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The Mortar Pestle

By Virgin Islands Unity Party

Ever since the Virgin Islands Unity Party was organized many years ago, a particular vicious group in the islands have always taken the opportunity to brand our activities as "irresponsible and radical". Unity Party Senators have been painted in some local newspapers as tyrants, dictators, gangsters, everything bad. This was done to the extent that many Congressional Committees coming to the islands were surprised to find intelligent leadership and maturity among Unity Party leaders in the islands. Gradually we have made friends with liberal Congressmen, both in the Republican and Democratic parties.

Virgin Islands Unity Party has always advocated a liberal program of economic and social advancement for the people of the Virgin Islands. We have faith in our people, and we say give us the tools of Democracy and we can do the job.

We have had the courage to come out and call a spade a spade, whether the shoe pinched the Governor's foot, officials of the Interior Department, or local folks. We shall continue to follow this fearless policy. Even our most vicious opponent, the St. Thomas Daily News, once came out in an editorial admitting that the Unity Party had a program and knew what they wanted, while other civic and political groups were divided and confused.

We have brought these memories out of the past, because today there are many among us, our own and newcomers, who are only experiencing what we have been talking about for years. These new fighters are simply rehearsing what Unity Party has made a heck of a noise about for many years. Yes, we were instrumental in getting national support to send Archie Alexander back to Iowa, because he was not doing a job for the best interest of the people of the Virgin Islands. Today many admit that that was not such a radical move after all, that type of thing happens in any American city, county, or state, sometimes by the ballot, sometimes by rather unseemly methods.

We want the people of the Virgin Islands to be respected and to be helped with understanding and sympathy to achieve their goal of internal self-government. The present Administration, supported by the Interior Department, is doing everything to discredit native leadership and ability, and using our government as a political dumping ground. We are glad of the support we are getting in some quarters.

WE WERE NOT SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT Commander Reardon was "not available" for the position of Commissioner of Education in the Virgin Islands. In our issue of July 13th we stated that they would have to "hogtie Commander Reardon to get him down here as Commissioner of Education." Our forecast was right again.

DESPITE THE FACE-SAVING MINORITY Report of the Republicans on the Chudoff Committee, no one can deny the fact that responsible and conscientious persons with ability from the mainland will not accept positions as Heads of Departments in the Virgin Islands under the present provisions of the Organic Act. A Commissioner's term of office is as long as the Governor who appointed him is in office, and the Governor's term can run from one day to four years. How can we expect any efficient person like Commander Reardon who was Commissioner of Education for the State of Massachusetts to accept a Commissionership under such conditions? We know that the Governor's efforts to obtain a qualified person through the N. E. A. will be fruitless. The fault lies in a defective Organic Act, which needs many changes to make it workable, regardless of the minority report of the Chudoff Committee.