Entered as second-class matter March 10, 1913, at the postoffice at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Copyright, 1918, by The Mentor Association, Inc. [Illustration: VIEW OF CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS] _MENTOR GRAVURES_ ST. THOMAS HARBOR BEFORE THE DANISH FLAG CAME DOWN · ST. THOMAS, DANISH GOVERNMENT BUILDING, NOW U.S. MARINE HEADQUARTERS · CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS · CHRISTIANSTED, ST. CROIX · STREET IN FREDERIKSTED, ST. CROIX · COUNTRY ROAD, ST. CROIX The Virgin Islands formerly known as the Danish West Indies were purchased by the United States for the apparently exorbitant sum of $25,000,000. While the group comprises more than fifty islands, but three are inhabited. These are St. Thomas, Santa Cruz or St. Croix (sahn krwah), and St. John. [Illustration: Copyright by Clinedinst Studio TRANSFER OF THE DANISH WEST INDIES TO THE UNITED STATES Secretary Lansing handing Constantin Brun, the Danish Minister at Washington, a Treasury Warrant for $25,000,000. The others in the group are Secretary Daniels, Secretary McAdoo, and Rear-Admiral James H. Oliver, first appointee to the Governorship of the Virgin Islands of the United States of America] Denmark received from the United States an average price of $295 per acre. Alaska was purchased at a cost of two cents per acre, and the Philippine Islands cost us about twenty-seven cents per acre. For strategic, economic and political reasons the Virgin Islands are worth far more to us than their purchase price. We were in need of a naval base to protect the Panama Canal, and the harbor at St. Thomas provides the best naval station in the West Indies. The islands were discovered by Columbus in 1493, on his second voyage to the New World. Since then the inhabitants have been under Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Danish rule. For over two hundred years the Danish flag has flown above these islands of the Virgin group. Repeatedly the United States has tried to acquire them. In 1865 Secretary Seward offered five millions of dollars, which was increased two years later to $7,500,000. Again, in 1901, negotiations were entered into with Denmark, but Germany intervened, and once more the project failed.