tainly that anxiety
on the other are greatiy heightened an |
enhanced as some of its views and ex
pressions would seem to be subversive o
the wellare of the ;_H,'i‘);)i”
A dechining popalation, a depression in
indusiry and a4 noone oo encouraging nor
hopefu! officiai document present to us a
formidable task. But even such a iask
you and 1l nor any one who preteads to
discharge a publie duty or fullil 2 pubiie
trust can afford (v shirk or to evade. In
an effort, then to discharze at least a por
tion of out duty we present this resolu
tion to tnls LOUNCt.
We are not putting this resolution for
®R.iid us being in itseif a full remedy for
all the evils that beset us, but we are d= -
termined (o deai with the immpediments io
the wholesome distribution of we-alth,
and the vromotion of industry, whether
they aris2 from bad laws, bad cusiocms,
vad institutions, or. from careiess uad X
travagant admiaistration Wz wish, 1f
necessary to help the industry by bitiog
thie burdens it has to carry, for whieh 13
beiter a policy which asks for additional
ied-rai aid or a policy of secvrinz for us
ail profitable and productive sources of
employinent,
Aud here just let me interp:=late onz
thing judging from what we have neard
today =nd from what has been evidently
inferred nere 48 well as ou wld thore
IS apparently a good deal 0i misun ior
standing and misrepresentsiico ol opin
ions and conditions, and some peopls
seem to be guided by ad:z:ire to put one
class against another, or oaze s2Btlas
against another so as to hHesl pro
mote the interests of this island. No
place can exisi onm-re platitudes B.izf
iy -bea. I thiok it muay be taken for grant
ed before we go furtner, that intelligzent
and f{ustering legislation, geouine and
wiloie hearted cooperation, harmonious
relations between all elasses in this com
munity, eaergy and avidity and decliniog
to draw any iavidious distinction b-tw en
one seciion and another are the main
factors that wiil enable us to eantinuz or
maintain any indusiry in this island.
5 3 ¢ et i A A¥V IO
Let¢ me touch on one or twvo points in
particalac. We have just been visited by
g disasirous hurricane, we have had a
short ¢rop, the priece for our produats
have been iow. llmagine our teelings
when we read that .there is e¢ontinued
economie improvement in this island. [t
may be true that savings deposits 1o the
local banks have increaszd, vititis also
true toat some $300.000 which came o
this islamd as hurrican= Insuraace and
probably found its wav into those buanks
represent just a por iva ol the devastated
wealth Permit me to lay befora you a
criterion by which we may arrive at
some ldea of the truth with respect tH the
increase of wealth of aany place. The
best mode of making an estimate of the
rate of Inerease in tae wealih of a eoun
try is to resort to the income tax which
represent the profits aderived from lands,
all real and movabie propariy, trades and
professions, and in a measuce the amount
of rent paid. No other criterion is eHm
parable to it, for though 1t may not be an
exact index of the truth in this matter in
any one year, yet as betwe 'n one period
and anoiher ! believe it is an index on
whieh we cansafely reiy. Just let us look
al tnese fizures then for a stew years,
Leaving cut of coasideration the year
1920 for reasons whieh [ think every one
knows, let us take the other eight years
which follow and see what resuit we ar
rive at: and for comparison divide this
time into two periods of four years each
and take tine average for those years.
The average collected for the years 1921
to 1924, both inclusive, gives us a lttle
over %f).()i}() 00. taat for the years 1925 to
1928. both inclusive, gives a littie less
than $3,000 00. in other words there is
a decrease in this item of more than 40
pere nt between those periods. Jhese
flgures can C»Jl‘llziu!y make one none too
sanguine Tor the future of this islapd,
except he be a dogmatist or a parisan,
Let me now pass to one other qusstion,
that of immigration, 1 have always had
a lurking impression that this country
owes least to those who talk most about
it. Nobody nowadays especially thinks or
wants to commit pemselves (o an €cono:
mic poliey long since diseredited by as
firiping (hat low wages and servile labor
are pecesgary [or the promotion of suc
cesstulindusiry. Nor dgo 1 personaily
beiieve there is such a remsarkable dii
jerence in the standard ol living 1o tis
island and thos2 which seem to offer some
pussibie hpe of reli f as some would
want us to believe. but cn this question
there 4re one or fwo points on which
there secms 10 be deersive evidence tort
coming. First of ail, there 15 proof of
tiie absoiute want of iabor, there 1s 2n ex
haustion of native labor: those who are
in 4 position to kKnow are wiiling to de
monstrate the impracticability of the use
of Porto Rican labour and the ilmpractica.
bility of further labor saving appliances,
It seems to me, too, that the sysiem ad
vocated is moraltly jusufiablie and cao
constitute no menace to public welfare,
Clearly then this is a question for study
and consideration.
And just one more reference and 1 am
done. Sug:ris the oldest staple indusiry
of the West Indies not of 3t. Croix alone,
and one on which many of them must
necessarily depend. The West Indies of
which we form a part lie between the
most favorabie lautudes for tbe rapid
and successtul growih of the sugar cane,
and sugar is produced more cheaply in
most of them than 1s sume two thirds of
the worla’s production. Ihus the need
for Government’s encouragement or as
sistance (as 1t has beefi shown In the
British Islands to the south of us espe:
cially and where conditions are very simi
jar) does not arise from any inability of
their producers successtully to compete
with other eountries, butis due solely to
the faet that every nation alinost without
exception protect their supar lodustries
so heavily that the world’s price bears
no analogy to the cost of production, loe
basic point in Other words 1s to give the
industry a fair chance in the worid, for it
can ho!d its own against many countries
which are :roducing sugar in an artifi
cial and economic manuoer. Since 1927
the price of sugar-has progressively de
clined to a level which 1s below the cost
of production, and today the existence ol
this most imporiant indusiry throughout
the West Indies is seriously threatened.
All of their Governments then realising
this position is endeavoring 10 give 10
this industry whatever assistance they
can, we are no exception io the rule. Our
tax system is not & perfect opne an it
therefore seems to be that 1t & reducticn
of the‘expnrt duty 1s necessary tor the
survival ot the industry or in bding over
its crisis it certainly ought to be given
every study and consideration. Ihese
are some of the reasons that®have guided
me 1n thg resolution helore us.
The main .unction ol ovur system ol
admisnistration 1,1 think, to mitiate and
stimulate economic progress Laving re
gard to praetical consideration. It we
believe that there is & suggestion ol re
trograde proposals then 1t is a matler
with which it 1s our duty to deal.
Ihis resolution is the essence of our
pian. It may be apmoved or it may be
condemned, b@t T pave at least this tuli
and undoubting confid nee that it wili ou
ail hands be admitteo, that we have not
sought to evade the aifficoities of our
position. In so doing we Crave feit that
ve will best maintain our own honor and
promote the irterest ol this Isiznd, we
seek to draw no distinetion between one
seetion and another but raiher endesvor
te adop! it as ovr sacred aim to distribuie
benefit if we may, burder il we must
with equal and impartial hand and &t
jeast we hope to have the cousolation ot
believing teat by propos -Is such as those
we may coutribute to Knit ihe beatls
ot all still more closely to this island ot
ours, and to those institutions under
whieh it is our privilcas e and happiness
%0 hve, *