The West End News

Gov'nor Determined To Stop Waste, Build Good Gov'ment

Archie Alexander of Des Moines, Governor of the Virgin Islands, says that efforts of some of the Islanders to get him recalled result from the fact that we are starting to do just what President Eisenhower and Congress want done down there.

"The president and congress want some of the wasteful spending that had been going on stopped. They want the islands put, as near as possible, on a self supporting basis. They want education improved, some of the inequalities stopped and the lot of the people generally improved," Alexander said.

"Some of our first steps have disappointed one faction, including some of the people who formerly were on the gravy train," Alexander says.

"The legislature down there was appropriating far more money than any one could reasonably expect the islands to produce. There is no question that some stealing had been going on in quasi government al agencies and there is the natural resentment of some of the people against an outsider telling them what to do." Alexander said.

TWO FIRED

Speaking at the Rotary club's luncheon Thursday at Hotel Fort Des Moines, Alexander said,

"I look over the list of some of those asking President Eisenhower to recall me and I note that I fired two of the leaders from their government posts and that we have an indictment against one of them."

"Our legislature meets almost every day in the year and statistics show it costing $4 per person, or $120,000 a year, for the 30,000 population of the islands.

"If that ratio prevailed here Iowa taxpayers would be paying about 2 million dollars for a session of their legislature." Alexander said.
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Gov'nor Determined
To Stop Waste

He told the Rotarians the legislature has just adjourned.
"Out of 126 bills they passed, I had the honor of vetoing 51 of them. I have called a special session now to get some constructive things done," Alexander said.

In explaining that there had been some stealing of public money going on in the islands, Alexander said the airport authority on one of the islands had not been audited for six years.

"I sent some auditors over there. They worked Thursday and Friday but Monday all books were gone. I asked Attorney General Brownell for a special prosecutor and we're going to get one."

"The stealing will stop but first we must get a conviction to prove to the people some of the things that had been going on." Alexander said.

"The policemen who guard me-- and I have four of them each get more salary than the average high school teacher. That's an example of some of the inequalities we are going to have to stop."

Alexander also laid a portion of the blame for the situation on past acts of the United States government.

"For instance," he said. "the federal government built one of those very modern, ultra high schools there. They simply poured money into it. It's so ultra and modern we almost had to go outside the islands to find a janitor with enough knowledge to run all the new fangled machinery."

In previous years the federal government poured big amounts of money into the islands in the form of relief and some of the people get the idea the government ought to support them. Alexander added.

Alexander told the Rotarians;

"Our new regime has the long range goal of autonomy for the islands. but We're going to have to build the people up to it first. It can't be done over night.

"In the meantime we're going to establish a good government down there, stop some of this waste. get the islands at least nearly self supporting and put a stop to some of the inequalities that have existed."

Alexander said...STDN