The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-08-14
"lAE BLACK REPUBLIC. J
WHERE NEGROES RULE, BUT
 WHITES MAKE

All the Money-COiOred Lords and Ladies vs "White Trash"-African ns-Earthquasses and Rev. olutions.
 Especial Correspondence of the Journal and Courier)
 Port au Prince, Haiti, July ', 1902. If you wish to be absolutely correct
 in the pronunciation of the various
 names of this big island, you must first unlearn that which was drilled in to you at school. Neither Haytee nor
 San Domingo, as we say the words. is
 correct Columbus christened the whole
 island Espanola-pronunced As-pan- yo-lah, meaning Little Spain" and the
 city which his brother. Bartholomew, founded is Santo, (not ''San") Do- meen-go. The latter name is now ap- piled to all the Spanish-speaking part
 of the island, while it's western half is called Haiti-the French attempt at spelling the original Indian name. It should properly be spelled in three syl- fables, with double dot over the first; to show that the ali is not blended, but each letter sounded-making the cor rect rendition Hah- -ee-tee-though
 many islanders use the Spanish pro-
 nuncation, dropping the H." making it Eye-tee.
 We were strongly advised not to visit the Black Republic. An ex-Consul of
 the United States to Haiti. who now re-
 sides in Washington, declares that to
 enter Port au Prince is to take ones life in ones hand, by reason of filth engendered diseases and the perils of
 perpetual revolutions-to say nothing of
 private murder and robbery. He says
 that every element of civilization is al-
 most wiped out in the decadence of the
 island under negro rule, and that the
 vast majority of the swarming black
 population is sunk in barbarism deeper
 than that of the tribes of Central Afri
 Ca. Haiti has 500000 poulation-double
 that of Santo Domingo. though with
 much less area, and fully seven-eighths
 of the people are ll-blooded blacks, the rest, except an infinitesimal nuEn-
 Der of foreigners. being mulattoes,
 called by courtesy "Creoles." Philan-
 thropists to the contrary notwithstand- ing, the experiment. of African self ruled has been a signal failure, even here where the race has enjoyed every advantage For almost a hundred years
 (since 1SOD the black man has had things all his own way in Haiti and been undisputed lord of the country,
 unhampered by political disabilities, prejudces, or degrading memories. This is the only country in the Western
 Hemisphere where negroes are the rul- CTS. legislators, judges, generals au- thors. artists and where the white man is indebted to the black for liberty to live. By the Haitian Constitution the white race has no legal right which anybody is bound to respect They can- not own real estate, nor hold mort gages for longer than nine years, nor even become ctiZens-consequen | they cannot vote nor obtain political position. Even if they marry Haitian | women they canot inherit their landed
 property, but only the proceeds of it
 when sold at public auction. They are
 not allowed to engage in the retail trade and are not elegible to the bar,
 the bench the pulpit, to military hon.
 ors or any civil distinction whatever They may be mechanics, merchants, clerks, teachers, engineers, or servants
 in any capacity to the black lords of
 the island. However, there are some
 concessions. The whites may be whole
 sale merchants (for that requires more
 money, learning and enterprise than
 belongs to the average Haitian), and
 all the foreign trade is in the hands of
 Englishmen, French and a few Ameri- | cans. Some of the latter would .amass | colossal fortunes in few year& time, 1 if they were permitted to get kaway l with them; but it always happens that l just as the merchant has accumulate ted competence, an incendiary fire sweeps | his warehouse out of existence; or, his goods are plundered by band of so- called revolutionists, and he has to give up business altogether. or begin the weary death-in-life all over again. Ninety-nine times in a hundred the | foreigner feels that he has already had
 more than enough of Haiti and he de-
 
 | richer than he came.
 Exemplary conduct on the part of the | whites enables them to somewhat Tive down" the disadvantages attached to their lack of color, so as to meet with | tolerably courteous treatment. and in l isloated cases. almost equality with | their dark skinned superiors. It is re- freshing to find one spot in Republican America where the shoe is on the other l foot in the matter of color' and it is a pity that all our equal rights friends canot come down and enjoy it. The
 Haitian flag is significant. It is the old French flag with the colors reversed, the white elephant stricken out, the red and blue placed horizontally.
 1 Espanola was the pride of Colum-
 bus heart. He looked upon it as the Ophir of SolOmon--an Eden without a ! bI ;uI, ,.;o e.