Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1920-10-23

Withheld. Navy Gives Out BUT
Two Paragraphs of Resume OF
Military Operations.
Especial Despatch to The Hcrald.)
Washington, Oct. Rehabilitation
OF fragments of an official report on
the activity of the Marines in Hayu,
made public by the Navy Depart
mcnt to-day, has resulted in bring
ing the course of the Administration
in Hayti and Santo Domingo into
startling relief.
Only two paragraphs OF the report,
which was made by Brig.-Gen Geo.
Barnett, formerly commandant CT
the Marine Corps, are given to the
public, but this small revelation of
what it contains carries the startling
information that in the five years
Of American occupation "approXi-
mately" $3.50 natives OF Hayti
were killed by marines and the gem
darmerie of IIayti.
Gen. Barnett says it is impossible
to fix the number of wounded. He
gives indirect testimony as to the
experiences of marine Workmanship
by saying that only one marine OIL
Ger and twelve enlisted men were
killed in action. with lIaytian ban
dts.
The number of $3.50 killed shows
the completeness with which the sit
uation was dealt. 1t means that
about one out of every 400 inhabi-
tants was eXterminatcd to bring
about the reign Of peace that is said
to prevail now.
Much OF Report Withheld.
The uncertainty about the wound
ii
Der actually killed During the
next to impossible even to approx
mate the number Of natives wound
ed, as they either were carried off
or would drag themselves away.
How many Of the wounded died in
neighboring woods can never be
known, and If the facts were attain
able it is assumed the number Of
killed would total II much larger fig
ure than those given by Gen. Bar
nett.
The report of Gen. Barnett in
cludes dispatches and orders. not
made public, which would tell the
story CT this application of force TO
the ignorant natives, and details the
various conflicts with IIaytians. All
Of these facts are ignored in the
summary given out by the Navy De-
partmcnt. The department sum-
mary says:
"Gcn. Barnett reviews the entire
activities Of the marines in llayti in
restoring order, protecting cities and
inhabitants from attacks, organizing
the Haytian gcndarmcrie and COM
batting the banditti who preycd on
the peaceful population. He pre-
~ fol a,.
and gives details Of the many con
nicts with bandits and engagements
fought in defending cities and towns
that were attacked, and in destroy
ing the bandit strongholds. In con-
Guiding his report Gen. Barnett
says:
Marine Corps records at head
quarters show that of those armed
Haytian bandits who actively op-
posed the Government OF the Repub-
lie of Hayti in the field operations
and Incidents described above APP
proXimately $3.50 were killed either
by marines or the personnel of the
Gendarmerie d'Hayti. 1t is imprac-
ticable to state how many were
killed by the marines and how many
by the gendarmeric. Reports re-
received Of Taytian bandits wounded
in the operations and incidents con-
sist in the majority of cases either
of mere estimates Or general state
ments, and are not sufficiently COM
plete upon which even to approx
mate the total number wounded.
u. S. Casualties Slight.
Zone marine officer was killed
in actian and two officers wounded
in action with Haytian bandits dur
1,s tod toto Il
men of the Marine Corps were killed
in action or died Of wounds received
in action, and twenty-six were
wounded in action with Haytian
bandits during this period. This
makes total Of forty-one battle
casualties suffered by the marines
during this period. There have been
two marine officers and thirty-four
enlisted men of the Marine Corps to
die from other causes, such as dis
ease, accident, etc, in the Nepublic
OF Hayti during this period.
In summarizing the facts recit-
cd in the above report | wish to in
vitc the attention Of the Secretary
Of the Navy to the fact that from a
military point of view the operations
in IIayti may be divided into two pc
RODS. The first period, 1876,
when the marines were first landed
in IIayti, and during which time a
state Of anarchy existed in that re-
public, and the second period, 1919
10, which period started by a con-
certed attack in force by the bandits
on the city Of Port an Prince. Or
the total number killed during the
five and a half years the marines
have operated in Hayti considerably
more than half, in fact 1853, were
killed in the repulse Of the attack
on Port au Prince and during the