OF
THE
:
FOR
ST.
CROIX.
(Contenued from Saturday’s
Avis.)
His
Excellency
Governor
Sumner
E.
W.
Kittelle in company
with his
Finan-
cial Aide, John
J. Gaffney and Despatch-
ing Secretary
(C.
E.
Rappolee)
then
entered
the
meeting,
and
His
Excel-
lency addressed
the
Council
as follows:
Mr. Chairman
and
Gentlemen
of the
Colonial Council of St.
Croix.
1
[t
was
my in‘ention
to have
returned
to
St.
Croix long ere this,
but
the
press
of government
work has
beea
unusually
heavy
and
has
tied
me down very closely
to the main office.
I inherited,
from
the
previous administration,
a tangle
in
the
judiciary, brought
about
by strange
and
unusual personal
factors.
In this matter
I
had
no
personal
concern,
whatsnever,
save
to preserve
intact
the dignity
and
integrity
of the
island
government
and
to
see
that* the pecple
shoald have
good
and
faithful service
and
not be
imposed
upon.
Owing
to
misunderstandings
in
Washington,
due
to
the long
distance
and
slow postal
communication,
a
great
amount
of time
was
consumed
in
bring-
ing
to light the
true facts
of the
case,
but
when
these
facts
were
finally and
fully understood
in the National
Capital,
the
fog was quickly cleared
away and
I
trust
that we shall not
be further
divert-
ed,
by such complications,
from
our
im-
mediate duties and responsibilities.
2.
In
my last
letter
to the
other Celonial
Council,
I
mentioned
the
active
part
taken
by
Senator
Kenyon,
in
securing
for
the islands
the two provisos recently
passed
by
the
Congress.
I
neglected,
however,
to state,
through lack of earlier
information,
that
we
are
also
greatly
indebted
to
Judge
Horace
M.
Towner,
M. C.,
for his influence
in the House
of
Representatives..
Both
Senator
Kenyon
and Judge Towner
are sincere
friends
of
these
islands anfl have
the
true interests
of the islands at heart.
3.
I am pleased
to learn
that the Commit
tee of the Colonial Council is giving care-
ful
consideration
to the
local
tax
law,
and
thinking to make
more clear
any of
the
provisicns
of
the
proposed
law
that
may
not
be
fully uaderstood,
I
havz
brought
with me the
Governor’s
Finan-
cial
Aide, who will gladly place
himself
at
your disposition
for as
long a
period
as
you may
desire.
[
re
lize
that
you
all
wish
to have
concrete
examples
of
how
the law will work in
special
cases
and
it is much
more
gratifying to
have
ST PRI
X AVAN
the
law thus earefu'ly considered
by yon,
rathar
than
to
have
it jammed
through
as
a purely
wovernment
measure.
We
want
the
best
and
most
jist
tax
law
possible.
4
[ congratulate
the
Colonial Counci!
up-
on
the
passage of the judiciary law
and
from the best
legal advice,
[ am convine-
ed that
it
will
make
for
economy
and
efficiency
in
the
courts
of
the
islands.
B,
The
Head
of the
Department
of
Pub-
lic Works
has
just completed
carefully
worked
out
plans
for a water
supply in
“hristiansted
and
Frederiksted.
These
plans will be
submitted
to
you
at
this
seesion
and I will ask
you
to
give
them
careful
consideration,
to
the
end
that
you
may
enact
legislation
autborizing
the work
to
be
undertaken
at an
early
date.
Water
works
of
sufficient
capa-
city are
essential
to
every
community,
and in the
States
the
money
necessary
to construct
them
is generally
obtaired
throuzh
a
local
issue
of bonds,
guaran-
teed by
the
local
government.
I know
of
no
duty
that
should
be
held
para-
mount
to thii one
of
affording
an
as-
sured
water supply
to
our
towns
on
this
island.
6.
The Sseretary
of Agriculiure has
taken
the
keenest
personal
interest
ir
these
islands
and
has gone
to unusual
trouble
and
has exercised
painstaking
carz in the
selection
of
tiue
man
to take
charge
of
the Agricuitural Experiment Station
here.
The
man
selected
has
had
very
long
and wide
experience
in the tropics,
hav-
ing
served
in
the
Philippines,
Guam.
Honolulu,
California
and
Florida.
The
Seeretary
of
‘Agriculture
is
very
sym-
pathetic toward
my
desire
to
make
the
Virgin Islands
self-supporting
in
vege-
table and fruit culture
and
has
express-
ed his willingness to cordially assist
us in
this work.
,
3
I will bespeak
the
same
cordial
sup-
port
of the
new
Despatching
Secretary
that
you have always accorded
his prede-
cessor,
the
latter
having
been
recalled
from civil and assignad
to naval
duty
in
the due
course of National
Govern nent
poliecy.
It is not well that
young officers
should
remain
away
from
naval
duties
for too long a period,
so
that Ensign oz
has again taken
up the regular
duties
of
his
Corps; butI know
that you
will
be
glad
to learn
that the
Government
con-
siders
that
he has
performed
the
duties
of Despatching
Seecratary
with
marked
ability and chat this fact
will b 2 recorded
in his official record
in Washington.
'T'he
Navy
Department
has
been
more
than
generous
in
lending
trained officars to
the
Colonial Government
and
the
island
budget
has
been saved
thousands
ot dol-
lars
in
consequence.
The
Despatching
Secretary,
in
the
absence
of
the
Gov-
ernor,
is the Governor’s immediate
repre-
sentative
in St. Croix, and Mr.
Rappolee
will
at all times
be
in
the closest
touch
with
the G vernment,
devoting
himself
entirely to the interests
of St.
Croix.
SUMNER E.
W. KITTELLE,
Governor.
- In addition
to my
message
there
is
a
subject
upon
which I find it
necessary
to
speak
at this time.”
It has
come
to
my
notice
that certain
persons
on this
island
who
labor
have
guit work.
It has also
come
to
my
notice
that
other
persons
who labor do not wish
to quit work.
The
right to work or not
to work is aninaliena-
ble right under
the 2merican
flag.
Fur-
ther
information
has
been
received
by
me
to the effect that those
who
wish
to
work have
been
threatened
that
if they
do work upon their peaceful
and
lawful
jobs they will in some
way be
injured.
I
willask you gentlemen
to say
to your con-
stituents
that
the Government
now offers
areward of twenty-five francs to any
per-
son producing
evidence
that
will lead
to
the arrest
and conviction of any person
or
persons
who in any
manner
threaten
or
seek
to intimidate
any other
person
or
fto
in any way deter
or prevent
such
person
from going to and performing
his
or
her
daily work
or occupation.
There
shall
be
no intimidation
under
the
American
flag and the
Goveinor
will
use
his
full
power
to quell any such
attempt.
Every
citizen,
every
man,
woman
and
chiid
shall proceed
freely
about
their
lawful
occupation
and
the
Governor
will
see
that they are not
molested.
This is a period of great
depression
in
business
throughout
the world and
busi-
ness
can
survive only if there
is
entire
co-operation
between
capital
and
labor.
There
are thousands
of men and
women
out of work everywhere
in the world and
in the
(United
States
they
number
into
the
hundreds
of
thousands.
All
the
prices in force during the
war
were
in-
flated
and
unhealthy.
They
could
not
survive
the
return of
peace
conditions,
so that
now both
prices
and
wages
are
gradually
dropping
to
pre-war
figures.
This is a very ill-advised time for anyorne
to strike and
my advice to all
good
citi-
zens is tc keep
the
jobs
they
have
and
do their best
to rebuild prosperity;
and
1
most
solemnly
urge
upon
everyone
to
observe
law and order and
carefully
re-
frain from all injury to property.
The Chairman
then
gave a recess
of 10
minutes
After
recess
the
Council
reassembled
and
the Chairman
remarked:
The
next
item
on
the Order of the
Day
is item 3.
This
matter
is
withdrawn
as
there
are
technicalities
involved.
It will
be taken
up lateron.
|
Item 4.
Election
of a
member,
in
lieu
of
Lawyer
A.
E.
Stakemann,
on
the
Educational
Board
of
Review,
ac-
cording to Title 1, Chapter
2, Section
3a, sub-item
4 of{the Code.