The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-03-15

donkey-back and the roads are exscra-
DE- That y ito say. they are ungraded
trails which follow fascinating ridges
through rough woodland. dip into
degrees to rivers which you must ford
At low water and swim In flood time.
Even In the eitiss wheels are q novelty
and paving = snrprise. The streets of
quilted by tropical rains. and in most
localities are 50 rough that carriages
i traverse them with difficulty. Hence the
saddle horse is the favorite mode OF
transportation FOR the gentleman. the
donkey for the man Of the humber
classes The whole thing shows merely
lack OF energy and development. And
yet the island Is more splendfdly en-
dowed by nature than any other Of the
West Indies. Development would make
OF 1t q paradise of civilization just as 1t
is now q paradise of nature.
/ Nothing Doing.
The question is naturally asked: What
are the Dominicans doing with this
magnificent property? The answer is:
Practically nothing. All the enterprises
of any size on the island are conducted
by foreigners with foreign capital.
There are two short railroads on the
island, owned and manned by foreign
ers The hills contain amber. gold and
other minerals: these are mined by for
eigners. Some of the Dominicans are
merchants and traders: many OF them
are planters in a small way. Most of
them are willing to work where there
is opportunity to earn wages. Plenty OF
labor, such as it is, is to be had for SO
cents day. in gold. The result of this
| labor is as rule just so cents worth.
| or less. The DOminicans are willing to
| work. but they lack the stamina and
| staying qualities which make good
workman They rarely have the phys
| ique to do hard work and keep at 1t.
| In land where plenty is at every mans
| door they seem in many instances to be
| ill-nourished and to lack vigor., 1T is
| perfectly easy for them to lead an out
door life in the finest climate on earth.
yet consumption is prevalent among
| them. They lack stamina: they lack
vigor ambition and sturdineSs. a Ger
man physician ut La Vega. in the IN
terror, whom ] questioned about this,
ascribed it to the natural characteris-
tics Of people resulting from centuries
Of miScegenation. He had but poor
| opinion of the possibilities of the half
breed black, thinking them bound to
pass away before races Of superior viril
ity. He had lived among these people
for many years, and as an educa ted
man. physician, and student Of the
situation his opinion should haze
weight.
Incapable Of Self-GOvernment.
l ain not so sure Of this conclusion
as he was, however. 1t Is undoubtedly
true of considerable proportion of the
people. On the other hand. among the
| Weather, better-educatcd CLASSES you
find many of much vigor and fine phys
| ique. All this, however, is aside from
the question which is of main interest
To Americans just now, which it seems
to mo Is this: Are the Dominicans at
present capable Of sel:gOvernlaent in
its commonly accepted sense. and Will
they be for the next hundred years?
The answer is undoubtedly: No. The
/ Government which they need, for their
own good and their own future develop
meni, 1 do not believe them capable OF
supplying. My own experience among
them bears out the testimony of other
t Americans and Europeans who have
lived among them for years. That IS.
they need To be regarded as children;
good children in the main, and perhaDi
i capable Of growing up. bat needing for
the present, and pro.;a bly, for good
while to come. a strong quilting hand.
They learn readily. They will learn
good things IL they have the opportuni-
ty. That they can also learn bad th.ncs
with equal readiness is evidenced by
the ease with which they take up the
ideas which INSCRIPTIONS promoters
and sef-seekers have set before their
eyes in the last few decades. Sinister
4 forces are at work among them. and
| many Of their worst performances in
the last few years have been prompted
from the outside. The better Domini-
cans themselves understand this. They
know where the cheap political tricks
which their own people have been play
ing in the last half-dozen years orig
mated. They want that treaty with the
United States because they believe the
Americans know the games of their own
shysters and will be strong enough and
bold enough to stop them, once they
/ have the requisite authority. The deep
I financial acumen and strategy of i'm
prOvement companies and OF other
American promotions have deeply i'm
pressed them in way not over-favor-
ably. They feel the grip Of the claws
through the velvet now. They know
that the weak and the willful among
their own people have been taught how
best to play into the hands of "these
others" and they know that they are
not strong enough to stop 1t.
Want the Americans to Control.
Also they want the Americans to un-
dertake this because-there is the Ger
man specter. This is as difficult to find
in tangible form as any ghost, but 1t
stalks up and down the island. Wher-
ever people discuss the future of Santo
Domingo, there is the German specter
also. Few people down there say in
definite words when and how they think
this ghost will materialiZe. Few can
tell you tangible reasons for thinking
anything about 1T anyway; but they do
think, and it is not Dominicans alone
Any American in the island will tell
you that he has seen the same ghost
walk at club and banquet as we'll as in
? private conversation.
Realize Their Weakness.
The islanders realize their weakness
it's those who fear who see ghosts
and they have a vision of some strong
Nation stepping in and administering
!, their affairs in decency and order as
they should be administered and as
Stunning sovereignty in consequences
, just why this vision OF the devourer
crouching for a spring should always
wear the German helmet, nobody can
tell-Sunless it Is the Germans. On the
other hand. the feeling toward the
Americans is different one. They be-
lieve that any arrangement made with
this country will be such as will give
them a chance to stand alone without
the threat Of immediate absorption
They believe, moreover, that the abuses
which they now suffer at the hands Of
Americans privately will be corrected
by the strong hand Of the American
public when once that hand has the