, 1902-02-28
OUR NEW ISLANDS
INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF
ST. THOMAS, ST. JOHN
AND ST. CROIx.
Treasury Bureau Of Statistics Issues
Monograph Giving Figures Of Size,
Population and Industries Of Dan
ish West Indies-Important as
Strategic Points.

WaSnlngtOn.D T., eD.
to The Republican. )-"The Danish
West Indies" is the title of a mono
graph by the treasury bureau Of stat
istic which will appear as a part Of the
forthcoming issue of the Monthly Sum
mary OF Commerce and Finance. 1t de-
scribes the islands included in the Re
Gently ratified treaty of the United
States and Denmark, by which the is
lands OF St. Thomas, st. John n st.
Croix are to be transferred to the
| United States. These islands. it shows,
lie off the eastern coast of Porto Rico
and are in fact a mere extension Of the
marine elevation of which Cuba, Jam
aica, Haiti and Porto Rico are princi-
pal representatives; while they also
form a connecting link between the
Greater and the Lesser Antilles.
St, Thomas. the best known Of the
group, lies 80 miles due east Of the
northeastern extremity Of Porto Rico;
st. John lies IL miles east Of st.
Thomas; while st. Croix lies about so
miles south Of St. John and St. Thomas.
and 60 miles southeast of the south
eastern point of Porto Rico. Two
small islands already belonging to the
United States. Vieques and Culebra,
which were obtained through the ces-
sion of Porto Rico, lie directly between
PortoRico and this newly added group.
The islands are small. with a com
paratively small producing capacity,
their chief importance being by rea
son of the harbors which they offer
and their value as a strategic as well
as general commercial standpoint. St
Croix, the largest Of them, is about 90
miles long and from n to five miles
wide with an area Of about 80 square
miles and population Of about 2 $1,000.
1t Is also the most productive Of the
islands, a considerable area being de-
voted to the production Of sugar cane
and tropical fruits. and agriculture
being the occupation Of a large pro-
portion of the population. There are
two towns on the island, Fredriksted,
with a population Of 300. and Chris
tiansted, with a population of $500.
The latter is located upon the chief
harbor Of the island, which however,
is choked with mud and of less i'm
p~ortance than the harbors of either OF
the other islands.
st. John. the smallest of the islands,
has an area Of but about q square
miles, and a population Of only 1000,
and a comparatively small cultivable
area, its chief value being in its pos
sibilities for harbor purposes, the nat
ural harbor Of Coral bay being describ-
ed as one OF the best protected natur-
al harbors in the West Indies. but at
present little used.
st. Thomas, which lies nearest to
Porto Rico. is by far the most import
ant in its present availability for har-
Dor purposes, the harbor Of Charlotte
Amalia having been for o than a
century recognized as one Of the best,
If not the best natural harbor, in the
entire West Indies group. and having
been during all that time a central
point as a harbor of refuge and point
Of exchange for merchandise and a
coaling station for vessels from all
parts of the world. With passages
through which 1t is easily reached, a
good depth of water, and excellent pro
lection from the hurricanes to which
that region is subject. it has long been
regarded as an extremely valuable
harbor, and when Denmark In the early
part Of the nineteenth century made
1t a free port 1t became the distribut-
ing point for the commerce Of the en-
tire West Indian group. AS q conse-
quence nearly the entire population
Of the island is clustered around the
port Of Charlotte Amalia, fully 10000
Of the 1880 population living in this
city, and less than 1000 being engag-
ed in agriculture.
The introduction Of steam and cleo
tricity within the past few years have
reduced greatly the Importance Of st.
Thomas as a point for the distribution
| of commerce, since now all Of the ISL
ands in the group are visited by resu-
larly plying steamships. and the trade
supplied by this process. instead Of be-
ing compelled to rely upon the sup
plies formerly drawn from st. Thorn
as as a distributing point. 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
sibilities of the islands, especially st.
Croix, in the class Of articles so large
ly imported by the United States. trop-
ical productions. will not be inconstd-
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 q resort for YES
sells from Engiishspeaking countries.
The imports into st. Thomas alone
in 1900 amounted to S73s. 900 and those
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