The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-04-19
HAYYTSSHRANGE,AGE
NORD ALEXIS UNLIKE ANY OTHER
KNOWN POTENTATE.
Over 90. BlOOdthlrSty, = BoheVsr In Woo
dOOism and A~mbltiOus-His Ragged
Guard VarieEated Generals and Dilapl-
dated PaIace-TypleaIly Ethiopian.

Guard VAriegated Generals and Dilapl-
dated Palace-Typleally Ethiopian.
PORT Az PRINCE, Hayti. April 1O,-Possi-
bly, somewhere In the jungles Of Africa or
perhaps in the mystic East or on the planet
Mss there is a president, p~otentate, shah.
rajah, sultan or some other sort Of ruler
who is as strange and grotesquely impossible
as President Nord Alexis Of Hayti. but oer-
tainly there Is none to compare with him
Ia this hemisphere. Castro Of Venezuela.
that monkey Of the Andes comes close.
perhaps, but Castro's style differs, and
while he deRes the great Powers Of the
earth he does not approach in pure pic
t~uresqueness the venerable old man who
ats in the Presidential palace here and runs
this little black republic to suit himself,
Imagine a typical Ethiopian between 20
and 100 years Of age. bloodthirsty and appar-
emily only half civilized. q dealer OF death
TO political enemies, a believer In voodoo-
ism, and you have a faint idea Of what he
is, For anything more one must come 10
Hayti and see for himself.
For one hundred and five years the ooun-
try has been under the same sort Of rule
rs now. The natives gained their indie
pendenoe from the French, and since that
time the history Of the country has been a
record Of strife and bloOdshed,
Shut on from all the rest Of the world,
Il has gone on a downward path until now
IL seems that nothing can save IL from utter
ruin except Intervention by the Powers. No
steps have recently been taken toward saw
ing what is left and building upon it. The
Government robs the people, and the people,
thoroughly accustomed to this procedure,
don't seem 10 care much.
Alexis rules with a hand Of iron, Some
day a revolution against him will doubt
less be successful, II he lives until another
may be- organized, but for the present his
will is law. A personal or political enemy
is dealt with summarily and harshly,
The shooting Of twenty-seven alleged con-
spirators on March Is by order Of Alexis
il the most recent example Of his way Of
ruling, yet as time passes and the perspec-
tive is larger that slaughter will be but a
mere detail in the history Of his regime,
perhaps one Of the worst details. but not so
very much worse than many other things
which have been done and others which
will be done, no doubt. unless foreigners
take charge Of things.
The charact Alexis is easily accounted
for. His father was a so-called Prince Of
Cape Haytien, the n~orthernmost part OF
the country. Alexis the elder held a high
position in the household Of Emperor Henry
Christophe, a barbarian, who left behind
him when he committed suicide in 1920 a
horrible trail Of blood and deeds which
native historians pass over as many UNI
fortunate acts
The ideas Of Christophe we're handed
down to Alexis, himself a page TO the EN-
peror. A mighty and brutal man was
Christophe. whose history as told here is
scarcely believable.
Once Christophe doubted the loyalty
Of the chief Of police Of Port au Prince.
and thereupon he asked this officer II he
were really loyal. The chief naturally
enough said he was. whereupon Christophe
told him to prove il by bringing the heads
Of his, the police chiefs, wife and daughter.
which the chief did, and Christophe was
convinced Of his love and support.
At another time Chrstophe became
enraEed with the French and issued a decree
that thereafter the Official language would
be English, and that il after twenty-four
hours any one spoke French in his presence
he would he executed. To complete the
transformation he changed his name
to Henry and has since been known as
Christophe and Henry and sometimes as
Henri Christophe.
The traditions OF Christophe which
have been handed down from the last
century deal with nothing save bloodshed
and the atrocities he committed, His
" death was violent and also some-
what on the heroic order.
In 1920 he was stricken with paralysis.
whereupon his political enemies started
a revolution. He swore to cure himself
Of his ailment and attempted to do so with
a bath in a solution Of herbs and peppers.
It gave him ~momentary relief, enough to
permit MIN to mount his horse and start
for the front.
The paralysis quickly took hold again
and Christophe was carried back TO his bed.
His soldiers went forth 10 hattie with the
rebels, Chistophe directing the campaign.
Then came the news Of assertions from
the Government ranks and the revolutio n
was thus made successful. When the King
received this information he shot himself
through the heart. It is doubtful II any
one mourned the loss.
Having been imbued with this sort OF
rule, II is perhaps not surprising that Alexis
ia the mar he Is, although more than four
score years have gone by since Alexis used
to wait upon the Emperor C~hristophe.
Alexis came into the Presidency in 1902
by force, rs h;Ee all Presidents Of Hayti.
He had made other efforts in previous
years. but had never been successful.
They say now that he desires TO remain
President until he dies, and that he also
has anSambition TO proclaim himself En-
peror. but this latter ambition will doubt
less he put aside until the present difficulties
have been put out Of the way.
We're II not for the earnestness displayed
the whole situation would seem absurdly
impossible. 1t is useless TO call it opera
boune, for from that point Of view 1t Is
even more. The most picturesque part
Of life here is the army with its scores Of
Generals and all. It is extremely funny to
q foreigner, hut the soldiers themselves
take II most seriously.
President Alexis on a Sunday morning
granted an interview TO the correspondent
OF THE Sun. The audience was given in
q reception room Of the Presidential resi-
dence.
This executive mansion lies in the south