New-York tribune., 1905-02-17
DOMINICAN FINANCES.
Remarkable State of affairs Shoscn
IN Dir. Moore,s Report.

Washington. Feb. 16.-The report of John
Bassett Moore. the agent for the United States
in the Dominican arbitration. referred to by the
president, is a long statement in great detail
of all the financial operations of the Dominican
government in relation to the Santo Domingo
Improvement Company, and with European
syndicates. The important facts in Mr. Moore's
report, so far as they touch the protocol sub
mitted yesterday, set out In the Presidents
message. Mr. Moore's detailed statement is a
remarkable disclosure of the methods of pre-
vious Dominican administrations in dealing with
foreign creditors. TIE tells how the Santo Do
mingo Improvement Company took over the
obligations of the Westendorps, who had been
hampered in their operations by the Barring
failure in 1890 The improvement company was
successfully carrying out its engagements when
to prevent seizure of the custom houses by the
French government in 1895. the company was
obliged to undertake to defray the French
claims.
Further embarrassment resulted from the de-
probation of the island currency by paper
adulteration and also from the assassination Of
President Heureaux Finally, after repeated
hostile collisions with President Jminez, the
company was peremptorily excluded from the
discharge of its functions in the collection Of
the revenues under the laws. Mr. Moore tells
ment, the company's claims against Santo Do
mingo were brought to arbitration and reduced
from $6,0O0O00 to 81, 100000 at the instance of
the Dominican government. All that was left
to be settled by arbitration, therefore, was. not
the amount OF the award, but merely the terms
and times of payment and the manner of the
collection of the instalments, which subjects
were treated in the protocol signed at Santo
Domingo on January 81 1908 Mr. Moore saws
that it was shown to the arbitration commission
that the islands revenues were being dissipated
by disbursement in the ape of "asignaciones 4"
by which lS meant unauthorized and unlawful
gratuities paid by the existing government To
its actual or potential enemies in order To in
duce them TO refrain from raising revolutions
If the arbitrators had accested this condition
of things as normal and permanent their Dro-
ceedingS would necessarily have been a farce
and they could have rendered no award Go
says Mr.. Moore, they framed the latter on the
assumption that the revenues were to be nron
erly devoted to the payment of legitimate ey
penseS of government and the safisfactiop ~
creditors. instead OF being worse than thrown
away in harmful and illegal ways " -
In conclusion Mr.. Moore insists that tho rro
visions of the award while admirably adjusted
TO the fundamental equities of the case dis
close an evident wish the part of tho arhi
traitors to be liberal toward the Dominican pa
public. and the mode of collection established
Tor certain ports was obviously substitnta Tor.
the right which the Santo Domingo Imnrove
ment Company possessed under Dominican Ia NC
that had never been repealed
The communication embodes the fU taxt 90
the protocol OF January 81 1908. under which
the arbitration was arranged and the award Of
the arbitrators appointed hereunder