TERRITORIES: New Man for the Virgins

Archie A. Alexander, 67, prosperous Iowa building contractor, proved to be a controversial governor of the Virgin Islands (pop. 26,665). A bustling, high-handed administrator with a talent for making enemies, he quickly got into difficulties in the languorous islands. Last month in the St. Thomas market place, hundreds of islanders demonstrated against Alexander, accusing him of incompetence, cronyism, and overriding their wishes. Soon after, he suffered a heart attack. Last week President Eisenhower accepted Alexander's resignation.

His successor: Walter A. Gordon, 60, who like Alexander is a Negro and a self-made man. A penologist and onetime football hero (guard on Walter Camp's 1918 All-American third team), he has been a longtime champion of civil rights on the West Coast and a warm friend of Chief Justice Earl Warren.