Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-12-30

Ism ayers on to the shedding of blood
wnen ne thought it necessary. There
is no reason to believe that he has
done anything in six years of rule
with an idea less commendable than
the Improvement of his country. and
It's standing with the rest of the
world. He was firm in the persua
sion that the proximity of white PEG
pie was. on the whole dar gerous to
the independence of the country; and
though he did nothing on the often
slve, he Was ever careful of granting
trade concessions.
Crafty Progressive.
| Here is an instance of a craftiness
combined with real feeling toward
progress. A mining expert in Phila-
delphia, who had assayed a lot OF
| copper-bearing rock said to have
come from Hatyi, went down there to
look over the ground He found a
line ore-mounta n, but it was far in
the interior, and quite inaccessible
for business purposes unless a rail.
road could be built
| The Germans had a railroad from
Port au Prince to the Salt Lakes, and
naturally wanted no competition, and
German steamship line saw possible
rival steamships connecting with the
rail end. They began to work ON the
| president
| Alexis took his particular view of
the case. Il don't mind giving you a
concession he said, but l don't
want to run the chance of giving you
the whole island He had evidently
heard something of concess 'ons.
| The Germans spent good deal of
money in Hayti over this matter, it is
reported, but finally Nord Alexis.
after an interview in which he
showed keen business sense though
asking nothing for himself, granted
the concession. He signed the papers
and sent them to congress. The gen
i tlemen at the legislature, however,
had been seen, and though they did
/ not care to involve themselves with
] the president, they delayed and de
l layed until they found way out.
Enough of them to break the quorum
| left the capital and went down the
| coast Nord Alexis merely sent his
i gunboat after them with a courteous
request to come back They came
/ back. They knew Nord Alexis.
i Amnesty His Undoing.
i Another instance of the tactfulness
of the old man was given soon aftel
he came into office. There were 1Oo
or more rebels exiled in Jamaica
/ They had been followers of General
Flrmin In 1903 Alexis granted them
4 amnesty and they returned. He hao
a double motive in this; first thai
they were possibly to be won over t
his side, and also that he wanted nc
i insurrectionary interference with Ger
tain plans of civil improvements tha
! he had in mind. This was more clear
when, in reply to censures from con
gress for not proceeding against the
:, disturbing element, the cabinet re
signed, and Alexis refused the reslg
nations He wanted free hand t.
hunt down the frauds in connection
with the issue of government securl
ties for s2,OO0000. AS result of thu
investigations, ex-president Sam ant
several national bank officials wer'
implicated.
But like many other strokes of di
plomacy, though this permission 0
the return of Firmins followers wa
for the time a brilliant one, it was re
ally the undoing of the president
There is little doubt that the presen
rebellious spirit generated in tina
very quarter.
The childhood of Alexis du Nord, o
Nord Alexis, was not such as woul'
inculcate any ideas of goodness an
mercy. He came from the northern
most part of the island, Cape Haytler
where his father was called prince
: Prince was a title which had beel
handed out very literally under se'
eral reigns. Faustin I (Soulouue) ha'
marvellous court, in which ther
were seventy dukes. ct is solemn
attested that two of the dukes too
the titles Marmalade and Lemonade.
The elder Alexis held position /
the household of the Emperor CHRIS
? tophe. In speaking of the rulers Q
0 Hayti it is confusing to find one
nresident, the next an emperor pu
E if must be remembered that IN
; country has been successfully re
5 public. an empire, republic, empire
. and a republic again. But no pres
dent has ever been anything less ina
$ a dictator.
Barbaric Atmosphere.
II was a strange, unhealthy atmos
phere into which the young AleAal
|. DIRE came. Christophe was barDa
ian. pure and simple, and before a
committed suicide he conducted
reign of terror, in which ne wa
entity of deeds which the native nj
torians blandly refer to as many III
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