Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924052955337 Self- Determining Haiti BY JAMES WELDON JOHNSON Four articles reprinted from The Nation embodying a report of an investigation made for THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE Together with Official Documents 25 cents a copy Copyright, 1920 By The Nation, Inc. FOREWORD rr^HE articles and documents in this pamphlet were ■■■ printed in The Nation during the summer of 1920. They revealed for the first time to the world the nature of the United States' imperialistic venture in Haiti. While, owing to the censorship, the full story of this fundamental departure from American traditions has not yet been told, it appears at the time of this writing, October, 1920, that "pitiless publicity" for our sandbagging of a friendly and inoffensive neighbor has been achieved. The report of Major-General George Barnett, commandant of the Marine Corps during the first four years of the Haitian occupation, just issued, strikingly confirms the facts set forth by The Nation and refutes the denials of administration officials and their newspaper apologists. It is in the hope that by spreading broadly the truth about what has happened in Haiti under five years of American occupation The Nation may further contribute toward removing a dark blot from the American escutcheon, that this pamphlet is issued. U5 ■r^ Self-Determining Haiti By JAMES WELDON JOHNSON I. THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION TO know the reasons for the present political situation in Haiti, to understand why the United States landed and has for five years maintained military forces in that country, why.,some ^three thous and Haitian men, women, and children have been shot down" by American rines a nd ma- ' chine guns, it is necessary, among other things, to know ' ~tftat the~National City Bank of N ew York is very much TnEerested in Haiti. Jt_is necessary Jc^kn^wjEE^ the" Na- tional Xity"Bafiircontrols the Na^tional^ank of Haiti and IsTEe depository for j^fl of the Haitian national funds that are being co lIectedJbcg-American officials,^nd that Mr. R. L. Farnham, vice-president of the National City Bank^is vir- tually the representative-^oXtJie, State Department rn matters relating to the island republic. Most Americans have tlie opinion — if they have any opinion at all on the subject — , ■ ] that the United States was forced, on purely humane <' ' grounds, to intervene in the black republic because of the '^ , ^'"^ tragic coup d'etat which resulted in the overthrow and death \y^ \^ of Pr esident ynbrufGuillaum ielSanL-and the execution oi/^'^' -^ i_j_i*'" the^litical prisoners confined at Port-au-Prince, July 27- .jM' v 28, 1915; and that this government has been compelled to ^,> ^^^i*^^" keep a military force in Haiti since that time to pacify the v^"^ country and maintain order. i^' Th e fact is tha t for nearly a year before forcible inter- vention on the part of the U nited atates This government was se^eking to compel Haiti to su bmit to "peaceable" inter- 'vention. Toward the close of 1914 the United States noti- fied the government of Haiti that it was disposed to recog- nize the newly-elected president, Theodore Davilmar, as soon as a Haitian commission would sign at Washington "satis- factory protocols" relative to a convention with the United States on the model of the Dominican-American Convention. On December 15, 19 .,4, the Haitian government, through its Secretary of Foreign Affairs, replied : "The Government of the Republic of Haiti would consider itself lax in its duty 5 ^9:^ US TGI ,..Blc,, vV '"^ v^ ■vWlC* ' Self-Determining Haiti By JAMES WELDON JOHNSON I. THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION TO know the reasons for the present political situation in Haiti, to understand why the United States landed and has for five years maintained military forces in that country, why ^ome three thous and Haitian men, women, and chil dren have been shot dowrfby American riries a nd ma-" chine guns, it is necessary, among other things, to kndw~ ^th at the~National" Cr^"Bank of l^ew York is very much~ Tnterested" in Haiti. Jtjs ^cessary to~KoWTEarjHe Na- tional City Bank~controls the National Bank of Haiti and is the depository for all of the Haitian national funds that jaire being collected by_ American jSQdakj_ajtid_that Mr. R. L. Famham, vice-president of tM-NatiQaaL-CityLBank^iirjir- tually the representative ol the State Department in matters relating to the^jslan^d^republic. Most Americans have the opinion — if they have any opinion at all on the subject — that the United States was forced, on purely humane grounds, to intervene in the black republic because of the tragic coup d'etat which resulted in_the overthrow and death v^^"-^ of President VnbrunjGuinau.nie--S!aia-^nd the execution oi/^' thelpolitical prisoners confined at Port-au-Prince, July 27- 28, 1915; and that this government has been compelled to keep a military force in Haiti since that time to pacify the country and maintain order. Th e fact i s that for nearly a year before forcible inter- vention on thF^part of. the United, StpeOIui^pyerament was seeking to compel Haiti to submit to "peaceable" inter- vention. Toward the close of 1914 the United States noti- fied the government of Haiti that it was disposed to recog- nize the newly-elected president, Theodore Davilmar, as soon as a Haitian commission would sign at Washington "satis- factory protocols" relative to a convention with the United States on the model of the Dominican-American Convention. On December 15, 19 ,,4, the Haitian government, through its Secretary of Foreign Aifairs, replied : "The Government of the Republic of Haiti would consider itself lax in its duty 5 ,1 '' to the United States and to itself if it allowed the least ^^..y-^ doubt to exist of its irrevocable intention not to accept any ^ 'V I rV^*^" control of the administration of Haitian affairs by a foreign j|ViS:.^x,■ The overthrow of Guillaume and its attending conse- / ^n. J) quences did not constitute the cause of American interven- I "^ tion in Haiti, but merely furnished the awaited opportunity.J '''^, Since July 28. 1915. American military forces have been in control of Haiti. These forces have been increased until '^v^** there are n ow somewhere near three thousand Am ericans O*' ». t» ■ tnntem rms in the republic. From the very first, the atti- " tude of the Occupati on has been that it was dealin sTwilh a — conqtrered rerritoryT Haitian forces were disarmed, mili- tary posts^ and barracks were 'occupiey~an3 ~the N ational ~TaIace was taken as headquarters fo r the Occupation. After " selecting "aTnew and acceptable president Jfor_the_country, steps were at once taken to compel ttie Haitian government ■ to sign a conventioir in^wTiiciyt;^iiu.dlyjB^ pendence. This wa s accomplished by September 16. 19 15; / and although the terms of this convention provided for the administration of the Haitian customs by American civilian | oflScials, all the principal custom houses of the country had ', been seized by military force and placed in charge of Ameri- I can Marine officers before the end of August. The disposi-— ' tion of the funds collected in duties from the time of the military seizure of the custom houses to the time of their administration by civilian officials is still a question concern- ing which the established censorship i n Haiti allows no dis- cussion. ~~~ It is interesting to note the wide differ ence betweeii the convention yyhich Haiti was forced to sign and the con - ^vention which was in course of diplomatic negotiation at the moment of intervention. T he Fulle r convention asked little of H aiti and gave somethingT the occupation conven- ■ tion demands everyt hing of Haiti and gives nothin g. The Occupation conve ntion is really the same convention whi ch the HaiLia iTgovemment peremptorily refu sed to discu ss in : — Decelmberr 1914, exc epTtKat in addition "tcTSmerica n Control of Haitian finan ces it also pr ovide s for A merican control of ffii~HSHi5^initary force! The li'uUerngonvention "con- — tarn^d netth'er of these provisions. When the United States found itself in a position to take what it had not even dared to ask, it used brute force and took it. But even a conven- tion which practically deprived Haiti of its independence: 7 was found not wholly adequate for the accomplishment of all that was contemplated. The Haitian constitution still offered some embarrassments, so it was decided that Haiti must have a new constitution. It was drafted and presented to the Haitian assembly for adoption. The assembly balked —chiefly at the article in the proposed document removing the constitutional disability which prevented aliens from owning land in Haiti. Haiti had long considered the denial of this right to aliens as her main bulwark against over- whelming economic exploitation; and it must be admitted that she had better reasons than the several states of the United States that have similar provisions. The balking of the assembly resulted in its being dis- solved by actual military force and the locking of doors of the Chamber. There has been no Haitian legislative body since. The desired constitution was submitted to a plebi- scite by a decree, of the President, although such a method of constitutional revision was clearly unconstitutional. Un- der the circumstances of the Occupation the plebiscite was, of course, almost unanimous for the desired change, and the new constitution was promulgated on June 18, 1918. Thus Haiti was given a new constitution by a flagrantly unconsti- tutional method. The new document contains several funda- mental changes and includes a "Special Article" which de- clares : All the acts of the Government of the United States during its military Occupation in Haiti are ratified and confirmed. No Haitian shall be liable to civil or criminal prosecution for any act done by order of the Occupation or under its authority. The acts of the courts martial of the Occupation, without, however, infringing on the right to pardon, shall not be subject to revision. The acts of the Executive Power (the President) up to the promulgation of the present constitution are likewise ratified and confirmed. The above is the chronological order of the principal steps by which the independence of a neighboring republic has been taken away, the j)eople place d under foreign military domination fro m which th ey have no'appealiVnd exposeTB foreign-ecosgmic exploitaHon" against which they are de- fenseless: ^SiroT this has been done in the name of the -Government of the United States; however, without any act by_Congre§a_am i without any knowlodgo of tha ~ _peoE]fi,_ The law by which Haiti is ruled today is martial law dis- pensed by Americans. There is a form of Haitian civil gov- ernment, but it is entirely dominated by the military Occu- pation. President Dartiguenave, bitterly rebellious at heart as is every good Haitian, confessed to me the power- lessness of himself and his cabinet. He told me that the American authorities give no heed to recommendations made by him or his officers ; that they would not even discuss mat- ters about which the Haitian officials have superior knowl- edge. The provisions of both the old and the new consti- tutions are ignored in that t here is no Haitian legislative v<2;^y^_fJ2£ ^ th'"''' ^''^ ^""'•' """" p'""" t^^" ' li ' ^fnint'"^ "f t >' " Ass embly in April, 1916. In its stea d there is a Council of State comp osed of jwenty-o xne-members appoi nted by the — presiaeiif,^which functions effectively only when carrying oift thfe wilIjvLUbii:Q5cupaKo^if.~ Indeed the O Hpii patin nft.pn "^ .y^'^^ overrides the civil courts. Apriso ner brough t bpf"^° ^^^ J^V'^^^ "proper court, ex aneraisd j °^^~rf^^^°^!r'"^. ^'°i '•""^p^^>' oi'"'°. }-^11> frequentlyjieldjby_thfi. military. All_gov emment fu nds are _C0n gCted bv the ^^rlTpati"" gnA.Qro di-gpoivgaH at-i<-a urill ^r^i\ pleasure. The greater part of these funds is, expended for the maintenance of the military_fQrces. There is the strict- ^'esf'censorship of the press. No Haitian newspaper is al- lowed to publish anything in criticism of the Occupation or the Haitian government. Each newspaper in Haiti received an order to that effect from the Occupation, and the same order carried the injunction not to print the order. Nothing that might refle ct upon the O cc upation administration in Haiti is allowed to reach th£jigw3paper3 of the United States; ' The Haitian people justly complain that not only is the convention inimical to the best interests of their country, but that the convention, such as it is, is not being carried out in accordance with the letter, nor in accordance with the spirit in which they were led to believe it would be car- ried out. Except one, all of the obligations in the conven- tion which the United States undertakes in favor of Haiti are contained in the first article of that document, the other fourteen articles being made up substantially of obligations to the United States assumed by Haiti. But nowhere in 9 those fourteen articles is there anything to indicate that Haiti would be subjected to military domination. In Article I the United States promises to "aid the Haitian govern- ment in the proper and efficient development of its agricul- tural, mineral, and commercial resources and in the estab- lishment of the finances of Haiti on a firm and solid basis." And the whole convention and, especially, the protestations of the United States before the signing of the instrument can be construed only to mean that that aid would be ex- tended through the supervision of civilian officials. The one promise of the United States to Haiti not con- tained in the first article of the convention is that clause of Article XIV which says, "and, should the necessity occur, the United States will lend an efficient aid for the preserva- tion of Haitian independence and the maintenance of a gov- ernment adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty." It is the extreme of irony that this clause which the Haitians had a right to interpret as a guarantee to them against foreign invasion should first of all be invoked against the Haitian people themselves, and offer the only peg on which any pretense to a right of mili- tary domination can be hung. There are several distinct forces — financial, military, bureaucratic — at work in Haiti which, tending to aggravate the conditions they themselves have created, are largely self-perpetuating. The most sinister of these, the financial engulfment of Haiti by the National City Bank of New York, already alluded to, will be discussed in detail in a subsequent article. The military Occupation has made and continues to make military Occupation necessary. The jus- tification given is that it is necessary for the pacification of the country. Pacification would never have been necessary had not American policies been filled with so many stupid and brutal blunders; and it will never be effective so long as "pacification" means merely the hunting of ragged Haitians in the hills with machine guns, - ^hen there is the forc e which the several hundred Ameri- cajicmlian_placea^^ in "^^^^f^^~t5^~-"-^"'3li^ for feving democrats" and naturally do not wish to s^TthTiiresent status discontinued. Most of thesgdeserving democrats are Southerners. The he^d^fthi7iIit5Ei"service-of- Haiti 10 was a clerk of one of the parishes of Louisiana. Second in charge of the customs service of Haiti is a man who was Deputy Collector of Customs at Pascagoula, Mississippi [population, 3,379, 1910 Census]. The Superintendent of Public Instruction was a school teacher in Louisiana — a State which has not good schools even for white children; the financial advisor, Mr. Mcllhenny, is also from Louisiana. Many of the Occupation officers are in the same category with the civilian place-holders. These men have taken their wives and fainilies to Haiti. Those at Port-au-Prince live in beautiful villas. Families that could not keep a hired girl in the United States have a half-dozen servants. They ride in automobiles — not their own. Every American head of a department in Haiti has an automobile furnished at the expense of the Haitian Government, whereas members of the Haitian cabinet, who are theoretically above them, have ^^/-^ no such convenience or luxury. While I was there, the President himself was obliged to borrow an automobile from the Occupation for a trip through the interior. The Louisiana school-teacher Superintendent of Instruction has an automobile furnished at government expense, whereas the Haitian Minister of Public Instruction, his supposed su- perior officer, has none. These automobiles seem to be chiefly employed in giving the women and children an airing each afternoon. It must be amusing, when it is not madden- ing to the Haitians, to see with what disdainful air these people look upon them as they ride by. The platform adopted by the Democratic party at San Francisco said of the Wilson policy in Mexico : The Administration, remembering always that Mexico is an independent nation and that permanent stability in her govern- ment and her institutions could come only from the consent of her own people to a government of her own making, has been unwilling either to profit by the misfortunes of the people of Mexico or to enfeeble their future by imposing from the outside a rule upon their temporarily distracted councils. Haiti has never been so distracted in its councils as Mexico. And even in its moments of greatest distraction it never slaughtered an American citizen, it never molested an American woman, it never injured a dollar's worth of American property. And yet, the Administration whose lofty purpose was proclaimed as above — with less justifica- tion than Austria's invasion of Serbia, or Germany's rape 11 / of Belgium, without warrant other than the doctrine that "might makes right," has conquered Haiti. It has done this through the very period when, in the words of its chief spokesman, our sons were laying down their lives overseas "for democracy, for the rights of those who submit to au- thority to have a voice in their own government, for the rights and liberties of small nations." By command of the author of "pitiless publicity" and originator of "open covenants openly arrived at," it has enforced by the bayonet a covenant whose secret has been well guarded by a rigid censorship from the American nation, and kept a people enslaved by the military tyranny which it was his avowed purpose to destroy throughout the world. From The Nation of August 25, igio. II. WHAT THE UNITED STATES HAS ACCOMPLISHED WHEN the truth about the conquest of Haiti — the slaughter of three thousand and practically unarmed Haitians, with the incidentally needless death of a score of American boys — begins to filter through the rigid Adminis- tration censorship to the American p eople, the apologists will become active. Th eir justification of what has been done will be grouped under two heads: one, the necessity, and two, the results. Under the first, much stress will be laid 'upoirtEe~"anarchy" which existidTin Haiti, upon the back- wardness of the Haitians and their absolute unfitness to govern themselves. The pretext which caused the interven- tion was taken up in the first article of this series. The characteristics, alleged and real, of the Haitian people will j be taken up in a subsequent article. Now as to results: The apologists will attempt to show that material improve- ments in Haiti justify American intervention. Let us see what they are. Diligent inquiry reveals just three: The building of the road from Port-au-Prince to Cape Haitien ; the enforcement of certain sanitary regulations in the larger cities ; and the improvement of the public hospital at Port-au-Prince. The enforcement of certain sanitary regulations is not so im- portant as it may sound, for even under exclusive native rule, Haiti has been a remarkably healthy country and had never suffered from such epidemics as used to sweep Cuba 12 and the Panama Canal region. The regulations, moreover, were of a purely minor character — the sort that might be issued by a board of health in any American city or town — and were in no wise fundamental, because there was no need. The same applies to the improvement of the hospital, long before the American Occupation, an effectively con- ducted institution but which, it is only fair to say, bene- fited considerably by the regulations and more up-to-date methods of American army surgeons — ^the best in the world. Neither of these accomplishments, however, creditable as they are, can well be put forward as a justification for mili- tary domination. The building of the great highway from Port-au-Prince to Cape Haitien is a monumental piece of work, but it is doubtful whether the object in building it was to supply the Haitians with a great highway or to con- struct a military road which would facilitate the transpor- tation of troops and supplies from one end of the island to the other. And this represents the sum total of the con- structive accomplishment after five years of American Occupation. Now, the highway, while doubtless the most important achievement of the three, involved the most brutal of all the blunders of the Occupation. The work was in charge of an oflicer of Marines who stands out even in that organiza- tion for his "treat 'em rough" methods. He discovered the obsolete Haitian corvee and decided to enforce it with the most modern Marine efficiency. The corvee, or road law, in Haiti provided that each citizen should work a certain num- ber of days on the public roads to keep them in condition, or pay a certain sum of money. In the days when this law was in force the Haitian government never required the men to work the roads except in their respective communi- ties, and the number of days was usually limited to three iL year. But the Occupation seized men wherever it could find them, and no able-bodied Haitian was safe from such raids, which most closely resembled the African slave raids of past centuries. And slavery it was — though temporary. By day or by night, from the bosom of their families, from their little farms or while trudging peacefully on the country roads, Haitians were seized and forcibly taken to toil for months in far sections of the country. Those who protested' — ^ or resisted were beaten into submission. At night, after 13 long hours of unremitting labor under armed taskmasters, who swiftly discouraged any slackening of effort with boot or rifle butt, the victims were herded in compounds. Those attempting to escape were shot. Their terror-stricken fam- ilies meanwhile were often in total ignorance of the fate of ' their husbands, fathers, brothers. It is chiefly out of these methods that arose the need for "pacification." Many men of the rural districts became panic-stricken a nd Tlea-To the hills and-mountains._ Others ^^ — rebeHed-OTTr^Ka^nkewiseTFielSnng These ~ refugees Iarp!Trmae"up TEe~ ^co'' "forces, to hunt down which.-has-becOKie'TKe^ duty_ and the "sport of American Mai^s^whowere priviieg:edJo.J.hoot.a "caco" on sight. If anyonellouSts that "caco" hunting is the sport of American Marines in Haiti, let him learn the facts about the death of Charlemagne. Charlemagne Peralte was a Haitian of edu- cation and culture and of great influence in his district. He was tried by an American courtmartial on the charge of aiding "cacos." He was sentenced, not to prison, however, but to five years of hard labor on the roads, and was forced to work in convict garb on the streets of Cape Haitien. He made his escape and put himself at the head of several hun- dred followers in a valiant though hopeless attempt to free Haiti. The America of the Revolution, indeed the America of the Civil War, would have regarded Charlemagne not as a criminal but a patriot. He met his death not in open fight, not in an attempt at his capture, but through a das- tard deed. While standing over his camp fire, he was shot in cold blood by an American Marine oflScer who stood con- cealed by the darkness, and who had reached the camp through bribery and trickery. This deed, which was noth- ing short of assassination, has been heralded as an example of American heroism. Of this deed, Harry Franck, writing in the June Century of "The Death of Charlemagne," says : "Indeed it is fit to rank with any of the stirring warrior tales with which history is seasoned from the days of the Greeks down to the recent world war." America should read "The Death of Charlemagne" which attempts to glorify a black smirch on American arms and tradition. There is a reason why the methods employed in road building affected the Haitian country folk in a way in which it might not have affected the people of any other Latin- 14 American country. Not since the independence of the coun- try has there been any such thing as a peon in Haiti. The revolution by which Haiti gained her independence was not merely a political revolution, it was also a social revolution, Among the many radical changes wrought was that of cut- ting up the large slave estates into small parcels and allot- ting them among former slaves. And so it was that every Haitian in the rural districts lived on his own plot of land, a plot on which his family has lived for perhaps more than a hundred years. No matter how small or how large that plot is, and whether he raises much or little on it, it is his and he is an independent farmer. The completed highway, moreover, continued to be a barb in the Haitian wound. Automobiles on this road, running without any speed limit, are a constant inconvenience or danger to the natives carrying their market produce to town on their heads or loaded on the backs of animals. I have, seen these people scramble in terror often up the side or down the declivity of the mountain for places of safety for themselves and their animals as the machines snorted by. I have seen a market woman's horse take flight and scatter the produce loaded on his back all over the road for several hundred yards. I have heard an American commercial trav- eler laughingly tell how on the trip from Cape Haitien to Port-au-Prince the automobile he was in killed a donkey and two pigs. It had not occurred to him that the donkey might be the chief capital of the small Haitian farmer and that the loss of it might entirely bankrupt him. It is all very humorous, of course, unless you happen to be the Haitian pedestrian. The majority of visitors on arriving at Port-au-Prince and noticing the well-paved, well-kept streets, will at once jump to the conclusion that this work was done by the Amer- ican Occupation. The Occupation goes to no trouble to refute this conclusion, and in fact it will by implication cor- roborate it. If one should exclaim, "Why, I am surprised to see what a well-paved city Port-au-Prince is!" he would be almost certain to receive the .answer, "Yes, but you should have seen it before the Occupation." The implication here is that Port-au-Prince was a mudhole and that the Occupa- tion is responsible for its clean and well-paved streets. It is true that at the time of the intervention, five years ago, 15 there were only one or two paved streets in the Haitian capital, but the contracts for paving the entire city had been let by the Haitian Government, and the work had already been begun. This work was completed during the Occupation, but the Occupation did not pave, and had noth- ing to do with the paving of a single street in Port-au- Prince. One accomplishment I did expect to find— that the Amer- ican Occupation, in its five years of absolute rule, had developed and improved the Haitian system of public edu- cation. The United States has made some efforts in this direction in other countries where it has taken control. In Porto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines, the attempt, at least, was made to establish modern school systems. Selected youths from these countries were taken and sent to the United States for training in order that they might return and be better teachers, and American teachers were sent to those islands in exchange. The ^ America n Occupation J n Haiti has notadvanced_DuliliCu.£duca±ion_a^ single step. No new bulldingsTiavebeen erected. Not a single HaitiaiLyouth ha s been sent to th g^United Statesfor training, as ajfiacher, nor has a single American teacher, white or colored, been ~Sie nt~to^ aiti. According to the general budget of Haiti, 1919-1920^1here are teachers in the rural schools re ceiving ~as little as six dol lars a montE Some of tEese teachers may "nof be worth more than six dollars a month. But after five years of American rule, there ought, not to be a single teacher in the country who is not worth more than that paltry sum. Another-sonrce jjf discontent is the Gendarmerie. When the Occupation took possession of the islaha, it disarmed all Haitian s, includin g the various local police^ fofcesT" To remedy this situation the Convention (Article X), provided that there should be created, — without delay, an efficient constabulary, urban and rural, com- posed of native Haitians. This constabulary shall be organized and officered by Americans, appointed by the President of Haiti upon nomination by the President of the United States. . . . These officers shall be replaced by Haitians as they, by examina- tion conducted under direction of a board to be selected by the Senior American Officer of this constabulary in the presence of a representative of the Haitian Government, are found to be qualified to assume such duties. 16 During the first months of the Occupation officers of the Haitian Gendarmerie were commissioned officers of the marines, but the war took all these officers to Europe. Fiv e years h^ vg.jasse d a n d the - c&Bstabulaxy ^. is still officered" _entirel2_bj^xnariiies, -but- almost-without exc«ptioa.ihfiS-a£g. ex-privates_,.ox- non-conimissioned_.4jfficer3^.oljthe_jyiiited States Marinje. Corp3^-commiaaifl]ifid_in_thg _ gendar merie. ' Many of ^ese men are rough, uncouth, and uneducated, and a great number from the South, are violently steeped in color prejudice. They direct all policing of city and town. It falls to them, ignorant of Haitian ways and language, to enforce every minor police regulation. Needless to say, this is a grave source of continued irritation. Where the genial American "cop" could, with a wave of his hand or club, convey the full majesty of the law to the small boy transgressor or to some equally innocuous offender, the strong-arm tactics for which the marines are famous, are apt to be promptly evoked. The pledge in the Convention that "these officers be replaced by Haitians" who could qualify, has, like other pledges, become a mere scrap of paper. Graduates of the famous French military academy of St. Cyr, men who have actually qualified for commissions _j n the French army, are denied th e opportunity to fill even a Jesser commission in t h e Haitian Gend armerie, although such men, in addition to their pre-eminent qualifications of training, would, because of their understanding of local con- ditions and their complete familiarity with the ways of their own country, make ideal guardians of the peace. The American Occupation of Haiti is not only guilty of sins of omission, it is guilty of sins of commission in addi- tion to those committed in the building of the great road across the island. Brutalities and atrocities on the part of American marines have occurred with sufficient frequency to be the cause of deep resentment and terror. Marines talk freely of what they "did" to some Haitians in the outlying districts. Familiar methods of torture to make captives reveal what they often do not know are nonchalantly dis- cussed. Just before I left Port-au-Prince an American Marine had caught a Haitian boy stealing sugar off the wharf and instead of arresting him he battered his brains out with the butt of his rifle. I learned from the lips of American Marines themselves of a number of cases of rape 17 . JO'-^ t-A'^' of Haitian women by marines. I often sat at tables in the hotels and cafes in company with marine officers and they talked before me without restraint. I remember the descrip- tion of a "caco" hunt by one of them; he told how they finally came upon a crowd of natives engaged in the popular pastime of cock-fighting and how they "let them have it" with machine guns and rifle fire. I heard another, a captain of marines, relate how he at a fire in Port-au-Prince ordered a "rather dressed up Haitian," standing on the sidewalk, to "get in there" and take a hand at the pumps. It appeared that the Haitian merely shrugged his shoulders. The cap- tain of marines then laughingly said: "I had on a pretty heavy pair of boots and I let him have a kick that landed him in the middle of the street. Someone ran up and told me that the man was an ex-member of the Haitian Assem- bly." The fact that the man had been a member of the Haitian Assembly made the whole incident more laughable to the captain of marines. Perhaps the most serious aspect of American brutality in Haiti is not to be found in individual cases of cruelty, numerous and inexcusable though they are, but rather in the American attitude, well illustrated by the diagnosis of an American officer discussing the situation and its diffi- culty: "The trouble with this whole business is that some of these people with a little money and education think they are as good as we are," and this is the keynote of the atti- tude of every American to every Haitian. Americans have carried American hatred to Haiti. They have planted the feeling of caste and color prejudice where it never before existed. And such are the "accomplishments'' of the United States in Haiti. The Occupation has not only failed to achieve anything worth while, but has made it impossible to do so because of the distrust and bitterness that it has engendered in the Haitian people. Through the present instrumental- ities no matter how earnestly the United States may desire to be fair to Haiti and make intervention a success, it will not succeed. An entirely new deal is necessary. This Gov- ernment forced the Haitian leaders to accept the promise of American aid and American supervision. With that Amer- ican aid the Haitian Government defaulted its external and internal debt, an obligation, which under self-government 18 the Haitians had scrupulously observed. And American supervision turned out to be a military tyranny supporting a program of economic exploitation. The United States had an opportunity to gain the confidence of the Haitian people. That opportunity has been destroyed. When American troops first landed, although the Haitian people were out- raged, there was a feeling nevertheless which might well have developed into cooperation. There were those who had hopes that the United States, guided by its traditional policy of nearly a century and a half, pursuing its fine stand in Cuba, under McKinley, Eoosevelt, and Taft, would extend aid that would be mutually beneficial to both countries. Those Haitians who indulged this hope are disappointed and bitter. Those members of the Haitian Assembly who, while acting under coercion were nevertheless hopeful of Amer- ican promises, incurred unpopularity by voting for the Con- vention, are today bitterly disappointed and utterly dis- illusioned. If the United States should leave Haiti today, it would leave more than a thousand widows and orphans of its own making, more banditry than has existed for a century, resentment, hatred and despair in the heart of a whole peo- ple, to say nothing of the irreparable injury to its own tra- dition as the defender of the rights of man. From The Nation of September 4, 1920. III. GOVERNMENT OF, BY, AND FOR THE NATIONAL CITY BANK ^^-^-^ FOR MER articles of this series descr i bed the Military Occupation of Haiti and the crowd~of civilian place holders as among the forces at work in Haiti to maintain the present status in that country. But more powerful though less obvious, and more sinister, because of its deep and varied radications, is the force exercised by the N ational City Bank of New York. It seeks more than the mere maintenance of the present status in"Haiti; it is constantly worki ng to_bring about a condition more suitable and profitable to itself. Be- liTnd the~Occupation, working conjointly with the_nepart- y-T^ jnent^if^St ate, stands this great banking instituti on of New York and elsewhere. The financial potentates allied with it are the ones who will profit by the control of Haiti. The 19 United States Marine Corps and the various office-holding "deserving Democrats," who help maintain the status quo there, are in reality working for great financial interests in this country, although Uncle Sam and Haiti pay their salaries. Mr. Roger L. Farnham, vice-president of the National City Bank, was effectively instrumental in bringing about Ameri- can intervention in Haiti. With the administration at Wash- ington, the word of Mr. Farnham supersedes that of any- body else on the island. While Mr. Bailly-Blanchard, with the title of minister, is its representative in name, Mr. Farn- ham is its representative in fact. His goings and comings are aboard vessels of the United States Navy. His bank, the National City, has been in charge of the Banque Nationale d'Haiti throughout the Occupation.* Only a few weeks ago he was appointed receiver of the National Railroad of Haiti, controlling practically the entire railway system in the island with valuable territorial concessions in all parts.** The $5,000,000 sugar plant at Port-au-Prince, it is commonly re- ported, is about to fall into his hands. Now, of all the various responsibilities, expressed, im- plied, or assumed by the United States in Haiti, it would naturally be supposed that the financial obligation would be foremost. Indeed, the sister republic of Santo Domingo was \ taken over by the United States Navy for no other reason ^ 1 than failure to pay its internal debt. But Haiti for over one * The National City Bank originally (about 1911) purchased 2,000 shares of the stock of the Banque Nationale d'Haiti. After the Occupation it pur- chased 6,000 additional shares in the hands of three New York banking firms. Since then it has been negotiating for the complete control of the stock, the balance of which is held in France, The contract for this transfer of the Bank and the granting of a new charter under the laws of Haiti were agreed upon and signed at Washington last February. But the delay in completing these arrangements is caused by the impasse between the State Department and the National City Bank, on the one hand, and the Haitian Government on the other, due to the fact that the State Department and the National City Bank insisted upon including in the contract a clause prohibiting the importation and exportation of foreign money into Haiti subject only to the control of the financial adviser. To this new power the Haitian Government refuses to consent. •* Originally, Mr. James P. McDonald secured from the Haitian Govern- ment the concession to build the railroads under the charter of the National Railways of Haiti. He arranged with W. R. Grace & Company to finance the concession. Grace and Company formed a syndicate under the aegis of the National City Bank which issued $2,500,000 bonds, sold in France. These bonds were guaranteed by the Haitian Government at an interest of 6 per cent on $82,500 for each mile. A short while after the floating of these boiids, Mr. Farnham became President of the company. The syndicate advanced an- other $2,000,000 for the completion of the railroad in accordance with the concession granted by the Haitian Government. This money was used, but the work was not completed in accordance vrith the contract made by the Haitian Government in the conoession. The Haitian Government then re- fused any longer to pay the interest on the mileage. These happenings -(^ere prior to 191B. 20 ^ hundred years scrupulously paid its external and internal debt — a fact worth remembering when one hears of "anarchy , and disorder" in that land — until five years ago when under / "^ the financial guardianship of the United States interest on both the internal and, with one exception, external debt was defaulted; and this in spite of the fact that specified reve- nues were pledged for the payment of this interest. Apart from the distinct injury to the honor and reputation of the country, the hardship on individuals has been great. For while the foreign debt is held particularly in France which, being under great financial obligations to the United States since the beginning of the war, has not been able to protest effectively, the interior debt is held almost entirely by Haitian citizens. Haitian Government bonds have long been the recognized substantial investment for the well-to-do and middle class people, considered as are in this country. United States, state, and municipal bonds. Non-payment on these securities has placed many families in absolute want. What has happened to these bonds ? They are being sold for a song, for the little cash they will bring. Individuals closely connected with the National Bank of Haiti are ready purchasers. When the new Haitian loan is floated it will, of course, contain ample provisions for redeeming these old bonds at par. The profits will be more than handsome. Not that the National Bank has not already made hay in the sunshine of American Occupation. From the beginning it has been sole depositary of all revenues collected in the name of the Haitian Government by the American Occupation, re- ceiving in addition to the interest rate a commission on all funds deposited. The bank is the sole agent in the transmis- sion of these funds. It has also the exclusive note-issuing privilege in the republic. At the same time complaint is widespread among the Haitian business men that the Bank no longer as of old accommodates them with credit and that its interests are now entirely in developments of its own. Now, one of the promises that was made to the Haitian Government, partly to allay its doubts and fears as to the purpose and character of the American intervention, was that the United States would put the country's finances on a solid and substantial basis. A loan for $30,000,000 or more was one of the features of this promised assistance. Pur- suant, supposedly, to this plan, a Financial Adviser for 21 Haiti was appointed in the person of Mr. John Avery Mc- Ilhenny. Who is Mr. Mcllhenny? That he has the cordial backing and direction of so able a financier as Mr. Farnham is comforting when one reviews the past record and experi- ence in finance of Haiti's Financial Adviser as given by him in "Who's Who in America," for 1918-1919. He was born in Avery Island, Iberia Parish, La. ; went to Tulane University for one year; was a private in the Louisiana State militia for five years; trooper in the U. S. Cavalry in 1898; pro- moted to- second lieutenancy for gallantry in action at San Juan; has been member of the Louisiana House of Repre- sentatives and Senate; was a member of the U. S. Civil Service Commission in 1906 and president of the same in 1913 ; Democrat. It is under his Financial Advisership that the Haitian interest has been continued in default with the one exception above noted, when several months ago $3,000,- 000 was converted into francs to meet the accumulated in- terest payments on the foreign debt. Dissatisfaction on the part of the Haitians developed over the lack of financial per- spicacity in this transaction of Mr. Mcllhenny because the sum was converted into francs at the rate of nine to a dollar while shortly after the rate of exchange on French francs dropped to fourteen to a dollar. Indeed, Mr. Mcllhenny's unfitness by training and experience for the delicate and im- portant position which he is filling was one of the most gen- erally admitted facts which I gathered in Haiti. At the present writing, however, Mr. Mcllhenny has be- come a conspicuous figure in the history of the Occupation of Haiti as the instrument by which the National City Bank is striving to complete the riveting, double-locking and bolt- ing of its financial control of the island. For although it would appear that the absolute military domination under which Haiti is held would enable the financial powers to accomplish almost anything they desire, they are wise enough to realize that a day of reckoning, such as, for in- stance, a change in the Administration in the United States, may be coming. So they are eager and anxious, to have everything they want signed, sealed, and delivered. Any- thing, of course, that the Haitians have fully "consented to" no one else can reasonably object to. A little recent history: in February of the present year the ministers of the different departments, in order to con- 22 form to the letter of the law (Article 116 of the Constitution of Haiti, which was saddled upon her in 1918 by the Occu- pation* and Article 2 of the Haitian-American Conven- tion**) began work on the preparation of the accounts for 1918-1919 and the budget for 1920-1921. On March 22 a draft of the budget was sent to Mr. A. J. Maumus, Acting Financial Adviser, in the absence of Mr. McHhenny who had at that time been in the United States for seven months. Mr. Maumus replied on March 29, suggesting postponement of all discussion of the budget until Mr. Mcllhenny's return. Nevertheless, the Legislative body, in pursuance of the law, opened on its constitutional date, Monday, April 5. Despite the great urgency of the matter in hand, the Haitian ad- ministration was obliged to mark time until June 1, when Mr. Mcllhenny returned to Haiti. Several conferences with the various ministers were then undertaken. On June 12, at one of these conferences, there arrived in the place of the Financial Adviser a note stating that he would be obliged to stop all study of the budget "until the time when certain affairs of considerable importance to the well-being of the country shall be finally settled according to recommendations made by me to the Haitian Government." As he did not give in his note the slightest idea what these important affairs were, the Haitian Secretary wrote asking for in- formation, at the same time calling attention to the already great and embarrassing delay, and reminding Mr. Mcllhenny that the preparation of the accounts and budget was one of his legal duties as an official attached to the Haitian Govern- ment, of which he could not divest himself. On July 19 Mr. Mcllhenny supplied his previous omission in a memorandum which he transmitted to the Haitian De- partment of Finance, in which he said : "I had instructions from the Department of State of the United States just be- fore my departure for Haiti, in a part of a letter of May 20, to declare to the Haitian Government that it was necessary to give its immediate and formal approval to : * "The general accounts and the budgets prescribed by the preceding article must be submitted to the Legislative Body by the Secretary of Finance not later than eight days after the opening of the Legislative Session." •• "The President of Haiti shall appoint, on the nomination of the Presi- dent of the United States, a Financial Adviser who shall be attached to the Ministry of Finance, to whom the Secretary (of Finance) shall lend effective aid in the prosecution of his work. The Financial Adviser shall work out a system of public accounting, shall aid in increasing the reienues and in their adjustment to expenditures. 23 1. A modification of the Bank Contract agreed upon by the Department of State and the National City Bank of New York. 2. Transfer of the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti to a new bank registered under the laws of Haiti, to be known as the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti. 3. The execution of Article 15 of the Contract of Withdrawal prohibiting the importation and exportation of non-Haitian money except that which might be necessary for the needs of commerce in the opinion of the Financial Adviser." Now, what is the meaning and significance of these pro- posals? The full details have not been given out, but it is known that they are part of a new monetary law for Haiti involving the complete transfer of the Banque Nationale d'Haiti to the National City Bank of New York. The docu- ment embodying the agreements, with the exception of the clause prohibiting the importation of foreign money, was signed at Washington, February 6, 1920, by Mr. Mcllhenny, the Haitian Minister at Washington and the Haitian Secre- tary of Finance. The Haitian Government has officially de- clared that the clause prohibiting the importation and ex- portation of foreign money, except as it may he deemed necessary in the opinion of the Financial Adviser, was added to the original agreement by some unknown party. It is for the purpose of compelling the Haitian Government to ap- prove the agreements, including the "prohibition clause," that pressure is now being applied. Efforts on the part of business interests in Haiti to learn the character and scope of what was done at Washington have been thwarted by close secrecy. However, sufficient of its import has become known to understand the reasons for the unqualified and definite refusal of President Dartiguenave and the Govern- ment to give their approval. Those reasons are that the agreements would give to the National Bank of Haiti, and thereby to the National City Bank of New York, exclusive monopoly upon the right of importing and exporting Ameri- can and other foreign money to and from Haiti, a monopoly which would carry unprecedented and extraordinarily lucra- tive privileges. The proposal involved in this agreement has called forth a vigorous protest on the part of every important banking and business concern in Haiti with the exception, of course, of the National Bank of Haiti. This protest was trans- mitted to the Haitian Minister of Finance on July 30 past. 24 The protest is signed not only by Haitians and Europeans doing business in that country but also by the leading American business concerns, among which are The Ameri- can Foreign Banking Corporation, The Haitian-American Sugar Company, The Panama Railroad Steamship Line, The Clyde Steamship Line, and The West Indies Trading Company. Among the foreign signers are the Royal Bank of Canada, Le Comptoir Frangais, Le Comptoir Commercial, and besides a number of business firms. We have now in Haiti a triangular situation with the National City Bank and our Department of State in two corners and the Haitian government in the third. Pres- sure is being brought on the Haitian government to com- pel it to grant a monopoly which on its face appears de- signed to give the National City Bank a strangle hold on the financial life of that country. With the Haitian govern- ment refusing to yield, we have the Financial Adviser who is, according to the Haitian-American Convention, a Hai- tian official charged with certain duties (in this case the approval of the budget and accounts), refusing to carry out those duties until the government yields to the pressure which is being brought. Haiti is now experiencing the "third degree." Ever since the Bank Contract was drawn and signed at Washington increasing pressure has been applied to make the Haitian government accept the clause prohibiting the importation of foreign money. Mr. Mcllhenny is now holding up the salaries of the President, ministers of departments, mem- bers of the Council of State, and the official interpreter. [These salaries have not been paid since July l.J And there the matter now stands. Several things may happen. The Administration, finding present methods insufficient, may decide to act as in Santo Domingo, to abolish the President, cabinet, and all civil government — as they have already abolished the Haitian Assembly — and put into effect, by purely military force, what, in the face of the unflinching Haitian refusal to sign away their birthright, the combined military, civil, and financial pressure has been unable to accomplish. Or, with an election and a probable change of Administration in this country pending, with a Congressional investigation foreshadowed, it may be decided that matters are "too diffi- 25 cult" and the National City Bank may find that it can be more profitably engaged elsewhere. Indications of such a course are not lacking. From the point of view of the National City Bank, of course, the institution has not only done nothing which is not wholly legitimate, proper, and according to the canons of big business throughout the world, but has actually performed constructive and gener- ous service to a backward and uncivilized people in attempt- ing to promote their railways, to develop their country, and to shape soundly their finance. That Mr. Farnham and those associated with him hold these views sincerely, there is no doubt. But that the Haitians, after over one hundred years of self-government and liberty, contemplating the slaughter of three thousand of their sons, the loss of their political and economic freedom, without compensating ad- vantages which they can appreciate, feel very differently, is equally true. From The Nation of September ii, 1920. IV. THE HAITIAN PEOPLE THE first sight of Port-au-Prince is perhaps most star- tling to the experienced Latin-American traveler. Caribbean cities are of the Spanish-American type — ^build- ings square and squat, built generally around a court, with residences and business houses scarcely interdistinguishable. Port-au-Prince is rather a city of the French or Italian Riviera. Across the bay of deepest blue the purple moun- tains of Gonave loom against the Western sky, rivaling the bay's azure depths. Back of the business section, spread- ing around the bay's great sweep and well into the plain beyond, rise the green hills with their white residences. The residential section spreads over the slopes and into the mountain tiers. High up are the homes of the well-to-do, beautiful villas set in green gardens relieved by the flaming crimson of the poinsettia. Despite the imposing mountains a man-made edifice dominates the scene. From the center of the city the great Gothic cathedral lifts its spires above the tranquil city. Well-paved and clean, the city prolongs the thrill of its first unfolding. Cosmopolitan yet quaint, with an old-world atmosphere yet a charm of its own, one gets throughout the feeling of continental European life. In 26 the hotels and cafes the affairs of the world are heard dis- cussed in several languages. The cuisine and service are not only excellent but inexpensive. At the Caf6 Dereix, cool and scrupulously clean, dinner from hors d'oeuvres to glaces, with wine, of course, recalling the famous ante- bellum hostelries of New York and Paris, may be had for six gourdes [$1.25]. A drive of two hours around Port-au-Prince, through the newer section of brick and concrete buildings, past the cathedral erected from 1903 to 1912, along the Champ de Mars where the new presidential palace stands, up into the Peu de Choses section where the hundreds Of beautiful villas and grounds of the well-to-do are situated, permanently dispels any lingering question that the Haitians have been retrograding during the 116 years of their independence. In the lower city, along the water's edge, around the market and in the Rue Republicaine, is the "local color." The long rows of wooden shanties, the curious little booths around the market, filled with jabbering venders and with scantily clad children, magnificent in body, running in and out, are no less picturesque and no more primitive, no humbler, yet cleaner, than similar quarters in Naples, in Lisbon, in Marseilles, and more justifiable than the great slums of civilization's centers — London and New York, which are totally without aesthetic redemption. But it is only the modernists in history who are willing to look at the masses as factors in the life and development of the country, and in its history. For Haitian history, like his- tory the world over, has for the last century been that of cultured and educated groups. To know Haitian life one must have the privilege of being received as a guest in the houses of these latter, and they live in beautiful houses. The majority have been educated in France; they are cul- tured, brilliant conversationally, and thoroughly enjoy their social life. The women dress well. Many are beautiful and all vivacious and chic. Cultivated people from any part of the world would feel at home in the best Haitian society. If our guest were to enter to the Cercle Bellevue, the leading club of Port-au-Prince, he would find the courteous, friendly atmosphere of a men's club; he would hear varying shades of opinion on public questions, and could scarcely fail to be impressed by the thorough knowl- 27 edge of world affairs possessed by the intelligent Haitian. Nor would his encounters be only with people who have culture and savoir vivre; he would meet the Haitian intel- lectuals — poets, essayists, novelists, historians, critics. Take for example such a writer as Fernand Hibbert. An English authority says of him, "His essays are worthy of the pen of Anatole France or Pierre Loti." And there is Georges Sylvaine, poet and essayist, conferencier at the Sorbonne, where his address was received with acclaim, author of books crowned by the French Academy, and an Officer of the Legion d'Honneur. Hibbert and Sylvaine are only two among a dozen or more contemporary Haitian men of let- ters whose work may be measured by world standards. Two names that stand out preeminently in Haitian literature are Oswald Durand, the national poet, who died a few years ago, and Damocles Vieux. These people, educated, cultured, and intellectual, are not accidental and sporadic offshoots of the Haitian people; they aire the Haitian people and they are a demonstration of its inherent potentialities. However, Port-au-Prince is not all of Haiti. Other cities are smaller replicas, and fully as interesting are the people of the country districts. Perhaps the deepest impression on the observant visitor is made by the country women. Magnificent as they file along the country roads by scores and by hundreds on their way to the town markets, with white or colored turbaned heads, gold-looped-ringed ears, they stride along straight and lithe, almost haughtily, carry- ing themselves like so many Queens of Sheba. The Haitian country people are kind-hearted, hospitable, and polite, sel- dom stupid but rather, quick-witted and imaginative. Fond of music, with a profound sense of beauty and harmony, they live simply but wholesomely. Their cabins rarely con- sist of only one room, the humblest having two or three, with a little shed front and back, a front and rear entrance, and plenty of windows. An aesthetic touch is never lacking — a flowering hedge or an arbor with trained vines bearing gorgeous colored blossoms. There is no comparison between the neat plastered-wall, thatched-roof cabin of the Haitian peasant and the traditional log hut of the South or the shanty of the more wretched American suburbs. The most notable feature about the Haitian cabin is its invariable cleanliness. At daylight the country people are up and 28 about, the women begin their sweeping till the earthen or pebble-paved floor of the cabin is clean as can be. Then the yards around the cabin are vigorously attacked. In fact, nowhere in the country districts of Haiti does one find the filth and squalor which may be seen in any backwoods town in our own South. Cleanli ness is a habit and a dirty . Haiti an is a rare except ion. ^The garments even of the men who work on the wharves, mended and patched until little of the original cloth is visible, give evidence of periodical washing. . The writer recalls a remark made by Mr. E. P. Pawley, an American, who conducts one of the largest busi- ness enterprises in Haiti. He said that the Haitians were j an exceptionally clean people, that statistics showed that | Haiti imported more soap per caipita than any country in \ the world, and added, "They use it, too." Three of the largest soap manufactories in the United States maintain headquarters at Port-au-Prince. The masses of the Haitian people are splendid material for the building of a nation. They are not lazy; on the contrary, they are industrious and thriftyT^Some^bservers U * ") mistakenly confoun d primitive methods with indolen ce.- Anyone"wlKrtravels Haitian roads is struck by the hundreds and even thousands of women, boys, and girls filing along mile after mile with their farm and garden produce on their heads or loaded on the backs of animals. With modem facilities, they could market their produce much more eflfi- ciently and with far less effort. But lacking them they are willing to walk and carry. For a woman to walk five to ten miles with a great load of produce on her head which may barely realize her a dollar is doubtless primitive, and a wasteful expenditure of energy, but it is not a sign of laziness. Haiti's great handicap has been not that her masses are degraded or lazy or immoral. I$isthatjhey3re_ ignorantj_duejotj£^uch to_me^ntalJm to eSi Jorcedjlliteracy^ lEhere is_a specific re ason for this. So me- .hoJE-liie-Frenchr language, Jn.the^French- American colonial settlements containing a Negro population, divided itself int^ Two braiiclLea»._3Fr65£^ ^^^ Creole. This is true ol Tiouisiana, Martinique, Guadelouper"and also of Haiti. Creole is an Africanized French and must not be thought of as a mere dialect. The French-speaking person cannot un- derstand Creole, excepting a few words, unless he learns it. 29 Creole is a distinct tongue, a graphic and very expressive language. Many of its constructions follow closely the African idioms. For example, in forming the superlative of greatness, one says in Creole, "He is great among great men," and a merchant woman, following the native idiom, will say, "You do not wish anything beautiful if you do not buy this." The upper Haitian class, approximately 500,000, speak and know French, while the masses, prob- ably more than 2,000,000 speak only Creole. Haitian Creole is grammatically constructed, but has not to any general extent been reduced to writing. Therefore, these masses have no means of receiving or communicating thoughts through the written word. They have no books to read. They cannot read the newspapers. The children of the masses study French for a few years in school, but it never becomes their every-day language. In order to abolish Haitian illiteracy, Creole must be made a printed as well as a spoken language. The failure to undertake this problem is the worst indictment against the Haitian Government. This matter of language proves a handicap to Haiti in another manner. It isolates her from her sister republics. All of the Latin-American republics except Brazil speak Spanish and enjoy an intercourse with the outside world denied Haiti. Dramatic and musical companies from Spain, ■'^rom Mexico and from the Argentine annually tour all of the Spanish-speaking republics. Haiti is deprived of all such instruction and entertainment from the outside world because it is not profitable for French companies to visit the three or four French-speaking islands in the Western Hemisphere. Much stress has been laid on the bloody history of Haiti and its numerous revolutions. Haitian history has been all too bloody, but so has that of every other country, and the bloodiness of the Haitian revolutions has of late been unduly magniiied. A writer might visit our own country and clip from our daily press accounts of murders, robberies on the principal streets of our larger cities, strike violence, race riots, lynchings, and burnings at the stake of human beings, and write a book to prove that life is absolutely unsafe in the United States. The seriousness of the fre- quent Latin-American revolutions has been greatly over- emphasized. The writer has been in the midst of three of 30 these revolutions and must confess that the treatment given them on our comic opera stage is very little farther removed from the truth than the treatment which is given in the daily newspapers. Not nearly so bloody as reported, their interference with people not in politics is almost negligible. Nor should it be forgotten that in almost every instance the revolution is due to the plotting of foreigners backed up by their Governments. No less an authority than Mr. John H. Allen, vice-president of the National City Bank of New York, writing on Haiti in the May number of The Americas, the National City Bank organ, who says, "It is no secret that the revolutions were financed by foreigners and were profitable speculations." In this matter of change of government by revolution, Haiti must not be compared with the United States or with England; it must be compared with other Latin American republics. When it is compared with our next door neigh- bor, Mexico, it will be found that the Government of Haiti has been more stable and that the country has experienced less bloodshed and anarchy. And it must never be forgot- ten that throughout not an American or other foreigner has been killed, injured or, as far as can be ascertained, even molested. In Haiti's 116 years of independence, there have been twenty-five presidents and twenty-five different ad- ministrations. In Mexico, during its 99 years of indepen- dence, there have been forty-seven rulers and eighty-seven administrations. "Graft" has been plentiful, shocking at times, but who in America, where the Tammany machines and the municipal rings are notorious, will dare to point the finger of scorn at Haiti in this connection. And this is the people whose "inferiority," whose "retro- gression," whose "savagery," is advanced as a justification for intervention — for the ruthless slaughter of three thou- sand of its practically defenseless sons, with the death of a score of our own boys, for the utterly selfish exploitation of the country by American big finance, for the destruction of America's most precious heritage — her traditional fair play, her sense of justice, her aid to the oppressed. "In- feriority" always was the excuse of ruthless imperialism until the Germans invaded Belgium, when it became "mili- tary necessity." In the case of Haiti there is not the slight- est vestige of any of the traditional justifications, unwar- 31 ranted as these generally are, and no amount of misrep- resentation in an era when propaganda and censorship have had their heyday, no amount of slander, even in a country deeply prejudiced where color is involved, will longer serve to obscure to the conscience of America the eternal shame of its last five years in Haiti. Fiat justitia, ruat coelum! From The Nation of September S5, x^zo. Documents The following are from The Nation of August 28, 1920 The Proposed Convention with Haiti THE Fuller Convention, submitted to the Haitian Minis- ter of Foreign Affairs on May 22, 1915, by Mr. Paul Fuller, Jr., Envoy Extraordinary of the United States to Haiti, read as follows, the preliminary and concluding para- graphs being omitted: 1. The Government of the United States of America will pro- tect the Republic of Haiti from outside attack and from the ag- gression of any foreign Power, and to that end will employ such forces of the army and navy of the United States as may be necessary. 2. The Government of the United States of America will aid the Government of Haiti to suppress insurrection from within and will give effective support by the employment of the armed forces of the United States army and navy to the extent needed. 3. The President of the Republic of Haiti covenants that no rights, privileges, or facilities of any description whatsoever will be granted, sold, leased, or otherwise accorded directly or indirectly by the Government of Haiti concerning the occupation or use of the Mole Saint-Nicolas to any foreign government or to a national or the nationals of any other foreign government. 4. The President of the Republic of Haiti covenants that within six months from the signing of this convention, the Gov- ernment will enter into an arbitration agreement for the settle- ment of such claims as American citizens or other foreigners may have against 'the Government of Haiti, such arbitration agreement to provide for the equal treatment of all foreigners to the end that the people of Haiti may have the benefit of com- petition between the nationals of all countries. 32 The Haitian Counter-Project THE counter-project of the Haitian Government, of June 4, 1915, with such of the modifications suggested by Mr. Fuller as the Haitian Government was willing to accept, read as follows: I. The Government of the United States of America will lend its assistance to the Republic of Haiti for the preservation of its independence. For that purpose it agrees to intervene to pre- vent the intrusion of any Power and to repulse any act of aggression against the Republic of Haiti. To that end it will employ such forces of the army and navy of the United States as may be necessary. II. The Government of the United States will facilitate the entry into Haiti of sufficient capital to assure the full economic development of that country, and to improve, within the imme- diate future, its financial situation, especially to bring about the unification of its debt in such fashion as to reduce the cus- toms guaranties now required, and to lead to a fundamental money reform. In order to give such capital all desirable guaranties the Government of Haiti agrees to employ in the customs service only officials whose ability and character are well known, and to replace those who in practice are found not to fill these con- ditions. The Government of Haiti will also assure the protection of capital and in general of all foreign interests by the organiza- tion of a mounted rural constabulary trained in the most mod- ern methods. In the meantime if it be necessary the Government of the United States, after consultation with the Government of Haiti, will give its aid in the repression of serious disorders or trou- bles which might compromise these foreign interests. The American forces which have in the given circumstances cooperated with the Haitian troops in the restoration of order, should be retired from Haitian territory at the first request of the constitutional authority. III. The President of the Republic of Haiti covenants that no rights, privileges, or facilities of any description whatsoever will be granted, sold, leased, or otherwise accorded directly or indirectly by the Government of Haiti concerning the occupation or use of the Mole Saint-Nicolas to any foreign government or to a national or the nationals of any other foreign government. IV. The President of the Republic of Haiti covenants within six months of the signing of this convention to sign a convention of arbitration with the Powers concerned for the 33 settlement of the diplomatic claims pending, which arbitration convention will provide for the equal treatment of all claimants, no special privileges being granted to any of them. V. In case of difficulties regarding the interpretation of the clauses of the present convention, the high contracting parties agree to submit the difference to the Permanent Court of Arbi- tration at The Hague. Mr. Fuller had suggested a further modification which the Haitian Government refused. It changed the final para- graph of Article II to read: "The American forces which have in the given circumstance cooperated with the Haitian troops, shall, when order has been reestablished, be retired," etc. His other suggestions were accepted with unimpor- tant verbal changes. The Haitian-United States Convention THE convention between the United States and Haiti was ratified on September 16, 1915, after the occupa- tion of the country by American troops. In its final form it is in interesting contrast with the suggested agreements printed above. The United States and the Republic of Haiti, desiring to confirm and strengthen the amity existing between them by the most cordial cooperation in measures for their common advantage, and the Republic of Haiti desiring to remedy the present condition of its revenues and finances, to maintain the tranquillity of the Republic, to carry out plans for the economic development and prosperity of the Republic and its people, and the United States being in full sympathy with all of these aims and objects and desiring to contribute in all proper ways to their accomplishment; The United States and the Republic of Haiti have resolved to conclude a convention with these objects in view, and have appointed for that purpose plenipotentiaries: The President of the Republic of Haiti, Mr. Louis Borno, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Public Instruction, The President of the United States, Mr. Robert Beale Davis, Jr., Charge d'Affaires of the United States of America; Who, having exhibited to each other their respective powers, which are seen to be full in good and true form, have agreed as follows: Article I. The Government of the United States will, by its good ofiices, aid the Haitian Government in the proper and 34 efficient development of its agricultural, mineral, and com- mercial resources and in the establishment of the finances of Haiti on a firm and solid basis. Article II. The President of Haiti shall appoint, upon nomination by the President of the United States, a General Receiver and such aids and employees as may be necessary, who shall collect, receive, and apply all customs duties on imports and exports accruing at the several customs-houses and ports of entry of the Republic of Haiti. The President of Haiti shall appoint, upon nomination by the President of the United States, a Financial Adviser who shall be an officer attached to the Ministry of Finance, to give effect to whose proposals and labors the Minister will lend efficient aid. The Financial Adviser shall devise an adequate system of public accounting, aid in increasing the revenues and adjusting them to the expenses, inquire into the validity of the debts of the Republic, enlighten both governments with reference to all eventual debts, recommend improved methods of collecting and applying the revenues, and make such other recommendations to the Minister of Finance as may be deemed necessary for the welfare and prosperity of Haiti. Article III. The Government of the Republic of Haiti will provide by law or appropriate decrees for the payment of all customs duties to the General Receiver, and will extend to the Receivership, and to the Financial Adviser, all needful aid and full protection in the execution of the powers conferred and duties imposed herein; and the United States on its part will extend like aid and protection. Article IV. Upon the appointment of the Financial Ad- viser, the Government of the Republic of Haiti in cooperation with the Financial Adviser, shall collate, classify, arrange, and make full statement of all the debts of the Republic, the amounts, character, maturity, and condition thereof, and the interest accruing and the sinking fund requisite to their final discharge. Article V. All sums collected and received by the General Receiver shall be applied, first to the pajrment of the salaries and allowances nf the General Receiver, his assistants, and em- ployees and expenses of the Receivership, including the salary and expenses of the Financial Adviser, which salaries will be determined by the previous agreement; second, to the interest and sinking fund of the public debt of the Republic of Haiti; and third, to the maintenance of the constabulary referred to in Article X, and then the remainder to the Haitian Govern- ment for the purposes of current expenses. In making these applications the General Receiver will pro- ceed to pay salaries and allowances monthly and expenses as 35 they arise, and on the first of each calendar month will set aside in a separate fund the quantum of the collections and receipts of the previous month. Article VI. The expenses of the Receivership, including salaries and allowances of the General Receiver, his assistants, and employees, and the salary and expenses of the Financial Adviser, shall not exceed 5 per cent of the collections and re- ceipts from customs duties, unless by agreement by the two governments. Article VII. The General Receiver shall make monthly reports of all collections, receipts, and disbursements to the appropriate officers of the Republic of Haiti and to the Depart- ment of State of the United States, which reports shall be open to inspection and verification at all times by the appropriate authorities of each of the said governments. Article VIII. The Republic of Haiti shall not increase its public debt, except by previous agreement with the President of the United States, and shall not contract any debt or assume any financial obligation unless the ordinary revenues of the Republic available for that purpose, after defraying the ex- penses of the Government, shall be adequate to pay the interest and provide a sinking fund for the final discharge of such debt. Article IX. The Republic of Haiti will not, without the assent of the President of the United States, modify the customs duties in a manner to reduce the revenues therefrom; and in order that the revenues of the Republic may be adequate to meet the public debt and the expenses of the Government, to preserve tranquillity, and to promote material prosperity, the Republic of Haiti will cooperate with the Financial Adviser in his recommendations for- improvement in the methods of collect- ing and disbursing the revenues and for new sources of needed income. Article X. The Haitian Government obligates itself, for the preservation of domestic peace, the security of individual rights, and the full observance of the provisions of this treaty, to create without delay an efficient constabulary, urban and rural, composed of native Haitians. This constabulary shall be organized and officered by Americans appointed by the President of Haiti, upon nomination by the President of the United States. The Haitian Government shall clothe these officers with the proper and necessary authority and uphold them in the _per- formance of their functions. These officers will be replaced by Haitians as they, by examination conducted under direction of a board to be selected by the senior American officer of this con- stabulary in the presence of a representative of the Haitian Government, are found to be qualified to assume such duties. 36 The constabulary herein provided for shall, under the direction of the Haitian Government, have supervision and control of arms and ammunition, military supplies and traffic therein, throughout the country. The high contracting parties agree that the stipulations in this article are necessary to prevent factional strife and disturbances. Article XI. The Governmei>+. of Haiti agrees not to sur- render any of the territory of v^ie Republic of Haiti by sale, lease, or otherwise, or jurisdiction over such territory, to any foreign government or Power, nor to enter into any treaty or contract with any foreign Power or Powers that will impair or tend to impair the independence of Haiti. Article XII. The Haitian Government agrees to execute with the United States a protocol for the settlement, by arbitra- tion or otherwise, of all pending pecuniary claims of foreig:n corporations, companies, citizens, or subjects against Haiti. Article XIII. The Republic of Haiti, being desirous to further the development of its natural resources, agrees to un- dertake and execute such measures as, in the opinion of the high contracting parties, may be necessary for the sanitation and public improvement of the Republic under the supervision and direction of an engineer or engineers, to be appointed by the President of Haiti upon nomination of the President of the United States, and authorized for that purpose by the Govern- ment of Haiti. Article XIV. The high contracting parties shall have authority to take such steps as may be necessary to insure the complete atti.inment of any of the objects comprehended in this treaty; and should the necessity occur, the United States will lend an efficient aid for the preservation of Haitian independ- ence and the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty. Article XV. The present treaty shall be approved and ratified by the high contracting parties in conformity with their respective laws, and the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged in the City of Washington as soon as may be possible. Article XVI. The present treaty shall remain in full fores and virtue for the term of ten years, to be counted from the day of exchange of ratifications, and further for another term of ten years if, for specific reasons presented by either of the high contracting parties, the purpose of this treaty has not been fully accomplished. In faith whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention in duplicate, in the English and French languages, and have thereunto affixed their seals. 37 Done at Port-au-Prince (Haiti), the 16th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifteen. Robert Beale Davis, Jr., Charge d'Affaires of the United States Louis Borno, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Public Instruction The New Constitution of Haiti THE new Constitution of the Republic of Haiti, ratified under the American Occupation, altered the former Constitution in regard to the important subject of the right of foreigners to hold land. Article 6 of the old Constitution reads : No one, unless he is a Haitian, may be a holder of land in Haiti, regardless of what his title may be, nor acquire any real estate. Article 5 of the Constitution of 1918 makes the following provision : The right to hold property is given to foreigners residing in Haiti, and to societies formed by foreigners, for dwelling pur- poses and for agricultural, commercial, industrial, or educa- tional enterprises. This right shall be discontinued five years after the foreigner shall have ceased to reside in the country, or when the activities of these companies shall have ceased. The Haitian President's Proclamation IN the Moniteur, official organ of the Republic of Haiti, for September 4, 1915, in a column headed "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," the president of Haiti published a proclamation on the situation arising from the occupation by American troops of the customs-house at Port-au-Prince. Haitians! At the very moment when the Government, en- gaged in negotiations to settle the question of the presence of American military forces on Haitian territory, was looking for- ward to a prompt solution in accordance with law and justice, it finds itself faced with the simple seizure of possession of the customs administration of the capital. ifreviously the customs-houses of several other cities of the republic had been occupied in like fashion, and whenever the news of such occupation reached the IsTational Palace or the Department of Finances, it was followed by an energetic pro- 38 test, demanding that the diplomatic representative of the Amer- ican Government residing at Port-au-Prince restore the cus- toms-houses and put an end to acts so contrary to the relations at present existing between the Government of Haiti and the Government of the United States of North America. Haitians! In bringing these facts officially to the attention of the country, I owe it to myself to declare further, in the most formal fashion, to you and to the entire civilized world, that the order to carry out these acts so destructive of the interests, rights, and sovereignty of the Haitian people is not due to any- thing which can be cited against the patriotism, devotion, spirit of sacrifice, and loyalty of those to whom the destinies of the country have been intrusted. You are the judges of that. Nor will I conceal the fact that my astonishment is greater because the negotiations, which had been undertaken in the hope of an agreement upon the basis of propositions presented by the American Government itself, after having passed through the ordinary phases of diplomatic discussion, with frankness and courtesy on both sides, have now been relieved of the only ob- stacles which had hitherto appeared to stand in their way. Haitians! In this agonizing situation, more than tragic for every truly Haitian soul, the Government, which intends to preserve full national sovereignty, will be able to maintain the necessary resolution only if all are united in exercising their intelligence and energy with it in the present task of saving the nation. . . . SUDKB DaRTIGUBNAVE Given at the National Palace, September 2, 1915, in the 112th year of our independence. The following are from The Nation of Septeriiber 11, 1920 Why Haiti Has No Budget AT the session of the Haitian National Assembly on August 4, the President of the Republic of Haiti and the Haitian Minister of Finance laid before that body the course of the American Financial Adviser which had made it Impossible to submit to the Assembly accounts and budgets in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti and the Haiti-American Convention. The statement which follows is taken from the official Haitian gazette, the Moniteur of August 7. Message op the President Gentlemen of the Council of State : On account of unforeseen circumstances it has not been possible for the Government of 39 the Republic to present to you in the course of the session of your high assembly which closes today (August 4) the general accounts of the receipts and expenditures for 1918-1919 and the budget for 1920-1921, in accordance with the Constitution. It is certainly an exceptional case, the gravity of which will not escape you. You will learn the full details from the report which the Secretary of Finance and Commerce will submit to you, in which it will be shown that the responsibility for it does not fall on the Executive Power. . . . In the life of every people there come moments when it must know how to be resigned and to suffer. Are we facing one of those moments? The attitude of the Haitian people, calm and dignified, persuades me that, marching closely with the Gov- ernment of the Republic, there is no suffering which it is not disposed to undergo to safeguard and secure the triumph of its rights. Dartiguenave Report op the Secretary op Finance and Commerce Gentlemen of the Council of State: Article 116 of the Con- stitution prescribes in its first paragraph: "The general ac- counts and the budgets prescribed by the preceding article must be submitted to the legislative body by the Secretary of Finance not later than eight days after the opening of the legislative session." And Article 2 of the American-Haitian Convention of Sep- tember 16, 1915, stipulates in its second paragraph : "The Presi- dent of Haiti shall appoint, on the nomination of the President of the United States, a Financial Adviser, who shall be a civil servant attached to the Ministry of Finance, to whom the Secre- tary shall lend effective aid in the prosecution of his work. The Financial Adviser shall work out a system of public ac- counting, shall aid in increasing the revenues and in their adjustment to expenditures. . . . Since February of this year (1920) the secretaries of the various departments, in order to conform to the letter of Article 116 of the Constitution, and to assure continuity of public ser- vice in the matter of receipts and expenditures, set to work at the preparation of the budgets for their departments for 1920-21. By a dispatch dated March 22, 1920, the Department of Finance sent the draft budgets to Mr. A. J. Maumus, Acting Financial Adviser, for preliminary study by .that official. But the Acting Adviser replied to the Department by a letter, of March 29: "I suggest that, in view of the early return of Mr. John Mcllhenny, the Financial Adviser, measures be taken to postpone all discussion regarding the said draft budgets be- 40 tween the different departments and the Office [of the Financial Adviser] to permit him to take part in the discussions." Nevertheless, the regular session was opened on the consti- tutional date, Monday, April 5, 1920. Mr. John Mcllhenny, the titular Financial Adviser, absent in the United States since October, 1919, on a financial mission for the Government, pro- longed his stay in America, detained no doubt by the insur- mountable difficulties in the accomplishment of his mission (the placing of a Haitian loan on the New York market). Since on the one hand the Adviser could not overcome these difficul- ties, and on the other hand his presence at Port-au-Prince was absolutely necessary for the preparation of the budget in con- formity with the Constitution and the Haitian-American Con- vention, the Government deemed it essential to ask him to re- turn to Port-au-Prince for that purpose. The Government in so doing secured the good offices of the American Legation, and Mr. Mcllhenny returned from the United States about the first of June. The Legislature had already been in session almost two months. About June 15 the Adviser began the study of the budget with the secretaries. The conferences lasted about twelve days, and in that time, after courteous discussions, after some cuts, modifications, and additions, plans for the following budgets were agreed upon: 1. Ways and Means 2. Foreign Relations 3. Finance and Commerce 4. Interior On Monday, July 12, at 3.30, the hour agreed upon between the ministers and the Adviser, the ministers met to continue the study of the budget which they wanted to finish quickly . . . Between 4 and 4:30 the Secretary of Finance received a letter from the Adviser which reads as follows: "I find myself obliged to stop all study of the budget until certain affairs of considerable importance for the welfare of the country shall have been finally settled according to the recom- mendations made by me to the Haitian Government. "Please accept, Mr. Secretary, the assurance of my highest consideration, John McIlhenny" Such an unanticipated and unjustifiable decision on the part of Mr. Mcllhenny, an official attached to the Ministry of Finance, caused the whole Government profound surprise and warranted dissatisfaction. . . . On July 13 the Department of Finance replied to the Finan- cial Adviser as follows: "I beg to acknowledge your letter of July 12, in which you say, 'I find myself obliged, etc. . . .' 41 "In taking note of this declaration, the importance and gravity of which certainly cannot escape you, I can only regret in the name of the Government : "1. That you omitted to tell me with the precision which such an emergency demands what are the affairs of an importance so considerable for the welfare of the country and the settle- ment of which, according to the recommendations made by you, is of such great moment that you can subordinate to that set- tlement the continuation of the work on the budget? "2. That you have taken such a serious step without consid- ering that in so doing you have divested yourself of one of the essential functions which devolves upon you as Financial Ad- viser attached to the Department of Finance. "The preparation of the budget of the state constitutes one of the principal obligations of those intrusted with it by law, because the very life of the nation depends upon its elabora- tion. The Legislature has been in session since April 5 last. By the Constitution the draft budgets and the general accounts should be submitted to the legislative body within eight days after the opening of the session, that is to say by April 13. The draft budgets were sent to your office on March 22. "By reason of your absence from the country, the examina- tion of these drafts was postponed, the actin,T Financial Ad- viser not being willing to shoulder the responsibility; we refer you to his letters of March 29 and of April 17 and 24. Finally . . . you came back to Port-au-Prince, and after some two weeks, you began with the secretaries to study the draft budgets. "The Government therefore experiences a very disagreeable surprise on reading your letter of July 12. It becomes my duty to inform you of that disagreeable surprise, to formulate the legal reservations in the case, and to inform you finally that you bear the sole responsibility for the failure to present the budget in due time. "Fleuey Fequiere, Secretary of Finance" On July 19, Mr. Bailly-Blanchard, the American Minister, placed in the hands of the President of the Republic a memo- randum emanating from Mr. Mcllhenny, in which the latter formulates against the Government complaints sufficient, ac- cording to him, to explain and justify the discontinuance of the preparation of the budget, announced in his letter of July 12. Memorandum of Mr. Mcllhenny I had instructions from the Department of State of the United States just before my departure for Haiti, in a passage of a letter of May 20, to declare to the Haitian Government that it was necessary to give its immediate and formal approval: 42 1. To a modification of the Bank Contract agreed upon by the Department of State and the National City Bank of New York. 2. To the transfer of the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti to a new bank registered under the laws of Haiti to be known as the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti. 3. To the execution of Article 16 of the Contract of With- drawal, prohibiting the importation and exportation of non- Haitian money, except that which might be necessary for the needs of commerce in the opinion of the Financial Adviser. 4. To the immediate vote of a territorial law which has been submitted to the Department of State of the United States and which has its approval. On my arrival in Haiti I visited the President with the Ameri- can Minister and learned that the modifications of the bank con- tract and the transfer of the bank had been agreed to and the only reason why the measure had not been made oflicial was because the National City Bank and the National Bank of Haiti had not yet presented to the Government their full powers. He declared that the Government did not agree to the publication of a decree executing the Contract of Withdrawal because it did not consider that the economic condition of the country justified it at that time. To which I replied that the Government of the United States expected the execution of Article 15 of the Con- tract of Withdrawal as a direct and solemn engagement of the Haitian Government, to which it was a party, and I had in- structions to insist upon its being put ' into execution at once. . . . The Counter Memoir To this memorandum the Executive Authority replied by a counter memoir which read in part as follows: "The modifications proposed by the Department of State [of the United States] to the bank contract, studied by the Haitian Government, gave rise to counter propositions on the part of the latter, which the Department of State would not accept. The Haitian (Jovernment then accepted these modifica- tions in nine articles in the form in which they had been con- cluded and signed at Washington, on Friday, February 6, 1920, by the Financial Adviser, the Haitian Minister, and the [Haitian] Secretary of Finance. But when Messrs. Scarpa and Williams, representing respectively and oflRcially the National Bank of Haiti and the National City Bank of New York, came before the Secretary of Finance for his signature to the papers relative to the transfer of the National Bank of Haiti to the National City Bank of New York, the Secretary of Finance experienced a disagreeable surprise in finding out that to Ar- ticle 9 of *^® document signed at Washington, February 6, 1920 aiid closed as stated above, there had been added an 43 amendment bearing on the prohibition of non-Haitian money. The Secretary could only decline the responsibility of this added paragraph of which he had not the slightest knowledge and which consequently had not been submitted to the Government for its agreement. It is for this reason alone that the agree- ment is not signed up to this time The Government does not even yet know who was the author of this addition to the document to which its consent had never been asked." Today, gentlemen, you have come to the end of the regular session for this year. Four months have run by without the Government being able to present to you the budget for 1920- 1921. . . . Such are the facts, in brief, that have marked our relations recently with Mr. Mcllhenny. . . . Fleury Fequiere, Secretary of Finance The Businessmen's Protest THE protest printed below, against Article 15 of the Con- tract of Withdrawal, was sent to the Haitian Secretary of Finance on July 30. The undersigned bankers, merchants, and representatives of the various branches of the financial and commercial activities in Haiti have the honor to submit to the high appreciation of the Secretary of State for Finance the following consideration: They have been advised from certain sources that pressing recommendations have been made to the Government of Haiti. 1. That a law be immediately voted by which would be pro- hibited the importation or exportation of all money not Haitian, except that quantity of foreign money which, in the opinion of the Financial Adviser, would be sufBcient for the needs of com- merce. 2. That in the charter of the Banque Nationale de la Re- publique d'Haiti there be inserted an article giving power to the Financial Adviser together with the Banque Nationale de la Republique d'Haiti to take all measures concerning the importa- tion or exportation of non-Haitian monies. The undersigned declare that the adoption of such a measure, under whatever form it may be, would be of a nature generally contrary to the collective interests of the Haitian people and the industry of Haiti. It would be dangerous to substitute the will of a single man, however eminent he might be, however honorable, however infallible, for a natural law which regulates the movements of the monetary circulation in a country. It would be more dangerous yet to introduce in the contract of the Banque Nationale de la Republique d'Haiti a clause which would assure this establishment a sort of monopoly in the foreign money market, which constitutes the principal base of 44 the operations of high commerce, when it has already the ex- clusive privilege of emission of bank notes. Such a clause would Make of all other bankers and merchants its humble tributaries, obeying its law and its caprices. . . . (Signed) The Royal Bank of Canada; American Foreign Banking Corporation; Haitian American Sugar Co.; Raporel S.S. Line; P. C. S.; Electric Light Co.; Panama Line; Ed. esteve & Co.; Clyde Line; Comptoir Commercial; Gebara & Co.; Alfred Vieux; V. G. Makhlouf; N. Silvera; Simmonds Freres; Roberts, Button & Co.; West Indies Trad- ing Co.; J. Fadoul & Co.; R. Brouard; A. de Matteis & Co.; J. M. Richardson & Co.; Comptoir Francais; H. Dereix; E. Eobelin; F. Cheriez; I. J. BiGio, and Geo. H. MacFadden. "By Order of the American Minister" CORKESPONDENCE regarding the refusal of the Financial Adviser of Haiti, an American, but an oflScial of the Haitian Department of Finance, to pay the salaries for the month of July, 1920, of the President and certain other oflBcials of the Haitian Republic, revealing that the action was taken by order of the American Minister to Haiti, without explanation and without authority in the Haitian Constitution or in the Haiti-American Convention, was printed in the Moniteur for August 14. I. Port-au-Prince, August 2, 1920. Me. a. J. Maumus, Receiver General of Customs In accordance with the suggestion made to the Financial Adviser on July 24, your office began on the morning of July 30 to pay the salaries for that month to the oflEicials and public employees at Port-au-Prince. Nevertheless up to this morning, August 2, no checks have been delivered to His Excellency the President of the Republic, the secretaries of the various departments, the state councilors, and the palace interpreter. In calling your attention to this fact I ask that you will please inform me of the reasons for it. Fleury Fequiere, Secretary of Finance. II. Port-au-Prince, August 2, 1920. To the Secretary of Finance and Commerce I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of August 2 in which you ask this office to inform you regarding the reasons for the non-delivery, up to the present time, of the checks for His Excellency the President of the Republic, for 45 the departmental secretaries, the state councilors, and the palace interpreter, for the month of July. In reply this office hastens to inform you that up to the pres- ent time it has not been put in possession of the mandates and orders regarding these pasmients. A. J. Maumus, Receiver General. III. Port-au-Prince, August 2, 1920. To THE Financial Adviser The Department of Finance, informed that checks for His Excellency the President of the Republic, the departmental secretaries, the state councilors, and the palace interpreter had not been delivered up to this morning, August 2, reported the fact to the Receiver General of Customs asking to be informed regarding the reasons. The Receiver General replied immedi- ately that the delay was due to his failure to receive the neces- sary mandates and orders. But these papers were sent to you by the Department of Finance on July 21, and were returned by the payment service of the Department of the Interior on July 26, a week ago. I inclose copies of the note from the Department of Finance to the Receiver General, and of Mr. Maumus's reply. I should like to believe that bringing this matter to your attention would be sufficient to remedy it. Pleury Fequiere, Secretary of Finance. IV. Port-au-Prince, August 5, 1920. To the Secretary of Finance and Commerce I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of August 2, regarding the delay in payment of the salaries of tlie President of the Republic, secretaries, and state councilors. In reply I have the honor to inform you that the payment of these salaries has been suspended by order of the American Minister until further orders are received from him. J. McIlhenny, Financial Adviser. V. Port-au-Prince, August 10, 1920. To the Financial Adviser I acknowledge receipt of your note of August 5 in reply to mine of August 2 asking information regarding the reasons for your non-payment of the salaries for last July due to His Excellency the President of the Republic, the secretaries, and state councilors, and the palace interpreter. I note the second paragraph of your letter, in which you say, "In reply, etc." I do not know by what authority the American Minister can have given you such instructions or by what authority you 46 acquiesced. Thp non-payment of the salaries due the members of the Government constitutes a confiscation vexatious for them and for the entire country. It is not the function of this de- partment to judge the motives which led the American Minister to take so exceptionally serious a step; but it is the opinion of the Government that the Financial Adviser, a Haitian official, was not authorized to acquiesce. Fleury Fequiere, Secretary of Finance. VI. Port-au-Pkince, August 5, 1920. Mr. a. Bailly-Blanchard, American Minister I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that the offices of the Financial Adviser and of the Receiver General have not yet delivered the checks for the July salaries of His Excellency the President of the Republic, of the secretaries, state council- ors, and palace interpreter, although all other officials were paid on July 30. The Secretary of Finance wrote to the Receiver General ask- ing information on the subject, and was informed that he had not received the necessary mandates and orders. The fact of the non-delivery of the checks and the reply of the Receiver General were then brought to the attention of the Financial Adviser, who has not yet replied. In informing your Legation of this situation, I call the atten- tion of Your Excellency to this new attitude of the Financial Adviser, a Haitian official, to the President of the Republic and the other members of the Government, an attitude which is an insult to the entire nation. J. Barau, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. VII. Port-au-Prince, August 6, 1920. Mh. A. Bailly-Blanchard, American Minister I have the honor to inclose a copy of a note from the Financial Adviser to the Secretary of Finance, replying to a request for information regarding the non-payment of checks. . In his reply the Financial Adviser informs the Department of Finance that "the payment of these salaries has been sus- pended by order of the American Minister until further orders are received from him." My Government protests against this act of violence which is an attack upon the dignity of the people and Government of Haiti. J. Barau, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. VIII. Port-au-Prince, August 6, 1920. jlj, J. Barau, Secretary of Foreign Affairs I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excel- lency's note under date of August 5. 47 In reply I have to state that the action of the Financial Adviser therein referred to was taken by direction of this Legation. A. Bailly-Blanchabd, American Minister. IX. Port-au-Pkince, August 7, 1920. Mk. a. Bailly-Blanchard, American Minister In reply to my letter of August 5 in which I had the honor to inform Your Excellency of the non-payment of checks, . . . Your Excellency informs me that it is by direction of the Legation of the United State? that the Financial Adviser acted. My Government takes note of your declaration. J. Barau, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The Concession of the National City Bank SIMULTANEOUSLY with the non-payment of the July salaries of the President and other officials of the Haitian Repunlic, the Haitian Minister of Finance received from the Financial Adviser, an American, nominally a Haitian official, but acting under instructions from the American Government, the following letter urging imme- diate ratification of a modified form of agreement between the United States Department of State and the National City Bank of New York. It was vsddely assumed in Haiti that this letter supplied the key to the unexplained non- payment of salaries, ordered by Mr. A. Bailly-Blanchard, the American Minister. The letter was printed in the Moniteur for August 14. Port-au-Prince, August 2, 1920 To THE Secretary of Finance I have the honor to inform you that I have been instructed by my Government that in view of the continual delay in obtain- ing the consent of the Haitian Government to the transfer to the new bank of the modified concession as agreed upon between the Government of the United States and the National City Bank, the Government of the United States has agreed to let the operations of the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti con- tinue indefinitely on the French contract at present existing, without amendment. I desire urgently to draw your attention to the fact that it would bo most desirable in the interest of the Haitian people that the Government of Haiti should give its immediate con- sent to the proposed modifications of the contract and to accept the transfer of the bank rather than see the present contract continue with its present clauses. John McIlhenny, Financial Adviser 48 OL!N LIBRARY - CIRCULATION DATE DUE i^ janT ^"im^ ^n fr^ ■nil uew*-"'" ^**'^Sn^ e CAYLORD PRINTEDINU.S.A. 09006 n saiaoNV soi \iit\ AN '3snoms -3NI SOVa QUOIMS