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Waldo A. Evans

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Waldo A. Evans (1869 – April 15, 1936) was a captain of the United States Navy and military Governor of both the United States Virgin Islands and American Samoa. He was the last military governor of the U. S. Virgin Islands.

Waldo Evans was sent to American Samoa by U.S. Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels in 1920 to lead a court of inquiry investigating turmoil and strong opposition to Governor Warren Terhune. Three weeks after Terhune's suicide in Utulei, Evans submitted a report in November 1920 that exonerated the Governor. Before he could return to the U.S., Evans was ordered to remain in American Samoa and assume the governorship. He is particularly remembered for establishing a public school system, requiring villages to provide buildings while the government supplied teachers. At the time, only three schools existed in the territory, but Evans established sixteen new schools within two years. In 1922, Evans improved the road system and established the Leone Rapid Transit system. He also ordered the first compilation of American Samoa laws. The territory experienced an economic boost as people resumed cutting copra. In January 1927, based on his successful performance in American Samoa, Curtis D. Wilbur called him out of retirement to serve as Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Life and naval career

Evans was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. During World War I, he commanded three cruisers starting in 1917, USS Olympia, USS New Orleans, and USS St. Louis. In 1919, he was given command of the battleship USS Wyoming.

From 1920 to 1922, Evans was made the military governor of American Samoa during a period of native unrest and immediately after the suicide of Governor Warren Jay Terhune. His investigation focused on two sailors, one of whom was later court martialed, and one civilian, who was deported back to the United States.

In 1922, he was made commander of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, near Chicago. In 1925, he retired from the Navy.

After the unexpected death of Governor Trench, Evans was asked out of retirement to govern the United States Virgin Islands. As Governor, Evans signed a bill which granted all citizens of the islands United States citizenship, effective February 28, 1927. In September 1928, the islands were hit by a hurricane, resulting in six deaths and $400,000 worth of property damage (approximately $4.3 million in inflation-adjusted 2005 dollars). He also faced opposition from the sugar plantations in the territories by his insistence that they modernize, due to the potential cut on a sugar tax. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover placed the island under civilian rule, also ending Evans' term as Governor on March 18, 1931.

In 1935, Evans' wife died in an automobile accident in California. Following her death, he fell into ill health and had a stroke. He died in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1936.

Further reading

  • "Samoan Trouble Focused" The Los Angeles Times. Nov 30, 1920. pg. I2, 1 pgs
  • "Naval Court Files Report on Samoa" Los Angeles Times. Feb 28, 1921. pg. I2, 1 pgs
  • "Evans made Governor of Virgin Islands" New York Times. Jan 19, 1927. pg. 17, 1 pgs
  • "Virgin Islanders' Joy at Citizenship" Aldolph Gereau. New York Times. Mar 20, 1927. pg. XX16, 1 pgs
  • "Plea for Virgin Islands" New York Times. Sep 17, 1928. pg. 3, 1 pgs
  • "Hoover's Order Ends Naval Rule in Virgin Isles" Chicago Daily Tribune. Mar 3, 1931. pg. 15, 1 pgs
  • "Long Illness Proves Fatal To Capt. Evans" The Washington Post. Apr 16, 1936. pg. 5, 1 pgs

References

  1. Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti (2001). Puputoa: Host of Heroes - A record of the history makers in the First Century of American Samoa, 1900-2000. Suva, Fiji: Oceania Printers. Pages 26-27. ISBN 9829036022.
Political offices
Preceded byWarren Jay Terhune Governor of American Samoa
1920–1922 		Succeeded byEdwin Taylor Pollock
Preceded byMartin Edwin Trench Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands
1927–1931 		Succeeded byPaul Martin Pearson
Governors of American Samoa
Commandant (1900–1905)
Naval (1905–1951)
Civil (1951–1978)
Elected (since 1978)
Governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Naval (1917–1931)
Civil (1931–1969)
Elected (since 1969)
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