Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-27
: REPLIES TO CHARGES
STATEMENT OF THE SANTo
DOMINGO IMPROVEMENT co.
Col. Cotton, Chief Customs Collector,
Reports His Arrival at His
New Post of Duty.

Col. Cotton, the chief customs collector
for Santo Domingo, has reported to Sec
rotary Taft his arrival at his post, and has
been presented by Minister Dawson TO
President Morales, with whom he has had
a very satisfactory interview. The presi-
dents absence from the capital delayed
the presentation for nearly a week, but 1t
is expected that Col. Cotton will enter at
once upon his new duties and will prompt
ly inform the War Department of the
amount of help he needs in addition to me
two subcollectors who accompanied him
from Washington
Meanwhile Prof Hollander is pusily en-
gagged in collecting data on the island re
specting the merits of the international
claims which are to be paid out OF the Gus
toms collections. In Washington the San
to Domingo improvement Company, repre-
senting the greater part of the American
claims against Dominica, has not been ldle
in endeavoring to establish the validity or
Its claim.
Data Submitted.
The company has submitted to Secretary
Taft data through its attorneys, Messrs.
Moore and Lindsey, especially designed to
meet some of the allegations made in the
Senate during the last session. Touching
the allegation that the company was re-
moved by decree in 1901 from its office as
collector of customs by the Dominican gov
eminent because it failed to render ac-
counts, it is pointed out that the evidence
is on file in the Department of State to
completely contradict that charge, when
was all threShed out in 1901 on the occa-
sion of the special mission to Washington
of DR.. Carvajal, which concluded the agree
ment by which Dominica recognized it's lla-
bility to the improvement company ana
agreed to an arbitration.
= npipt has Deen made that there was
no arbitration of the claim on its merits,
but only one touching the method OF pay
ment of the claim, the companys attorneys
declare that the CarVa jail arbitration agree
ment was actually rejected by the Domini-
cacn congress itself because it left to the
arbitrator the amount to be paid, instead
of fixing the amount itself. Indeed, the
same congress again rejected an arbitration
proposal from the Department of State In
1902 for precisely the same reason, and II
was upon the Dominican governments own
motion that the form of the agreement was
changed and the sum of $4,50OOO0 inserted
in the protocol. These facts are of record
in the State Department.
Reply to Senator Burrows Statement.
In answer to a statement in debate by
Senator Burrows to the effect that the com
pany had put only $500 into Santo Do
mingo, the reply is that this is nothing but
a revival of an absurd statement current
in Santo Domingo two years ago, based on
the fact that the company, in taking out its
New Jersey charter, followed the usual
custom of corporations in specifying $4,000
or some lower figure as preliminary, as
did the United States Steel Corporation
AS a matter of fact, the Improvement COM
pany's stock was increased to S3,ooOOJo,
and subsequently reduced to $1,OO0,OOO.
1t is probable that Secretary Taft himself
will not attempt to pass upon the merits
of this case before he has heard from Prof.
Hollander