The St. Mary banner., 1902-05-31
DANISH WEST INDIES.
rHE VALUE OF THE ISLANDS
LIES IN THEIR HARBORS.
St. Thomas is thee Pest Known of the
Country's Latest Insular Acquisi.
tions-Population is Chiefly Color
ed Descendants of Former Slaves.

| tions-PopuIation is Chiefly Color
ed Descendants of Former Slaves.
| The Danish West Indies is the
| title of monograph by the Treasury
| Bureau of Statistics whichwill appear
as a part of the forthcoming issue OF
The Monthly Summary Of Commerce
| and Finance 1t describes the islands
| included in the recently ratified treaty
| of the United States and Denmark by
| which the Islands of st. Thomas, st.
| John and ST CrOix are to be transfer
red to the United States.
St Thomas is the best known of the
group, lies thirty-eight miles due east
| 0f the northeastern extremity OF Porto
Rico: St John lies twelve miles east
| Of St. Thomas, while St. Croix lies
| about fifty miles south of st. John and
St. Thomas. and sixty miles southeast
| If the southeastern point OF Porto
Rico. Two small islands already be-
j longing to the United States, Eicques
and Culebra. which were obtained
through the ccssion of Porto Rico, lie
directly between Porto Rico and this
newly added group.
The islands are small, with a cam
parativcly small producing capacity,
their chief Importance being by reason
of the harb0Ts which they offer and
their value as a strategic as we'll as
a general commercial standpoint. st.
Croix, the largest of them, is about
twenty miles long and one to five miles
wide, with an area of about $4,000
square miles, and population of
about 10000. 1t is also the most pro-
ductye of the islands, d considerable
area being devoted to the production
of sugar cane and tropical fruits. and
agriculture being the occupation Of
large proportion of the population.
There are two large towns on the isl
and Fredrksted. with a population
of 3,700 and Christiansted, with a
population of $500. The latter is
situated upon the chief harbor of the
island, which, however, is choked
with mud and of less importance than
the harbors of either of the other isl
ands.
st. John, the smallest of the islands,
has an area of about twenty-one
square miles and population Of only
about 1000, and a comparatively
small cultivation area, its chief value
being in it's possibilities for harbor
purposes, the natural harbor of Coral
Bay beng described as one of the best
protected natural harbors in the West
Indies, but at present little used st.
Thomas, which lies nearest to Porto
Rico. is by far the most important in
its present availability for harbor pur.
poses, the Harbor of Charlotte Amalia
having been for more than century
recognized as one Of the best, If not
the best, of natural harbors in the en-
tire West Indian group, and having
been during that time a central point
as harbor of refuge and point of ex.
change for merchandise and coaling
station for vessels from all parts of
the world.
Nearly the entire population of the
island is clustered around the port of
Charlotte Amalia, fully 10000 of the
1880 population living il that city.
and less than 1000 being engaged in
agriculture.
The introduction of steam and elec-
tricity within the past few years has
reduced greatly the importance of st.
Thomas as q point for the distribution
of commerce, since now all of the
islands in the groups are visited by
regular plying steamships. The i'm
portance of the harbor, however, as a
supply, repair. coaling and naval sta
ton has not been reduced. but rather
increased and with proper develop
ment it will, it is believed, prove Of
great value while the productive pos
siblities of the islands, especially St
Croix, in the class of articles SO large
ly imported by theUnited States, trop-
ical productions, will not be inconsid-
cradle.
The population is chiefly colored, de-
scendants of former slaves who were
liberated in 1S4S, English being the
chief language spoken, especially in
the Island of ST Thomas, which has
been for many years resort for YES
sells from Englishspeaking countries.
The imports into St. Thomas alone
in 1900 amounted to $4,000, and
those of ST. Croix about $42O 900. They
consist chiefly of foodstuffs and manu-
lures. The exports of St. Thomas in
1900 amounted to about $4,000, and
those of St. Croix s275,000. The ex-
ports of ST. Thomas were of miscel-
laneous character. largely manufact
ures destined for neighboring islands;
while those from st. Croix were
chiefly sugar and other tropical pro-
ducts for the United States markets.
Of the 1888 900 worth of imports into
st. Thomas in 1900, s363,266 were from
the United States; s14S,0O2 from Great
Britain, $9S,O44 from other West In
dies, $53O5S from Germany, s25,272
from Belgium, $20,742 from British
North America and s14.4O2 from Den
mark. Of the imports. the most i'm
portant were -four, $53,770; cotton
goods, s6O.343; hardware, s11,114;