Evening star., 1920-10-31
TASK OF u. S. MARINES IN HAITI
HAS BEEN LONG AND STRENUOUS

and conditions in the island demanded actioh.
The American admiral acted. This Is prier
summary Of the immediate causes of American
occupation. The treaty leading to the present
protectorate over the republic was negotiateo
at Port-au-Prince in the following September.
While there has been recent criticism OF the
Americans. and charges Of indiscrmnate KILL
ings Of natives by the marines. on the other
hand. many witnesses have offered to come
before the court of inquiry to testify to the
benefits derived from American occupation OF
Haiti. In way, the tranquilizing OF Haiti
has been one Of the biggest little jobs ever
undertaken by the Americans. Conditions had
become bad it appeared utterly impossible
for the natives to work their problems out
for themselves.
The island Of Haiti was discovered by
Columbus, December 6. 1882 It is the largest
island in the West Indies. next to Cuba. and
lies between Cuba and Porto Rico The re-
public of Haiti occupies the western third Of
the island, and the republic Of Santo Domingo
the eastern part. The political division has
existed since 1874 1t has been estimated that
the population of the entire island is about
100000. The area of the island is about
$4,000 square miles, a little less than the
area Of ireland. Haiti occupies 10.204 square
miles, and Santo Domingo the remainder.
incidentally, it may be mentioned that the
United States has been looking after the
finances of Santo Domingo also for number
of years.
The 100000 Indians. natives of the island.
who Inhabited it when Columbus arrived. were
exterminated by tho Spanish in short order.
As carly as 1872 the Spanish were importing
negro slaves from Africa. The French got
possession of the island under the treaty of
Ryswick in 1897, and established prosperous
colony. About century later, however when
the French revolution burst upon the world
things began to hum in Haiti. They ended in
an insurrection Of the slaves and the slaughter
of the whites From that time until the
American occupation Haiti has been ruled by
SO many self-styled emperors. dictators and
presidents that its history is q tortuous trail
indeed.
The present government is republican in
form, with president and two houses of
congress. The chief executive is President
Dartiguenave elected August IL, 1915, while
order was maintained by the American ex-
pedtionary force. He formally recog
nized by the United States September II. after
the treaty with Haiti had been negotiated.
The establishment of the Dartiguenave gov
ernment. however. was only the beginning
For the last FIVE years the Haitian government.
aided by the American marines, has been
ming down the bandits who have infested the
mountains. ready to start trouble. or revolu-
tion at any time. It only last May that
Benoit Batraville, supreme leader of the Cacos,
soldier banditti, was killed by marine de-
tachment. Lesser leaders surrendered after
ward. and the claim is made that the country
has finally been pacifed. The marines and
the gendarmes engaged many times in
these operations. The Haitian gendarmerie.
some $500 in number, is offcered by Americans.
marine officers for the most part.