The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-11-11
.vuIneraDle. than upon his political ad
ivisers and supporters. 8

His methods Of disposing Of political
prisoners who fell into his hands were
sharp and businesslike, and many stories
are told of prisoners being shot by the
guard while trying to effect an es-
cape:" Of prisoners being poisoned IL
their cells; of others being shackled hand
and foot and at nighttime thrown over.
board from the decks Of his men-of-war,
and again Of others who have died foam:
Ing at the mouth from the effects OF
medicines" administered by the doctor
deputed to look after their health in the
dungeons OF eSanto Domingo city.
& some Of MS enemies have been known
to take wine at the invitation: OF mem
Der of Heureaux's body guard and to die
almost instantly; others have been MUIR
dered in the streets at night, and one
during carnival time was stabbed to the
heart with a dagger. the mask Of his as
sailant allowing him to get away sun-
noticed and undetected In Port-au-
Prince political exile was shot through
the heart by an unknown assailant, and
In Porto Rico a young Journalist whose
writings had become especially obnox-
ious to Ills, was stabbed in the street,
although not killed. Hundreds OF similar
cases can be cited as instances Of the
cruelty and despotism of Lilis, his enc
mics declare. If
The advisers Of Lilis were few, and
while he would attentively listen to any
suggestion his friends would make, he
generally used his own judgment and car
rled out his own plans and ideas with
out confiding the details of them to any
one. He was president of the country
and managed its interests in every de-
partment He ran congress to suit HIM
self. The supreme court of justice gave
its verd1cts in accordance with his pre-
viously expressed wishes, and so did the
local tribunals. He created a divorce law
in defiance of the clergy; he managed the
army and navy, and tempered with the
commercial interests Of the country, ruin
ing or, enriching a business house at his
pleasure or caprice; he was mixed up in
everything and monopolized or controlled
most things.
AS financier Lilis was a failure, and
his enormous expenditure soon increased
the public debt and hopelessly .entangled
him in the meshes of the currency ques-
ton. Finally he fell into the hands Of
an American syndicate that represented
the interests Of the holtGrs Of Dominican
bonds and that controlled the revenues
of the country through board of adnain-
istratfOn established in Santo Domingo.
1t IS an open secret that Lilis had much
power in these matters and that in spite
of well-defined arrangements and con-
tracts the custom houses produced for
Lilis himself and his satellites quite as
much as was produced for the benefit of
the bondholders. It Is generally believed
that the joint arrangement made between
the American syndicate and Lilis is the
cause of the bankrupt state of affairs of
the Dominican republic to-day The vice
president is reported to have said, when
Lilis complained to him about the rotten.
state of his finances: What the coun-
try wants Is more paper money. = - The re-
suit was that authorized issue of
81, OOO, 600, SO, GOO, 600 of paper was placed
In circulation andMnally became so much
| 49, a k11o
country by this new issue of paper was
indirectly the cause which took Lilfs to
Moca to meet his fate at the hands of
Roman Caceres. rs
Lilis' long tenure of Office was probably
due more to his heavy, Indebtedness than
to- the fear in which he was held by his
countrymen In every town of the re-.
public he had three agents, a commercial
man, a governor and a commanuanS- upon
whom he relied for everything. The bust
ness man provided the means and the
government men executed his orders Alp
were enabled to- enrich themselves
through a pre-arranged system Of job
berry and sfavoritfsn in the custom houses
or financial department. He would often
allow minister or a faVOrite to enrich
himself enormously at, the expense Of the
country, and would then borrow from
him little by little until he had obtained
his last cent. He could always find
whom he owed such enormous sums that
they were afraid to refuse him more for
fear of losing all, and were obliged to
support him to the utmost extent Of their
means and to risk their credits in finan-
cling him in moments of difficulty, for
which services they received per cent
and 21h per cent on their. capital monthly,
and recovered their money through pub
lie revenue. OF course all these support
ers of Lilis have now lost thousands and
thousands of dollars. and will lie lucky
If they can enter a claim on his perso 1al
estate and recover or 4 per cent.
During the administration of Lilis q
railway has been built from Puerto Pla-
ia to Santiago, couple of wharves and
O few public buildings have been erected,
three small men-of-war have been &C
quired the peace of the country has been
maintained, taxation has been more than
doubled and a national debt Of $50 OOO, 900
gold has been accumulated. To-day every
one is asking where the money can have
gone to, and to explain this 1t would
be we'll to recall the visit Of a French
man-of-war to Santo Domingo some
years back. The admiral having called
upon the president, Lilis told him in
the course Of conversation that the negro
race was the most tenacious In the world,
because, said he, a negro is like a. mon
key; when he once gets his hand closed
upon anything he will never let co.
Two months have not elapsed since Lilis
was shot, and to-day his political oppo-
hent, the head Of the Liberal party, is
in power, and this without having fired
a shot. From the landing Of Jimfnez
xinSPuerto Plata until his arrival at Santo
Domingo city his journey from town to
town has been triumphal march, and
the strong following that Lilis used to
boast so much of has melted away like
snow in the SUM- Ramon Caceres is to-
day the idol of the people. who consider
him not an assassin but patriot and a
political redeemer. The country is quiet
and it Is expected that under the adj
ministratfon of Jiminez it will enter upon
a new era of prosperity and reconstruc-
ton III