The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-09-22
SHAM REPUBLICS.
South American Republics Arc Necessarily Cor
erned by a Dictator.

In his life OF Oliver Cromwell. Car.
lyle, contrasting the English Puritan
COMMONWEALTH. which was his Utopia
and one of the queerest that the wihim-
sicality of man has ever devised or
apotheosized, with the attempt OF the
irish at the same time 10 form a re-
| public OF their own, compares the Irish
to a monkey who initiated his owner in
shaving, and more than initiates that
what men may do monkeys may not. 1t
| was one of those strokes by which that
| great writer managed so to endear him.
self TO the unworldly queer imprac-
| ticable people TO whom by another won
| derful stroke of the irony of fate he
| himself personally belonged. But his
! bitter saying had nevertheless its point
Its point is to be seen, and felt, I'm the
assassination of Gen. Heureaux Pres
ident of the Republic" of San Dom
ingo. says the New York Times.
There is no question about that re-
public, though 1T occupies the more civ
ilized end OF the island from which Il
takes ITS name. Ii Is not "a Haiti OF
which We really do not, for the moment
recall whether ii is just now republie
or an empire, and Of which IL does not
much matter. A republic tempered
by assassination" seems to be a con-
tradction in terms. But though the
disparaging description OF the whole
collection OF Lat.n American republics
to the south of US. IL would not be too
strong characterization of the Afro
American republics in the West Indies.
The leading man" in one of these re-
publics il always and necessarily,
whether nominaliy or not, in fact. a
dictator. Ii must be SO. Napoleon's
cynical and untrue saying was''that
there are two levers for moving men;
interest and fear" IL is so incomplete
ly true that IL might as well be wholly
false. Religion. patriotism. unselfish
sentiments, are far more powerful tow
ard molding the world than these sell
fish sentiments. But when we consider
the BLACK Republic" OF Haiti, with it's
reversion TO voodooism, cannibalism, and
savagery: when we consider the COM
paratively civilized San Domingo. which
gets rid OF unpopular presidents by as
saSsination. when We consider the con-
ditlon OF most OF Spanish America Wa
have to own that If there was brutality
there was also force I'm Carlyle's sim
ilitude that not all OF the tribes OF men
are nj 20 govern themselves. that repub-
lican institutions be plants of slow
growth. Upon the whole i'm the West
Indies without doubt any European
rule. English rule. French rule, Dutch
rule. even Spanish rule. such as pre-
vailed before the beginning or this GEN.
tury. and still does TO some extent pre-
vail Il and would be better FOR the In
habi!ants than the following OF their
own ways by people among whom a
public opinion canrot be said as yet 10
exist
That seems To- be the immediate NOR
al offhe assassination of poor Heureaux
and OF the state Of san Domingo Ther
il an Interior moral for ourselves.
when our anti-imperialists talk about
sthe consent OF the governed talk
about the right of Luzon and cuba
and Porto Rico 60 govern themselves.
,lo they really think OF what they
are talking about? DO they real
ize that they are demanding
mat we should let these Islands re-
vert 10 the condition OF Iiaiti2 II ~ too
true that We have a hard ana costly :
lob before us. and that many and many
a good man. and many and many
thousand uuiiars must be i'acrifccd be-
fore Ne get ~ done. Hut how can any
sane man advocate our not keeping
these islands?