Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Address of the President to Congress December 4, 1917
File No. 711.5914/23
Minister Egan to the Secretary of State
Copenhagen, May 27, 1913.
Sir: By way of supplement to the report made on the Danish West Indies, I beg leave to enclose a copy of a translation of an article written by a former Governor of the Danish Antilles, Mr. F. P. Hiort-Lorenzen.
I have [etc.]
the economical crisis in danish west indies
The subject on which I shall have the honor to speak at this meeting is the Economical Crisis in the Danish West Indies. I will begin by saying that my remarks will chiefly be devoted to the impressions I have received and the statements I have heard made during my stay in the West Indies and since then. People are frequently liable to pass hasty judgments on matters in regard to which they know very little, several naive West Indians have been guilty of this, and I will therefore try to be as objective as possible in my statements.
It is generally known that there has been and to a certain degree still is an economical crisis in our West Indian colonies, but very little is known as to the causes thereof and the means for a possible remedy. I therefore feel sure that a few orientating remarks on this subject will be interesting to my audience.
During the continuous decadence taking place in all three of the Danish West Indian Islands, especially during the last 30 or 40 years of the last century, it is natural that the blame has been laid on the administration and government of the mother country, and this quite unjustly. It is true that Denmark, in accordance with the general colonial politics of the Powers until somewhat past the middle of the last century, used its West Indian Islands as a kind of “milk-cow” and took from them large sums to benefit the Danish Treasury. At that time, however, the islands could afford it, and in later years, the tables have been turned. The government of the islands has, on the whole, certainly been as good as could be expected, in consideration of the great distance of the islands from the home country, the poor communications hitherto existing between them and the home country, and the slight knowledge possessed here in regard to tropical conditions. Neither should the fact be ignored that it is very difficult to carry on colonial politics on such a small scale. The duties of administration have been divided between the War, Justice, Finance and Educational Departments, besides which the commercial and agricultural interests had to be looked after.
Since conditions on the different islands are quite varied, I will first treat of St. Thomas, and then of St. Croix and St. John.
The flourishing period of St. Thomas is identical with the period of sailing vessels. Ships coming from Europe sought the trade winds and were guided by them towards the northern Antilles, where they first sighted Sombrero, whose lighthouse showed them the way, and then they entered the broad, clear and deep channel which, between St. John and St. Thomas on the one side and St. Croix on the other, leads to the Caribbean Sea. It was quite natural that the vessels, after the long voyage across the Atlantic, touched at the large and safe harbor of St. Thomas to replenish their supplies of food and water, and this caused the merchants there to keep a great stock of goods. In its prosperous days, St. Thomas was a market to which merchants from great distances found their way. Not only from the adjacent islands, such as Porto Rico and St. Domingo, but from many of the South American Republics, from the east coast Cuba, and from Central America, merchants made several annual voyages to St. Thomas to make purchases. The St. Thomas merchants carried on wholesale business with comparatively great capitals. To this day, the enormous stockrooms attached to the old stores in St. Thomas show how great commerce has been here. This commerce which thus began as a transit trade, gradually grew into a despatch or forwarding business, in which the merchants of the island acted as commissioners, the goods being ordered on the account of the foreign merchants and only despatched via St. Thomas. The profits of such trade were less, but were, nevertheless, very considerable. But gradually, as traffic with sailing vessels was substituted by steamship traffic, so that there was at last direct steamship communication between Europe and every harbor in the West Indies and vicinity, the commerce gradually disappeared. Many of the large firms moved to other places, f. i. to Barbados and Trinidad, and the remaining merchants do not give one much of an idea of the former commercial importance of the island. The commerce of to-day is principally confined to supplying passing men-of-war and other steamers with coal and provisions and a small trade with the nearest British island, Tortola. Even after commerce had begun to wane, sailing vessel traffic was for some time the source of prosperity on the island. Previous to the introduction of the telegraph, sailing vessels from Europe flocked to St. Thomas to get their freight orders there. At that time there were [Page 582] frequently hundreds of ships lying in the harbor, and of course this brought good profits to the islanders; but when the telegraph came, even this traffic disappeared at once. The ship-owners in Europe could now give their ships direct telegraphic orders in other harbors, so it was unnecessary to stop at St. Thomas.
Thus while the development of steamship traffic and the introduction of the telegraph may be mentioned as the principal reasons for this economical misery on St. Thomas, there were also other causes which contributed thereto. The island has no return freight, so that freight rates to the island are rather high. Customs frontiers between it and the other islands make transit trade difficult. On several occasions hurricanes and earthquakes have visited the island, each time causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage. Furthermore, the fact that the money earned on St. Thomas has quickly left the island, for those who earned a fortune there left the island to spend their money in Europe or America. Thus the island had no reserve fund to resort to in hard times. Finally, the once flourishing agriculture of St. Thomas is now almost ruined. For instance, the production of sugar has entirely ceased, as a result of the fall in prices.
Now if we look at the possibilities for the development of St. Thomas, I will here ignore the efforts made by the Government to improve the financial conditions of the island and the colonial lottery, which latter must be regarded as an emergency relief. On the other hand, I will call attention to the efforts made by private individuals and companies to support the island, and in this connection I would specially mention the steamship line owned by the East Asia Company, and the West India Fruit Company, which is already carrying on quite a considerable export of fruit, etc. The East Asia Company has established a coal depot on the island, thus causing great progress. Formerly coal prices on St. Thomas were so high that competitors on St. Lucia had taken away much of the coal trade from St. Thomas by quoting cheaper prices, but now the East Asia Company has put the prices down, thus causing a considerable advancement of this branch of business. While coal formerly cost eight to nine dollars, and during the Spanish-American War twelve dollars per ton, the price is now only 22s. 6d. for American and 27s. for English coal.
If we look at the accessible statistics in regard to incoming and outgoing navigation on St. Thomas, and in regard to imports to St. Thomas, there does not appear any marked increase during the last few years, at least not sufficient for us to conclude with any certainty that there has been any improvement of the economical situation. It may be noted, however, that not only the income from custom duties and harbor fees but also the number of incoming and outgoing vessels in 1905–06 show an increase of late years.
It may, however, be taken for granted that the present, fiscal year will show a more favorable result. Thus the East Asia Company states that in 1906 coal was sold to 50 more steamers than in 1905. In order to illustrate what this means to St. Thomas, let me state that the wages paid to laborers for loading the coal on these 50 steamers amounted to about 41,000 francs, which sum the laborers earned in addition to their earnings for the preceding year. As a proof of the energy with which the East Asia Company is working to improve the traffic on St. Thomas, I might mention that the company in 1907 has already made contracts with 300 steamship owners for supplying coal to vessels coming to West Indian waters. The company is now selling about 2,000 tons of coal per month, but it hopes soon to increase these sales to 5,000 tons per month. It is unnecessary to point out what an enormous significance this will have for the laboring class and thereby for the merchants and the whole population in general, but it is obvious that it is an inestimable benefit for St. Thomas that the far-seeing directors of the East Asia Company are interested in the progress of the island.
The question, however, which will be finally decisive for the future of St. Thomas is this, viz.: “What effect will the opening of the Panama Canal have on St. Thomas, and what steps should be taken in order to be prepared to meet the coming eventualities?”
In Denmark it is now claimed that the excellent situation of St. Thomas for the direct route between Europe and the eastern port of the Panama Canal, Colon, as the first port passed by the vessels on entering the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic, and, on the other hand, as the last port passed before leaving the Caribbean Sea en route for Europe, will certainly give the island an extraordinary significance as staple town and station for supply of coal, water and provisions. It is also claimed that if suitable dry docks and repair wharves are instituted at St. Thomas, many sea-damaged vessels will seek refuge in this harbor for repairs.
The business men of St. Thomas believe that we here have too sanguine a view of the effects of the Panama Canal. They think that, no matter whether [Page 583] it is a question of navigation across the Atlantic or along the coast of America, there will be a tendency to make repairs and take in supplies at the termini of the voyage, if possible, where this can be done cheaper than at St. Thomas; that the competition with Colon and several other ports will be very sharp, and, especially with respect to coaling, that for the passage of the canal there will be used such large steamers that they can take on board sufficient coal for the whole voyage, or that they will otherwise coal in Colon or Panama.
For an independent view of this question, it will now first be of interest to investigate what influence the Panama Canal will have on international traffic, and furthermore what proportion of the vessels passing through the Panama Canal will visit St. Thomas. In the German journal Nauticus the commercial significance of the Panama Canal has been treated in a special article, the author of which, an expert on such matters, points out that the Panama Canal will hardly be used by sailing vessels, partly because the tolls will be too dear for them and partly on account of other disadvantages, f. i. the frequent calms in the vicinity of the canal. Furthermore, he shows that the Suez Canal offers a shorter route to East Asia from Europe than the Panama Canal; that this is also the case, though in a less degree, with respect to the routes to Australia and its adjacent islands; and thus the Panama Canal will have its greatest significance as a route from the east coast to the west coast of America and from Europe to the west coast of America and to the Pacific Islands.
With respect to the traffic from the east coast of America, it will go through the Florida Channel, the Yucatan Channel and southwest of the Antilles, and thus not touch St. Thomas. The size of the traffic from Europe will, of course, depend upon the tolls for the canal. In America it is supposed that the tolls will be one dollar per netto register ton. In the Suez Canal the tolls are 8½ francs per ton for laden vessels and 7 fr. for unladen. Under all circumstances, however, it is obvious that the opening of the canal will bring about a great increase in the traffic past or in the vicinity of St. Thomas. European trade on western America is already very great, but it will doubtless grow enormously as soon as the distance to western America has been shortened by the canal. For us the German trade will have a special significance, since Germany does not own any of the Antilles.
With respect to St. Thomas, it is obvious that its natural presuppositions for attracting part of the passing traffic are excellent. It lies close to the open ocean, is a safe and healthy harbor, and it lies five days from Colon, thus not so very near. The first and foremost question is if it is possible to still more develop the coal trade. If so, St. Thomas doubtless has great chances. In England coal costs 10–11 sh. per ton. In the ports of the Mediterranean and of Eastern Africa, steamers find English coal the price of which is the price in England with addition of freight, profit, etc. Therefore, when it is not a question of a very dear cargo, or if the vessel has not full cargo, it will pay to take plenty of coal from England. On the other hand, when steamers cross the Atlantic, they meet the America coal, which, owing to low freights, can be sold at cheap rates. The freight on coal from Philadelphia to St. Thomas is only one dollar and sixty cents, and the East Asia Company supplies coal, as already stated, at 22 sh. 6d. per ton, which is lower than the prices in Funchal and Ponta Delgada. Since steamers can earn 20, 30 or 40 shillings per cargo-ton from Europe to St. Thomas, it will pay the ship-owners to build their ships intended for the route through the Panama Canal with smaller bunkers and to refill them at St. Thomas, thus giving more space for cargo. There is no doubt but that St. Thomas can supply coal just as cheap if not cheaper than any other port in the West Indies or Central America, and as to Colon and Panama it is probable that wages there will be higher than on St. Thomas. The main thing is, however, that the coal trade on St. Thomas is in the hands of a universal firm like the East Asia Company. It can be satisfied with smaller profits in the beginning, in hopes of increase of traffic. It can make advantageous contracts with coal firms and shipowners, because, among other things, it can offer the English houses in return the sale of coal in Colombo and Aden to its vessels on the East Asia route. Thus, thanks to the good conducting of the East Asia Company, we have the best hopes of St. Thomas becoming a very much visited coal station after the opening of the Panama Canal. This will also imply the furnishing of water and provisions. Therfore it will be a good plan to build large water cisterns, and refrigerating houses for keeping easily spoiled commodities, and to systematize the production of eggs, greens, etc.
With respect to a shipbuilding wharf on St. Thomas, this is an expensive and rather risky undertaking; but there is no doubt that there ought to be made some effort in this direction, and, as far as I can see, the only proper thing will [Page 584] be to procure a double floating dock, like the one we now have here in Copenhagen. Such a dock is the cheapest to procure and to work, and it can be sold again if it does not pay. Such a dock can probably be got in England, together with all appertaining machinery, for about three or four million Kroner, but to this price must be added the cost of towing it to St. Thomas, deepening of the harbor, and, perhaps, the building of one or two breakwaters. Thus the total cost will probably be about five or six million Kroner. The dock should not be placed in the harbor proper, where an English company has the monopoly on floating-docks for a series of years, and where there is not water enough, but in Gregory Channel just south of the harbor, where the water is six fathoms deep, and where the dock can be placed in the lee of Water Island, which is owned by a Copenhagen company. It would doubtless be wise to get German capital interested in such a dock, which would induce German ship-owners to make use of the dock. It is obvious that such a dock would not get a chance to build new vessels or to overhaul vessels annually, but there is no doubt but that many vessels which have suffered from casualties at sea will be glad to use the dock after the opening of the canal. It will also be advisable to station a salvage steamer in the harbor of St. Thomas. The main thing is, however, that such service is cheap and prompt. It would perhaps be wise to postpone the establishing of the floating dock until nearer the time for the opening of the canal, in order not to lose the interest on the capital invested.
Furthermore, agriculture on St. Thomas, and especially fruit-growing, will be able to give a much greater profit than at the present as soon as export has become better systematized. This is also the case with tourist visits, but it will be necessary to improve the hotel accommodations and to get better guides, with donkeys and horses. Horseback rides on St. Thomas and St. John are very enjoyable, and even now many American yachts and English and German tourist steamers come to the island but I am sure that these visits could be greatly increased by proper advertising. (According to the newspapers, there were 10,000 Americans on Jamaica during the earthquake.)
With reference to St. Croix and St. John, the retarded economical progress on these islands is firstly due to the increased costs of administration since the “Emancipation,” and later on it has been due to the constant fall in the prices of cane sugar, owing to the competition of beet sugar. In a pamphlet published by a planter as early as 1862, it says that since the “Emancipation” nearly all the plantations on St. Croix have been compelled to sell out, some of them two or three times. The following table illustrates the fall of the prices of sugar during the last 50 years:
Highest quotations for sugar in Copenhagen
| øre | |
| 1855, duty paid | 21½ |
| 1857, duty paid | 27 |
| 1860, duty paid | 18 |
| 1870, duty paid | 17½ |
| 1880, duty paid | 34 |
| 1890, duty unpaid | 15⅛ |
| 1900, duty unpaid | 15 |
| 1902, duty unpaid | 10¼ |
Thus we see that the prices are now only one quarter of what they used to be, which has also caused the value of the sugar plantations to fall. The following table shows some of the prices at which sugar plantations on St. Croix have been sold during the past 100 years.
The prices in the table are in dollars.
| St. George: | Price | |
| 1820 | $128,000 | |
| 1873 | 85,900 | |
| 1897 | 27,000 | |
| Enfield Green: | ||
| 1815 | 85,000 | |
| 1868 | 70,000 | |
| 1882 | 41,500 | |
| 1899 | 10,000 | |
| La Reine: | ||
| 1825 | 150,000 | |
| 1845 | 40,000 | |
| 1887 | 10,000 | |
| Lower Love: | ||
| 1807 | $200,000 | |
| 1870 | 45,000 | |
| 1882 | 25,000 | |
| 1886 | 15,000 | |
| Bethlehem: | ||
| 1798 | 245,000 | |
| 1870 | 70,000 | |
| 1903 | 45,000 | |
| Barren Spot: | ||
| 1804 | 180,000 | |
| 1859 | 90,000 | |
| 1880 | 30,000 | |
This fall in prices has, of course, entirely upset all fortunes and values on the island, and a large part of the island has been left uncultivated, while numerous ruins speak of former prosperity. The result has been general poverty, to which high taxes and customs duties largely contribute. Even of necessities of life, such as flour and lard, the customs duties have been about 36% of the value. In addition to this comes the high customs duties on sugar in America, where it is mostly sold. This duty, about 5½ øre per lb., falls on the producers, since their competitors in the southern states and Porto Rico are free from duty. Under such circumstances it is evident that the costs of public building, army and a large staff of Government officials is a great burden on the island.
In answer to the question: What has been done to remedy all this misery on St. Croix and St. John, we must in the first place mention the Plantation Association Dansk Vestindien, which owns plantations on all three islands and can already show considerable results from its work. Large areas have been again cultivated and new cultivations have been made to a large extent.
Special attention should be paid to the growing of cotton, which seems to be developing very fast. Thus in 1906 there was harvested over 377,000 pounds of raw cotton, which was sold at a price of about 120,000 Kroner. This is the so-called “Sea Island Cotton”, which costs about five times as much as ordinary cotton, and which can only grow in certain places. It is used for sewing-cotton for sewing machines. The result of this is that, while the accounts of the Plantation Company for 1904 and 1905 showed a considerable deficiency, it is hoped that in 1906 they will about balance, which is an excellent result, considering that the work of the company is so highly experimental. The harvest for 1907 is expected to be about twice as much as that for 1906. Furthermore, the company expects to get an increase in its profits by means of the sale of cattle, since there is no longer any export of cattle from Porto Rico to St. Thomas, and therefore the prices of cattle have increased somewhat on the latter island. As navigation on St. Thomas gradually increases, considerable sums can be earned by exporting cattle from St. Croix and St. John to this island. Besides the Plantation Company, the owners of several other plantations have also begun the cultivation of cotton. Furthermore, the sugar factory and Messrs. Hagemann & Lachmann have made great efforts to improve sugar production.
Director Hagemann has also made interesting experiments in regard to irrigation by means of wells and windmills, besides which he has begun to give the negroes small lots to cultivate.
Thus we see that agriculture on St. Croix is decidedly progressing. There is, however, much complaint about insufficiency of laborers. The cause of this is the great mortality among children, the distaste of the negroes for farm labor, and the increasing tendency to emigrate. On St. Croix there are annually born about 660 children, but more than half of them die in infancy, owing to lack of proper food and care. At the initiative of her Majesty the Queen considerable is done to improve the care of infants, but, owing to the great number of children, this is not sufficient to remedy the evil. The daily wage of a farm negro is 20 cts., which is not much for a supporter of a family, but nevertheless, it is quite common that the negroes will not work more than a few days in the week. This is generally attributed to laziness, but it is also possible that it is partly due to the lack of proper nourishment. The food of the negroes is generally corn porridge with a little salt fish, but frequently the negro does not get any other nourishment than that obtained from sucking the sugar-cane, and at the best, the nourishment he obtains is quite insufficient to keep a full-grown man who does hard labor.
With respect to emigration, it should be noted that the negroes keep in close communication with their friends in America and on the other islands, and know very well where there is well-paid work to be had, and thither they go as soon as possible. Sometimes there are fifty emigrants from the island every week, and emigration is systematized, so that the 30 dollars required by the immigration authorities in New York for every immigrant is regularly sent back for the use of the next emigrant. Furthermore, it is the best negroes that emigrate to America, where they get good positions as servants, and the like. In order to substitute the laborers who emigrate, it has hitherto been customary to import laborers from Barbados, but this can no longer be done, owing to the great demand for laborers on the Panama Canal.
Here we touch upon the tenderest point for St. Croix and St. John—the miserable condition of the negroes. If we talk with one of the more intelligent of the colored men in regard to this, we always get the same answer: “What is the use of our staying here? There is no work for us here, no future and no hope [Page 586] for development. What are we to do here?—Make boots for people who go barefooted; be joiners among people who use no furniture? What is the merchant to do when no one can afford to buy his wares, and most people have no use for them, owing to the primitive life they lead?” The negress cooks her food in a preserve tin and does her washing in a petroleum can. The thing is that the negro ought to have ground. He is the only one who can till it, and therefore he ought to have a chance to make it his property. To deprive the negroes of land is the same as to take the sledges away from the Greenlanders and the motorboats away from the fishermen of the North Sea. The possession of land is, to the inhabitants of St. Croix and St. John, the only possibility of success and prosperity.
Many doubt that it is possible for negroes to make good independent farmers. Most people think that negroes are an inferior race without possibilities of development. This is, without doubt, a mistake. I believe that Henry George is right when he says in Progress and Property that the lack of capacity to receive higher civilization evinced by inferior races is due to their surroundings, the influence of the community to which the individual is exposed; the web of countless threads with which it binds and affects the individual. It is generally stated that negro children, until they are ten or twelve years old, are just as willing to learn as white children, but that after that time they appear indolent and indifferent. This is generally ascribed to inferiority of race. I believe, rather, that it is because the children become dull and lose all desire to compete with others as soon as they get old enough to understand their position in society and to see that they are looked upon as a paria caste, and that they can never have any hopes of making any use of the knowledge they acquire. It is obvious that a child who has a good home and educated parents, and hears refined language and interesting conversation has a great advantage over the child who only hears vulgar language and negro dialect in his home. Furthermore, it is clear that the lack of nourishment from which nearly all negro children suffer will have a very bad effect on them, especially in their growing age and will prevent them from doing any good mental work.
My experience proves to me that, in certain respects, the negro has very good mental capacities. The reliability and carefulness of the negro as a servant is well known, also their faithfulness and solicitude for people they like. The chief fault of the negro has been that he has tried to come into possession of the rights and privileges of the white man instead of imitating him in the habits of industry which have procured the white man these advantages. As a well-known American negro once said: “The negroes placed more importance upon getting a seat in Congress or on the town council than upon acquiring property and industrial proficiency. They would rather spend a dollar at the opera than to earn it at a factory.” It should be noted, however, that, when the slaves were set free, nothing was done to insure their education or to provide them with land. Therefore it is easy to understand how difficult it has been for the negroes to keep step with American progress. The same is true in regard to the negroes of West Indies. The chief cause of their low stage of development is that they have lacked and still lack the inducement offered by the prospect of equality with the whites and the possibility of economical and social success. I therefore think it is necessary to try to make independent landowning farmers of the negroes on St. Croix and St. John, and I believe this might be successful. Even though big farming is most suitable for these islands at the present, it is to be hoped that steps will soon be taken to provide as many as possible with farms of their own. It is true that attempts have earlier been made in this direction, and the reason why they have not met with unqualified success is doubtless because they were made just at the time of the fall in the prices of sugar, and the people who started these enterprises did not have enough capital or energy to tide themselves over the crisis. On Jamaica the division of the land into small farms cultivated by negroes has met with great success. In a book called Black Jamaica published in 1895, an English priest, Livingstone, has described the conditions of the negroes, and especially the enormous progress made since they have been given small farms to cultivate. He points out that in the Jamaica lowlands there are over 72,000 farms of less than five acres each, mostly cultivated by negroes, and he declares that the ever-increasing fruit export of the island is chiefly due to these small farms. England supports this export by a subvention of £20,000 annually to a steamship line which runs quick steamers with refrigerator rooms direct between Jamaica and England. The negroes on the Danish islands have not lacked desire to carry on a similar trade, but they have had no capital and could not mortgage their farms, which were grown up to underbrush, because the by-laws of the banks prevent them from taking [Page 587] mortgages in farms unless they are under the plough and furnished with buildings and stock. It is therefore necessary for the State to come to their aid and it is to be hoped that both Cabinet and Rigsdag will soon take steps to give the negroes land of their own. No doubt the Plantation Association, which has done so much for the progress of the islands, will help get seed and plants, give the negroes advice, and help them sell their products. According to the modern cooperative system, I suppose the negroes ought to clear the ground in company, cultivate the ground separately, each on his little farm, raising poultry, goats, mules and other domestic animals, and to sell the products in company. If this is carried out, the children will without doubt live and have both desire and strength to work, and thus emigration will cease, and it is to be hoped that drunkenness will become less.
We have not time to go into other important details, such as improvement of the fisheries and of irrigation, but I will mention one point which [is] vital, namely the tariff.
The reason why I touched upon this subject is that, some time ago, I received two boxes of preserved fruit from the West Indies for a charity sale here in the city. At the charity sale the preserves brought about 25 Kroner, while the freight cost 18 and the duty 26 Kroner. This made me think that there was something wrong with the tariff, and I therefore made some investigations.
In import to the West Indies, goods from the home country are not given any preference, and therefore the United States, being much nearer, monopolizes the import to the islands, especially with respect to St. Croix.
The import to St. Thomas is given in a previous table. The export is insignificant. Thus we plainly see how preponderous the import from America is; but the import from Denmark has increased a little during the last few years. From this we see how desirable it is to give a rebate in the tariff for goods from Denmark. At the present, however, the financial situation of the islands makes this very difficult, it would not be of great importance, since most of the articles imported by St. Croix are things not exported by Denmark, or with respect to which it could not, under any circumstances, compete with America, f. i. lumber, machinery, corn and wheat, coal, etc. With respect to an eventual claim for reciprocity it may, however, be emphasized that, for our export, it makes no difference if the market on St. Croix becomes easier or not, while the West Indies is to a large extent obliged to seek a market for its products in the home country.
It will be seen that it is here a question of a very great increase. Furthermore, the duty on five turtles is 1 Kroner per kgr., while tinned turtle costs 14 øre per kgr. in duty—proposed unaltered. The duty on 50 % rum is now 25 to 29 øre per liter. It is proposed that this duty shall be 25 øre, besides the excise duty paid by the retailer. The present duty is 150% of the cost price. The present duty on sugar is 4.6 to 12 øre. The lowest rate is 50 to 60% of the cost price. In relation to the price, the duty is now much higher than before.
It is hardly possible that the State really wishes to meet the efforts made to help the islands by such a high duty that most goods are impossible to export to the home country. It is unnecessary to point out how important it is for the islands to be able to export their fruits in dried or preserved condition, instead of having to sell them fresh on the islands, but by raising the duty on these commodities their export is rendered almost impossible, there being a sharp competition with the fruit imported to Denmark via England and from Italy and California (canned fruit).
It would seem reasonable to place the West Indian Islands on the same footing in this respect as Iceland and the Faroe Islands, thus making West Indian products free of duty. This can hardly be done, however, with respect to fruits, since the export of fruits is to a large degree based on the supply from the adjacent British islands, and it would be difficult to determine what fruit really came from the Danish West Indies, especially with respect to fruit sent without emballage. But if these articles cannot be entered duty free, they ought to be given such rebates that the export from the islands is not prohibited. The duty on turtles also seems to be too high.
St. Croix rum is almost exclusively sold in Denmark and it would be a great encouragement to the small sugar plantations and rum distilleries if a rebate could be granted on their products, thus not only cutting out the Jamaica rum but making it also possible to pay the plantations a higher price for their products. Up to 1863, St. Croix rum had a duty of 17 Rigsdalers and 48 Skillings per 240 potts of 8°, plus 6% official fees, while foreign rum had a duty of 18 Rigsdalers, plus 6% official fees. A certificate of origin could easily be obtained for rum, and therefore there would be no obstacle to granting West Indian rum [Page 588] freedom from duty, so that there would only be the excise duty on it. In 1906 48,269 gallons of rum was exported from St. Croix, 39,764 gallons of which went to Denmark.
With respect to St. Croix sugar, its production has for several years only been a loss. The high duties are largely to blame for this. Hitherto nearly all St. Croix sugar has been sold in America, but of late the prices have been very low, generally only 3 cts. per lb. After St. Croix sugar had not had any market here for several years, an attempt was again made to sell it here in 1906, and 200 barrels of 250 lbs. each, brutto, were sold. Owing to the reduction in freight granted by the East Asia Company, a slightly higher profit was made by selling the sugar here than in New York, but if this is to continue, the duty must be reduced, and it would only be natural and just if the duty on sugar from the Danish West Indies were reduced to the same sum as the home excise duty, especially, since taxes on St. Croix are chiefly levied on cultivated sugar farms. Until 1863, St. Croix sugar enjoyed a rebate, the duty being one Rigsdaler and 64 Skillings per Cwt. plus 6% official fees, while the duty on foreign sugar was 2 Rigsdalers and 60 Skillings, plus 6% official fees. Formerly sugar, as well as other products from the Danish West Indies, was favored by half as high wharfage dues as products from other trans-Atlantic ports. It is supposed that it was the relations to the Duchies which, in 1863, deprived West Indian products of the rebates formerly accorded to them, but now that the tariff is under debate, there seems to be due cause for considering the feasibility of favoring the sugar growers in St. Croix by placing them on an equal footing with the home sugar producers. They will, at all events, have the freight against them in their competition with the home producers. The loss for the Danish Treasury, if this rebate is granted, will not exceed 200,000 Kroner, and will most likely be even less, since it is hardly possible that all the sugar will be sold here, and sugar will furthermore partly give place to cotton. At the present, the sugar-production is 25 to 30 million lbs. annually. In our times, when there is so much partiality shown to parts of the monarchy lying much nearer than the West Indies, we feel justified in calling to the proper authorities: Videant consules, hoping that this partiality will not increase.
As a résumé of my remarks, I would finally state that, if the East Asiatic Company and the Plantation Association continue their good work, if steps are taken to give the negroes land, and if the tariff is properly adjusted, I believe that the crisis in Danish West Indies will come to an end, and that a new era will be inaugurated.