The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-07-05
Uncle Sans Latest Venture In the
Realty Market.

Speaking of the rapid advance in real eS-
tate values, our Uncle Samuel IS among the
victims When he purchased Alaska he paid
for it at the rate of three cents an acre; Flor
ida fourteen; Philippines, twenty-seven; the
Canal Zone $685. and for the Virgin Islands
$295 an acre, the total price for this most re-
cent acquisition to United States territory
being $25,OO0OOO.
Attention to the Virgin Islands, formerly
1.-THE Danish West Indies has been called by
the recent flight of Marine Corps aviators
over the larger islands OF the West Indies
to map out an air course to the new territory.
A question frequently asked in this connec-
ton is:
Just what did Uncle Sam get when he
bought the islands. How much land was pur
chased and how much did it cost?'
The Virgin Islands are not remote from
other United States soil They are hardly a
stones throw from Porto Rico. St. Thomas
the westermost of the three larger Virgins
is only forty miles from that island and to
Porto Rico, midway between the two, ties
the new possessions still more closely to this
elder American brother by adoption. The
truly beautiful view that may be had troA
the 1500-foot peak or hilly outline of the
Porto Rcan coast.
ST. John the smallest of the three prin-
cipal islands acquired by the United States
lies only two miles to the east Of St. Thomas.
A climb to the rugged hills of St. John VIII
demonstrate that the American Virgins are
also not remote from foreign territory A
mile to the north lies Thatch Island a small
bit OF land belonging. to Great Britain, and
less than three miles in the same direction is
Tortoa Island, of the British Virgins, almost
as large as St. John.
St. Croix, the largest Of the newly pur-
chased islands, lies forty miles to the south.
1t is not pare geographically OF the Virgin
group but was included with St. Thomas
and ST John for administrative purposes by
the Danes and is classed by the United States
as one of its Virgin Islands. St Croix is
little over three times the size OF Manhattan
Island, containing approximately ei2hty-tour
square miles St. Thomas with an area of
tWenty-eght square miles, is about foul teen
miles long and has average width not
much over two miles. 1t is therefore almost
exactly the size of Manhattan Island St. John
has extreme length of eight miles and
width Of somewhat over two miles. Its area
is approximately twenty square miles The en-
tire group, including the numerous tiny is
lands of small value, has little more than
twice the area of the District of Columbia.
The features that give the chief value to
the islands from the point OF view OF the
United States government St. Thomas
Harbor, which is situated the principal
town of the group, Charlotte Amalie; and
Coral Bay, the island of St. John. St.
Thomas Harbor is probably the best-devel
oped harbor in the West Indies, and is nat
uarlly protected except from exceptionally
ly undeveloped, constitutes even more
Commodious and better protected harbor of
refugg These harbors were valuable to the
United States i'll themselves, but it was even
more important that the United States pre-
vent their falling into the hands of possible
enemies.
The Great Britain Antilles, made up of
the West Indies, and the Lesser Antilles,
composed of the smaller islands, together
form gigantic crooked arm, inclosing the
Caribbean sea. The Virgin Islands at the
elbow" the closest point to Europe. Past this
point streams the traffic between Europe and
the Panama Canal between New York and
both the east and west coasts of South and
Central America, and between the Greater
and Lesser Antilles. 1t has been said of St.
! Thomas Harbor and the town of Charlotte
Amalie that they are ION the road to every
where" To this fact has been due the import
ance of the town. and the town in turn has
given to the islands of St. Thomas and St.
John what Importance they have had in re-
cent years. It's accessibility, its good harbor,
its facilities for coaling and storage and for
! dry doCkage and repairs to steamers gave
Charlotte Amalie a place Of pre-eminence
among all the harbors of the West Indies be-
fore the war, The falling off of shipping dur
ing the war was hard blow to its prosperi-
| ty.
In November 1917, soon after they were
taken over by the United States, the Ameri-
can Virgin Islands had a population of slight
| ly more than 10000. This was not a great deal
over half the population in 1885. Nearly 90
per cent of the inhabitants in 1917 were ne
| groes or mulattoes