, 1963-05-14
LEGISLATIVE RECORD
Continued from Page q

racial lines. That is now the fundamental fact that is cry
ing out for correction in ST. Croix.
It happens that / am working full time for the Gov
eFi1Hne1t. ! am on SO many commissions thatI sometimes
forget thern.I am also the Chairman Of the Human Rela-
tons Commission. My friend Warren Young knows that
| tried very hard to get the people of the st. Croix Coun-
try Cub-not to make me a member-but just to allow
me to talk with them about this situation of tension, and
they refused. APPLAUSE
Gentlemen, it is not that you are going to spend
three million dollars for a channel that you are going to
give away 700 acres of land for the benefit of the people
of this island-youh have given tax exemptions to the
hotels, hotels that happen to be owned by the right"
people, you have given q jet airstrip to- bring the tour
lists in because the tourist resorts are owned by the
right" people, you have given the scenic road because
the scenic road is for the benefit of the fright" people,
you make large appropriations and you are increasing
them every year for tourism because touris1n is by the
right" people. Now, Mr.. President, / am in accord with
that, I don't think that you should stop it, ] think you
should do it, but for Gods sake when is the day for the
little people going to come ? (APPLAUSE SO
1t seems that these people don'tseem to understand
that it you plan to bring in two or three million dollars
in wages to St. Croix that the two or three million dol
lars is going to give employment to. other people other
than the 400 directly employed because they have to
have businesses, people will be buying more clothes,
people would be. buying more houses, people will be
buying perfumes, more food and everything. 1t will
increase your tourist economy, and yet the people who
49,
that we are only going to spend for tourisn and we are
not going to do anything for anybody else, and if tour
ism dies the people Of st. Croix must die with it. We
don't love tourism that much.
MI. President, let me give you another example.
Puerto Rico has spent over a hundred million dollars in
helping industry and have given them4the same tax ex-
emption we have. AS a result, a great number of indus
tries have COME into Puerto Rico andhPuertofR Rico is
known and classified as one Of the fastest growing areas
in the world today. And also, Puerto Rico has more
tourists today than any other tourist area in the world
that is what industry has done for them. In Puerto Rico
hotels are going up like flies and they are all filed. In
st. Croix we have done nothing for industry, we have no
new hotels going up and the hotels are not even full.
Now isn't there something wrong? Don't you think it is
time to quit looking in the eyes of the other man, and
saying that Caribair is at fault, that st. Thomas is at
fault, the tourist program is at fault, the advertisers are
at fault. lean say this to you people of St. Croix. Ifyou
had a full page ad in. every paper in Puerto Rico for
everyday Of the ouristseason and you don't make all
visitors feel welcome you still wouldn't get stcurisnh
For even the people who might pass the screening test