The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-16
Thorp. in Chicago Record.

William Thorlr in Chicago Record.
The black republics Of Heiu and
Santo Domingo, which together form
the ancient island Of Hispaniola. FAM
Gus IN the buccaueerng history of tn
West Indies, are very much to the
fore just now Haitis finances are in
an even worse muddie than usual. and
she wants to put them right BY bor-
rowing $4,000 600 from conddlng Amer
ican capitalists. May they b. lucky
enough to see the color Of their money
again if they decide to lend it,
Santo Domingo, aGitated by the as
sassination of President IIaureaux, is
already in the throes Of n revolution.
President Sans government in Haiti
is toterring to ruin. Unless NJ. sam
gets his $l0,000000 an insurrectiun will
| almost certainly break out. II he gets
! ii a revolution Is even more likely
for the excellent reason that other lead
ing politicians would like the handling
of such a tidy little sum. American
Intervention in the affairs Of both re-
publics seems likely in the near future,
and therefore a few amusing and true
stories about them may be interest
ing.
w '-ENl lN l'lNN lDl' MI hRMIs
Before President Sam took over the
reins Of government in Haiti President
llippolyte ruled. lie mad a good many
enemies. Some he shot. others nc i'm
prisoned. and others again. escaped to
the neighboring islands of Jamaica and
St. Thomas. There they occupied their
leisure time plotting flihustering ex-
petitions to overthrow the hated ty-
rant
There was only one defect in all
their sChemes-they hadn't the necCs
sary cash One day an American mer-
chant captain out of work drifted to
St Thomas. He figured out the ,situ-
alton and saw his way. He wrote a
blood"and- thunder sort of letter to Hip
polyto, stating that he he'd been se-
lected to command a powerful expcdi-
ton which was to descend on Haiti
from st. Thomas. They had q fine
steamer of 5000 tons, with 1000 rifles.
several MaXms and 800 mer. tie was
open t. betray the expedition Would
th" pre,idcnt trade? His price was
S@o,OQo, paid in advance.
TAKES TUE BAIT.
The president rose to the bait and
sent the money The merchant captaip
was too honest to take il all. clear
profit, so he bought a superannuoroJ
h>hnG smack for $50. hired half n d,z.
en- Rarhadian negroes to man it.mount-
ell couple f antedluvian guns aboard
ana sent ii to the appointed rendezvous
win MS compliments and thanks ia
the president
Meanwhile he cleared off to the states
win $29,9OO. The entire armed might
vi tue Haitian naNy-two condemned
IampS transmOgrified into the sem
pIahce OF cruisers-sailed to the rem
ueZNous to intercept the enemy. The
patlle was bloodlcss and the invader
was lowed in triumph to Port-au-
l,rlhre' Naturally ITippolyte was a bit
ulSEuSted, especially when the British
cuhsul would not let him hang the crev,
because they We're British subjects
However, he put the best face he could
on the matter. proclaimed throughout
the country that great victory had
been gained by the foresight of the
president and the bravery of the fleet.
gave a state ball in honor of the re-
publc's happy deliverance from peril.
and kent the smack in the harbor as
q monument of Haitian naval yalor. an
inspiration for future generations. A
friend of mine who has just returned
from Port-au Prince told me yesterday
that it is still there.
A DISPUTE WITH GERMANY.
Haiti alas, does not always ride on
the full tide Of conquest. The Haitian
navy once upon time sustained ter
rlble defeat at the hands of the Ger
mans. German merchant was pill
LACED and maltreated in a revolution
and the Haitian government refused to
compensate him. Germany promptly
sent out cruiser to demand the
money This startled the Haitians and
the president summoned a grand coun-
ril Of war. Never was there such a dis
play of cooked hats, gold lace, top boots
and "swagger" uniforms. True, most
of the soldiers had no boots and many
had no rifles, but the grandeur of the
generals compensated for such trivial