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Editorial
December 5, 1962
The Daily News Of The Virgin Islands
Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas County, Virgin Islands
What is this article about?
Editorial from December 5, 1962, criticizes Virgin Islands Governor Ralph Paiewonsky for betraying the Democratic Party by not supporting its candidates in recent elections and aiding opponents, despite his appointment as a party reward by President Kennedy.
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THE DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5, 1962
THE STORY OF BETRAYAL
The governor of the Virgin Islands is under fire by leaders of the Democratic party for failing to throw the weight of his administration behind the Democratic candidates in the recent elections. The monotonous reply has been, in effect, that the governor is much too busy carrying the burdens of the people of the Virgin Islands to descend to the low level of a political campaign. This strange attitude seems to deny everything for which the American party system stands. It suggests that there is something intrinsically unclean about the party system, about free elections, about the democratic system of voting and about the form of government which has characterized the free world.
What most people seem to have forgotten is the fact that the present governor was confirmed by the Senate of the United States at the direct request of the President, in spite of one of the most unsettling records of any gubernatorial candidate of any territory. This still bothers the consciences of the Senators, but because of the insistence of the New Frontier President, the appointment was ratified not without misgivings by many.
The governorship represented a prize for what Ralph Paiewonsky had done for the Democrat party. While he was in private business, it was to his advantage to apply pressure in playing politics for all he was worth. Now, he is the pressure itself. Not only is he disloyal to his party - the party which delivered the governorship to him - but he has virtually repudiated them. Not only did he pretend to be "too busy" to concern himself with anything as lowly as a political campaign, he openly aided those who were attacking his own party.
If President Kennedy owed the governor anything for what he had done for the Democrat party the last elections cancelled that debt when the titular head of the party turned his back upon his own party henchmen.
The Virgin Islands are in the position they are in today because the governor succeeded in engineering it that way. Why? Only a few people in the inner circle know this has happened. But at least the picture is consistent all the way through. The saga of the present administration is the Story of the Double-Cross writ large on the pages of history.
THE STORY OF BETRAYAL
The governor of the Virgin Islands is under fire by leaders of the Democratic party for failing to throw the weight of his administration behind the Democratic candidates in the recent elections. The monotonous reply has been, in effect, that the governor is much too busy carrying the burdens of the people of the Virgin Islands to descend to the low level of a political campaign. This strange attitude seems to deny everything for which the American party system stands. It suggests that there is something intrinsically unclean about the party system, about free elections, about the democratic system of voting and about the form of government which has characterized the free world.
What most people seem to have forgotten is the fact that the present governor was confirmed by the Senate of the United States at the direct request of the President, in spite of one of the most unsettling records of any gubernatorial candidate of any territory. This still bothers the consciences of the Senators, but because of the insistence of the New Frontier President, the appointment was ratified not without misgivings by many.
The governorship represented a prize for what Ralph Paiewonsky had done for the Democrat party. While he was in private business, it was to his advantage to apply pressure in playing politics for all he was worth. Now, he is the pressure itself. Not only is he disloyal to his party - the party which delivered the governorship to him - but he has virtually repudiated them. Not only did he pretend to be "too busy" to concern himself with anything as lowly as a political campaign, he openly aided those who were attacking his own party.
If President Kennedy owed the governor anything for what he had done for the Democrat party the last elections cancelled that debt when the titular head of the party turned his back upon his own party henchmen.
The Virgin Islands are in the position they are in today because the governor succeeded in engineering it that way. Why? Only a few people in the inner circle know this has happened. But at least the picture is consistent all the way through. The saga of the present administration is the Story of the Double-Cross writ large on the pages of history.
What sub-type of article is it?
Partisan Politics
What keywords are associated?
Virgin Islands Governor
Democratic Betrayal
Ralph Paiewonsky
Party Loyalty
Elections 1962
Political Disloyalty
What entities or persons were involved?
Governor Ralph Paiewonsky
Democratic Party
President Kennedy
Senate Of The United States
Virgin Islands
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Betrayal By Virgin Islands Governor Ralph Paiewonsky Of The Democratic Party
Stance / Tone
Strongly Critical Of The Governor's Disloyalty
Key Figures
Governor Ralph Paiewonsky
Democratic Party
President Kennedy
Senate Of The United States
Virgin Islands
Key Arguments
Governor Failed To Support Democratic Candidates In Recent Elections
Governor Claims To Be Too Busy For Political Campaigns
Governor Was Confirmed Despite Unsettling Record At President's Request
Governorship Was A Reward For Paiewonsky's Prior Party Service
Governor Aided Opponents Of His Own Party
President Kennedy's Debt To Governor Canceled By This Betrayal
Virgin Islands' Current Position Engineered By Governor's Actions