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THE UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS Government The Territory is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, with a Governor appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Working with the Department of the Interior, and its Secretary, the Governor is responsible for the execution of local laws, administration of all activities of the executive branch, appointment of department heads and other employees. He reports annually to the Territorial Legislature and to the Secretary of the Interior on the state of the Territory, and recommends legislation to implement programs of local government. The Government Secretary is also appointed by the President, and in the absence of the Governor, serves as Acting Governor. The Government Secretary has administrative responsibility for banking and insurance laws, and the licensing and assessment of real property. The Virgin Islands' unicameral legislature is elected for two-year terms. There are a total of 15 Senators; five each from St. Thomas and St. Croix, one from St. John, and four elected "at large." Each bill enacted requires the Governor's signature before becoming law. A two-thirds vote of the Legislature is required to override the Governor's veto. In this event, the Governor must then approve the legislation, or submit it to the President of the United States for final determination. In addition to its law-making responsibilities, the Legislature participates in many functions which, on the mainland, would be performed by municipal, county and state legislators and administrators. Previously proposed legislation enabling the electorate of the Virgin Islands to choose by ballot their own chief executive was reintroduce early in the first session of the 90th Congress, with expectations of enactment. Geography The U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the curving Antilles chain of islands that separate the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Three of the 50 U.S. Islands have population and commercial significance: St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. The largest of these, St. Croix, with an area of 84 square miles, is for the most part flat, and suited for agriculture. Forty miles due north lies St. Thomas, capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands, whose 28 square miles offer dramatic rugged mountains rising sharply up to 1,500 feet from the sea. St. Thomas lies some 70 miles east of Puerto Rico and 1,629 miles southeast of New York City. Only 4 miles to the east of St. Thomas is St. John, smallest of the three, with 20 square miles of unspoiled terrain. Between these islands and St. Croix, the Caribbean deepens to a 15,000 foot trench. [[image - black & white photograph of bay side mountain view Virgin Islands]] History In 1493, on his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus dropped anchor off St. Croix island, then called AyAy by the Indians, in a north shore bay now known as Salt River. When he left, he renamed the island "Santa Cruz", now St. Croix. Sailing to the north, Columbus sighted a thick cluster of verdant peaks rising from the sea, which he christened Las Virgenes, in remembrance of St. Ursula and her 11,000 martyred Virgins. Although Columbus had come in search of gold, it was sugar that eventually brought civilization and commerce to the West Indies. During the 17th Century, England, France, Holland and Spain laid claim to the Virgin Islands. But it was Denmark in 1671, which successfully colonized St. Thomas and St. John. In 1733 St. Croix was added to the Danish West Indies, by purchase from France. During the history, these islands also saw the Skull and Crossbones, and for a brief period, the ensign of the Knights of Malta, fly over their shores. In 1917, the United States renewed its interest in the islands, first considered as a purchase during the Civil War, with the design of creating a naval outpost to thwart German submarines. A price of $25,000,000 was eventually agreed upon, the transfer of the islands from Denmark, to the United States, became official on March 31, 1917. [[image - black & white photograph of two women in shopping district]] [[image - black & white photograph of scenic view of Virgin Island]] [[image - black & white photograph Gov. Ralph Paiewonsky]] Climate The Islands, which lie directly in the path of prevailing trade winds, enjoy what the U.S. Department of the Interior calls a "nearly perfect" climate. High mean temperature is 91 degrees, low is 63, with a year round average of 78 degrees. The pollen-free air is particularly appreciated by hay fever and other allergy sufferers. Under these ideal conditions, an abundant variety of tropical flora flourish in the Islands, ranging from hibiscus, bougainvillea, oleander, poinsettia and wild orchid to the less common African tulip and frangi pani. Some 300 different kinds of trees, flowers and shrubs grow in the Virgin Islands. Population The Virgin Islands are now experiencing a population explosion. Although 1960 census figures recorded the resident population at 32,099, current estimates place the number of inhabitants at nearly 50,000, including alien workers and part-time residents. St. John is the least populous of the three islands, with most of the island being devoted to a National Park. St. John claims somewhat less than 2,000 residents, with the remainder of the Territory's inhabitants about equally divided between St. Croix and St. Thomas. Approximately 80 per cent of the population are descendants of slaves, with the remainder of Danish, French, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Scotch, English and Puerto Rico descent. A few residents are able to claim descent from the original inhabitants of the islands, the Carib and Arawak Indians.
