New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1871-04-20
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1871.
SantO DOSnIngO-NO. 3.

In the letter published in last weeks paper,
my readers will remember that l presented q
somewhat gloomy picture Of the mental and
physical stsgnstion to be seen and felt in Santo
Domingo. They will also remember that very
briefly explained some of the causes aside from
the tropical character of the country, which,
In my opinion, have reduced the country to its
present low estate. Among the causes l men
toned slavery, as degrading labor and honoring
idleness absenteetsm, as squandering the re-
suits of labor in foreign lands which ought to
be employed at home in the interest Of civiliza-
ton; revolutions, (which have become chronic, }
a. destroying all sense of security either for
persons or property, converting useful laborers
into consuming soldiers, aud what should be
the source of wealth of the country into a
destroyer; superstition, with its eyes ever
turned to the past and closed to the great
future, as lettering thought, arrestng inven-
ton, and rendering society unprogressive, and,
therefore, retrogressive. While these views are
Just and satisfactory to me, | can easily e that
some of the good people of Santo Domingo,
especially those of the more fortunate classes,
may think me a little less than just To any
such it is enough to say here, that write moth
ing from malice, and if bring out in strong
colors the deficiency 10 point of activity and
enterprise manifested in that otherwise rich and
beautiful country, it is from no want of gym
patty for her people, but because by telling
the simple truth l would rouse them to greater
exertions and higher achievements. Civilization
il living fact, and when it ceases TO live, it
ceases TO BE civilization. With society to
stand still, is to go backward. Man must either
conquer and convert natural forces to his use
or be conquered and converted by them. In a
land Of perpetual heat and moisture, like Santo
Domingo, these forces are wonderfully active
and effective. The fertility Of the soil, If left
without diligent and skillful industry, becomes
q source Of despair and wretchedness to the
people who occupy it, and makes what should
be garden Of flowers and fruit wilderness
Of briers and thorns.
1t is not strange that the people of Santo
Domingo do not see their own destitution, for
very few people do. What is obvious to others
is often concealed from them. Those who live
on the banks Of Niagara are not startled by its
rear. To be familiar with an object, good or
bad, 10 often TO be reconciled 10 1t. A pig in
the best room OF the house is no Ofense to
citizen OF Tipperary. The people of Port-aa-
Prince may possibly think their city a model
OF neatness, though in half an hours walk
through its streets they may have to jump over
. dozen stagnant pools Of green and putrid
water, and climb over cart loads of filth to enter
their market place. Man accommodates him
self not only to the inevitable, but to habit and
custom. Looking at Santo Domingo aud Hayti
not from within bat from without. from the vast
arena of civilization as developed and illus.
trated in the United States, the contrast is