The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-03-22

March 16.-The American flag is shortly
to be raised over this group Of islstNs,
the United States having agreed My
treaty to pay the Danish government
twenty-five million dollars for all of
the holdings of the latter country in the
-. Vest Indies.
On the map OF the West Indies are
seen as a string of islands, beginning
with the large ones of Cuba and Santo
Domingo, thinning out in midocean to
a few almost invisible dots, and then
emerging to the South again in the
larger French and English Islands.
What we have bought from Denmark
are about fifty of these little pinhead
islands. Only three of them are large
enough to haYe names on the map, and
the largest contains but eighty-four
square mil es. Insignificant as they ap-
pear geographically, however, these
islands are most interesting, and may
become important.
st. Thomas and st. John belong to
the Virgin group of islands, which was
discovered by Columbus, as was also St.
Croix. St. Thomas was settled by the
Dutch, who left it for New York. Then
the Danes took it, and the English took
it away from the Danes several times,
but always gave it back because they
did not want it. The Dtuch and the
English also squabbled in a small way
over st. Croix; then the Spaniards got
hold of it only to be driven out by the
French, who gave it to the Knights of
Malta. They, being unable to make a
living there, burned up their holdings
and departed. Denmark thereupon got
St. Croix for the same reason that she
got st. Thomas, namely, because no.
body else wanted it. She has been
losing money on the islands almost eyer
since; that twenty-five million Will be
the first profit that Denmark, as a ma
ton, has made out of her West Indian
Colonies in long time.
The history of our own relation to
the islands has been much repeated of
late. In 1865 Secretary of State
Steward offered seven and a half mil
lion for them, vote was taken here,
and the people were almost unanimous
for the transfer. The bill then died in
the senate committee on foreign rela-
tions. In 1902 we wasted an opportun-
'ty to buy the islands for five million.
In 1916 we jumped at the chance to buy
them for twenty-five million, and now
it remains only to pay over the money
and raise the flag. The price comes to
nearly three hundred dollars an acre,
against two cents an acre which we
lai for Alaska, tWenty-seven cents for
Philippines and about thirty-fve
Eollars for the Canal Zone. Thus it is
seen that Colonies, like everything else,
are gong up in price.
This crude summary of the history of
Inc Danish West Indies gives no idea
# their real story, which is filled with
finance of the Spanish main, with pir-
ties and privateers and doubloons and
!reole beauties. The islands are Uttered
with old cannon, ruined forts, and all
the other stage props of swashbuek-
ling romance.
Geologically. these islands are the
tips of a badly swamped mountain
range. st. Thomas juts suddenly out
of the water, like q swimmers head.
From its highest point you can see
Porto Rico to the West, and an amaz-
ing amount of ocean all around There
is practically no cultivation, because
all the people make living out of the
harbor. Fire and hurricane have
swept the island almost clear of for
est; but there is a low dense growth
of brush, which affords shelter for
wild goats and deer, while a few cat
tie Craze on the open, windswept
mountain tops. The island is beautiful,
with vivid, unexpected beauty-an