Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1948-01-10
Perry Howard In $780, 600 Govern
ment Property Deal
States National Republican Committee
man Presents Bid Of Californian For
Property OF Virgin Island Go.

Washington, D. c., Dec. (NNPA)
Perry w. Howard, an attorney
and Republican national commit
teman for Mississippi, disclosed
last Friday that he had submitted
to the Interior Department a bid
of 81 100000 on behalf of client
for certain properties of the Vir-
gin Islands Co., Government cor
poration.
Mr.. Howard said the bid of his
client, Mark Left, of Laguna, Cal.
covers the distillery, sugar plan
tation, abattoir, the poultry farm,
cattle farm, and any rum that
may be in the possession of the
Virgin Islands Company.
For quite some time the Divis-
ion of Territories and Island Pos
sessions of the Interior Depart
ment has been engotiating with a
number of individuals for the dis
posal Of the Virgin Islands Com
pany in order that the Federal Gov
ernmentmay get the rum and sugar
business.
The sugar industry has been the
chief dependence of the Virgin Is
lands for centuries. The tremen-
dous increase in the worlds cane
acreage, combined with other fac
tors more local in nature, has
made sugar production unprofit-
able.
Besides, the inadequacy of rain
fall, the rapid run off and the
evaporation, severe periodic drou-
ghts, and occasional hurricanes
have resulted in the great fluc-
tuation in the yields in sugar pro-
duction.
The West Indian Sugar Com
pany, Danish Corporation, went
bankrupt in 1880 after having ex-
perienced heavy losses in the 10
year period from 1921 to 1880.
After. the collapse of the West
Indian Sugar Company, the Amer
Jean Red Cross was forced to feed
approximately 40 per cent Of the
people of the Virgin Islands.
Recognizing that the rehabilita-
ton of the sugar industry in the
Virgin Islands was ESSENTIAL unless
a permanent dole was established,
the Federal Government, in 1884
acquired approximately 5000 acres
of land, two sugar mills, distil-
lery, twelve old slave villagers, and
other miscellaneous property, that
were rehabiitated and put back in
to- production.
The Virgin Islands Company
was established as the operating
agency and chartered by the Col
onial Council for the municipality
of St. Thomas and st.
Since 1884, the principal activ-
tiles of the Virgin Islands Com
pany have been the production Of
sugar and the manufacture of rum
from the by-product, molasses.
The company's losses on the pro-
duction of sugar have been more
than offset by its profits from
rum. At present, however, there
is no marget for rum in the con-
tinental United States because so
much rum from the West Indies
was shipped into this country dur
ing the whisky holidays that the
market is glutted with it.
The sugar operation provides
employment of from $50 people
during the cultivating and plant
ing season to 1000 to 1000 dur
ing the harvesting and grinding
season. The distiHing OF rum re-
ouires the employment of from
thirty-five to forty persons only.
Mr.. Howard said one OF the con-
ditions of Mr.. Leff's bid is that
he will continue the employment
of native labors under the same
terms and conditions under which
they have been employed BY the
Virgin Islands Co.