The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-02-17

plains that the award conflicts with it's rights as creditor to some portion of these revenues under an alleged prior pledge; and still other governments complain that an award, in any consid- erable sum, secured by pledges of the customs revenues, is prejudicial to the payment of their equally meritorious claims out of the ordinary revenues, and thus controversies are begotten be- tween the United States and other creditor nations because of the appar- ent sacrifice of some of their claims, which may be just or may be grossly exaggerated, but which the United States government cannot inquire into without giving grounds of offense to other friendly creditor nations. Still further illustrations might easily be furnished of the hopelessness of the present situation growing out of the social disorders Jand the bankrupt finances of the Dominican republic, where fo considerable periods during recent years the bonds of civil society have been practically dissolved.
 Under the accepted law of nations, foreign governments are within their right, if they choose to exercise it, when l they actively intervene in support of the contractual claims of their subjects They sometimes exercise this power, and on. account of commercial rivalries there is d growing tendency on the part of other governments more and more to aid Automatically in the enforce ment of the claims of their subjects. In view, of the dilemma in which the government of the United States is l thus placed, it must either adhere to its usual attitude of Tun-intervention in such. cases-an attitude proper under I normal conditions, but one in which this particular kind of case results to the disadvantage of it's citizens in com- parison with those of other states--or else it must, in order to be consistent in it's policy, actively intervene to pro- tect the contracts and concessions of it's citizens engaged in agriculture. com merce and transportation in competi- I tion with the subjects and citizens of other. states. This course would render the United States the insurer of all the speculative risks of it's citizens in pub lie securities and franchises of Santo Domingo.
 Under the plan in the protocol here with submitted to the senate, insuring a faithful collection and application of the revenues to the specified objects, we are well assured that this difficult task can be accomplished with the friendly cooperation and good will of all the parties concerned, and to the great re- lief of the Dominican republic.
 The conditions in the Dominican re- public not only constitute menace to Jour relations with other foreign nations, but they also concern the prosperity of the people of the island, as well as the security of American interests, and they are intimately associated with the interests of the South Atlantic and Gulf states the normal expansion of whose commerce lies in that direction. At one time, and that only a year ago, three revolutions were in progress in the isl and at the same time.
 It is impossible to state with any, thing like approximate accuracy the present population of the Dominican republic. In the report of the commis- sion appointed by. Grant in 1871 the population was. estimated at not over 15O,000 souls, but according to the Statesman's Year Book for 1904, the es- timated population in 1888 is given as 610,000. The bureau of the American Republics considers this. the best esti- mate of the present population of the republic. As shown by. the unanimous report of the Grant commission, the public debt of the Dominican republic, including claims, was $1565, ,SS1 .59A. The total revenues were $772,68475A.
 The public indebtedness of the De- minican republic, not including all claims, was on September F last. as the department of state is advised, sS2- | 2S0,000; the estimated revenues under l the Dominican management of custom houses, were $1,S5O,0O the proposed budget for current administration was $1 300,000,, leaving only $550,000 to pay foreign and -Hquidated obligations, and payments on these latter will amount during the ensuing. year to $1,700000, besides $9OO,00 of arrearages of pay ments overdue, amounting in all to 3D. 6O0,0O0. It istherefore impossible, under existing conditions, which are chronic, and with the estimated yearly revenues of the republic, which during the last decade have averaged approximately $l,60O,00 to defray the ordinary ex- penses of the government and to meet it's obligations.
 The Dominican debt owed to Euro pean creditors is about $22, ,000. .000 and of this sum over s1s,OOO 900 is more or less formally recognized. The represen- tatives os European governments have several times approached the secretary of state setting forth the wrongs and intolerable delays to which they have
 
 AIwdys Resnember the Full Name