, 1963-03-22
LEGISLATIVE RECORD
(ContiHrled)
PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR
PRESIDENT: Do we have any privileges
the floor at this time?
MR.. GOMEZ: The President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Gomez.

LII L III 4 (. OSAAaIO 0OAAASN =
MR.. GOMEZ: Mr.. President, ! happened to be one
of the Senators from st. Thomas who made the trip over
to ST. Croix last Wednesday to attend the public hear
ING on the Harvey luminum Company. Mr.. President,
l note that one of the newspapers here reported as TO
how disorderly it was. Mr.. President, / can say without
fear of honest contradiction that there was apsoluIey
no disorder on the part Of our people in St. Croix. But
what was msot evident was that there was quite a Sc
paration. When l say SO, there was a certain group, most
" continentals. who gathered there from early and tlled
practically the entire hall-the entire ball room. When
| go there, which was a little after . O'Clock, | nad oil
fculty in getting to my seat.
MI. President went over there with an open mind.
Hearing so much hallabaloo from a certain group IN st.
Croix, particularly members OF the Chamber OF Com
merce and so. on. / wanted to 60 over and see II / could
get any light on the matter, SO that |, too, would pc
aDle to join them in their disagreement about having
the Harvey Company located over in ST. Croix.
Mr.. President, | have had little experience with an
alumina plant, though | did not visit the plant directly,
| have seen on the beautiful island OF Jamaica, right
across the BAY where a plant was IN operation. And right
where | was at the Thatch I arm Hotel and down below
was the Myrtle Grove Hotel practically within a stones
throw from the plant. There are crowds OF tourists
around, and nobody complains; nobody raises any OBJ
iections about smoke fumes, or anything else, because
there is none. Mr.. President, it seems to me that the
people who gathered there that night did so with the
ole purpose and intent OF creating a disorder but Mr.
President, you handled the situation SO we'll that they
tidnt have the slightest chance. People were allowed to
LoSLlIV ana 1t Was QOlG d1IGludIG1y3 III - AC ~
a time; those against-one at a time. But at no time was
there any one person who got up there to say | do not
want the Alumina Plant in st. Croix because OF the
fumes: because of the smoke or anything OF the kind
injurious to health or anything else. Not one! Everyone
of them got up under the lame, blind excuse, Mr.. Pre-
sidont, saying well | did not have sufficient time to
study it and no public hearing was held Wednesday
night a Public Hearing was held. Mr.. President have
YOU got any protest on your desk. / was waiting for the
correspondence, Mr.. President, saying that they pro-
test against it. It was explained in and out from top to
bottom by the people Of the Alumina Company. There
vas one gentleman there that went so far (Mr. Harrison
Price Consulting Engineer for Harvey Alumina) that he
swallowed a pill composed Of Aluminium to show the au-
dience.
Mr.. President, these people came there with the
sole Determined purpose of creating disorder. The were
the one, Mr.. President. But, what hurt me most OF all
was to see one native Crucian being used at a tool-as
a tool Mr.. President. Mr.. Colby who get over the air all
the time raising cain was in the audience, but he did
not have the CUTS to come forward and deliver his own