The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-05-20
THE DANISH ISLANDS.
Stewards Perception of Their Value
to the United States.

Stewards Perception of Their Value
to the United States.
The war of the rebellion made very
manifest one of the weakest and most
vulnerable points in the whole govern
mental system of the American nation
The nation was at war with a belliger-
ent Power. 1t was compelled to defend
itself and it's great commerce against
piraticaI attacks from a Power that
held equal privileges with itself, and in
some cases superior advantages, in the
ports of neutral nations. It's ships of
war were given only the same rights in
these foreign and sometimes distant
ports that were possessed by those of
it's enemy, and those were to take on
certain supplies, remain in port a linn
tied time and in certain cases be pre-
vented from sailing from the port Of
a neutral Power in pursuit of a war
vessel or piratical craft, a flibuster or
a blockade-runner of the enemy until
| that craft had a certain number of
hours start and time enough to escape
All these conditions and circumstances
led the Secretary of State to the con-
cluson that one of the first duties of
this Government, on the close of hos
tilities and the reconstruction Of the
State Governments of the misguided
citizens of the South, was to secure ad-
equate facilities for the accommodation
of vessels of the United States in ports
of it's own when at distant points from
home. And then, it is not the disclos-
ure of a State secret to say that Will
lam H. Seward was a man who believed
in Greater America"
The advantages of ST Thomas as
central, salutary, and convenient port
for the United States have always been
recognized by those who have had any
knowledge of the matter. The island
is about 1872 degrees north of the equa-
tor and thirty-six miles east of Porto
Rico. 1t is second in size of the Dan
ish Virgin Islands, ST. Croix containing
more than double it's square miles.
The Virgin group Of islands was dis
! covered by Columbus on his second
voyage in 1893, and were christened by
him in memory of ST. Ursula and her
1000 companions whose bones are
claimed still to be preserved at Co
lOgne. Whether Columbus concluded
as he felt his way among what may
well have appeared to him to be an in
Vulnerable cluster of islets, scattered
over a space of about two degrees of
latitude and longitude, that there was
an island apiece for each of the virgin
followers of Ursula, is uncertain, but
wiser men than Columbus have demon
strated the fact that in this work of
distribution there are only islands
enough to provide one each for about
100 of the virgins. Scarcely more than
dozen of the islands are now inhab-
tied. The total area is estimated at
465 square miles and the total popula
ton a few years ago was $1,000. The
westerly islands belong to Spain, the
easterly to Great Britain, and the CEN
trail to Denmark. The area of the
Spanish islands Is about $50 square
miles that of the British about fifty
seven square miles, and that of the
Danish 240 square miles-a probable
overestimate. The populations Of
these divisions according to the latest
Iobtainable information are respectively
approximately $500 $500, and "a 600
The area of the three principal Dan
ish islands is as follows: st. Crolx,
eighty Square miles; St Thomas, thir-
ty-three square miles: st. John, twenty
one square miles. st. Thomas has only
one town, bearing the name of Char
lotte Amelie, but more often called by
the name of the island, st. Thomas, and
it is located on it's magnificent harbor,
which is about the middle of the south
coast and is narly land-locked. The
island is thirteen miles long and has
an average width of about three miles.
The harbor, so we'll sheltered and so adj
vantageously situated in the way of
ocean travel, is undoubtedly one of the
best and most commodious in all the
West Indies. 1t is capable of floating
the largest vessels and possesses ade-
quate anchorage for the entire navy Of
the United States and its mercantile
marine.-From 1.-TWO Great American
Treaties by W. Martin Jones. in the
American Monthly Review of Reviews.