The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-04
DANISH WEST INDIES, SOON TO BE
 UNDER STARS AND STRIPES, RICH IN
 ROMANCE, AND STRONG IN RESOURCES

hree-uuarters of a mile across ana from twenty-seven to thirty-six feet deep and is entered by narrow chan mel only three hundred yards wide. English is the predominant language of the island, and Danish the official, but French, Spanish and Dutch are everywhere heard.
 Sea Freezes, Cool Nights.
 The climate of all the islands is typically tropical on the coasts, al- though sea breezes and long, cool, re- freshing nights temper the excessive heat, but the temperature varies at different attitudes and high up on the slopes there is marked degree of coolness. The islands have not one, but two rainy and dry seasons. The short wet season, or spring, begins in April and lasts about one month. The short dry season follows, the ther- mometer then standing at about eighty degrees Fahrenheit. July is the hottest month, and the heat then is almost too much for Caucasian en- durance. From the end of July until the first of October comes most of the rainfall of the year.
 This season is featured by the fa- nous West Indian hurricanes, and the period is known locally as ''the hur- ricant months.'' These storms arise in the Atlantic to the east of the isl ands, and take a northwesterly course. They travel at the rate of 300 miles a day, and before they approach the weather is ugly and threatening, with sharp and frequent puffs of wind which increase in force. On the ocean there is first a long, heavy swell, and then a confused, choppy sea, which comes from the direction of the storm. When the latter breaks, the rain forms a wall of water, the sky is inky, all nature bends before the force of the wind, and thunder and lightning are incessant In December the long dry season begins, with fresh winds and occasional hail showers that last until April.
 The Rum of Commerce.
 None of the three islands has the ability to contribute much to the wealth of the world. As already said some sugar cane is raised on the isl and of Santa Cruz, and from this comes not only sugar but also Santa Cruz rum, from earliest colonial times the delight of the Yankee merchant sailor, and in later times the source of many an American fortune. St Johns principal contribution to com- merce is the oil from the leaves of its bay trees, which St. Thomas takes and converts into bay rum. There is probably not a fertile mile on the latter island; nothing is produced and nothing is manufa except bay rum. But the city of Charlotte Anna lie does a considerable business with passing ships; ships stores and pro- visions are sold most of which are obtained from the United States. and there are some large coal docks on the water front.
 Economic conditions in the islands have grown steadily worse, probably on account of the reluctance of Dan- ish capitalists to invest money for maintenance and Improvements Be- cause the harbor trade. which is the principal seaport of St. Thomas, is al- most dead, that island is threatened with bankruptcy; in St. Croix there is a social revolution, the outcome of efforts of laborers for better wages and living conditions. In St. Thom-