New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-17
Haytii's New Burden
Delegate of Haynan People Com
plains Of Increased Land Tax


TO the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: To the untold suffering Of tho
Haytian people for the last six years
new and even more terrifying chap
ter is to be added. The occupation 10
about to put through a twelvefold in
crease in the land tax. The avowed
purpose of this tax is to put through
improvements" irrigation chiefly, but
PIT is clear that it is designed largely TO
cover up the squandered revenues Of
the nation for the last six years and to
make belated attempt, now that the
worlds attention is focused on Santc
Domingo and Hayti, to make up for
| absence Of any constructive work dur
ing the. American occupation hitherto.
This new tax will have no other effect
than to dispossess the little Haytian
landowners, the humble peasant class,
who form the backbone and the over
who Ginning majority Of the Haytian pop
ulation. These people have held their
land handing it down from father to
| son, for over century since the found
ing Of the republic. However they suf-
fcred in consequence Of the occupation,
they at least felt themselves safe from
starvation and utter restitution as long
as they held their little land, which
| enabled them to raise foodstuffs to sup
port themselves. This new tax, which
! they will be unable to pay. will mean
nothing more nor less than that the
lands will be forfeited to the state
which means the American occupation
and then be purchased by American
corporations for mere song.
The Haytian peasant is already heAv-
lily taxed. He pays IS export duty for
every hundred pounds Of coffee. (And
it should be rem embered here that
while before the occupation the Amer
lean dollar was the equivalent Of the
Haytian gourde, the occupation arbi-
trArily reduced the value of the
'Haytian currency by four-fifths, so that
the present tax in dollars represents
i've times its, equivalent before the
occupation.) He pays s1.75 export tax
on each hundred pounds Of cocoa;
$3.50 thousand pounds of logwood,
50 thousand feet of mahogany, $3.50
thousand pounds Of cedar
/ 1t will, Of course, be given out by
the occupation that this new act Of
oppression has been put into effect by
President Dartiguenave. 1t has. The
President and his council of state are
the mere rubber stamps Of the occupa-
tion. Even they learned through bit
ter experiences what it means to op-
pose the wishes Of the overload, when
their pay was held up and they faced
not only tho loss of the shadow of dig
nifty which holding Office gives them
but the prospect of seeing whatever
measures the occupation desired put
into effect wllly-nilly. ..oa us
Of course the recently rexstablisheG
martial law; which subjects any criti,
Of the occupation to trial by court
martial, with consequent fine and inn
prisonn,ent, is effective in preventing
the protest against the pending taxa
tion which every Haytian burns to ex.
press. He knows that this impossible
tax will be even more impossible o
payment when he is in Jail, and thu
assurance Of the loss Of his land there
. by infinitely multiplied
The Haytian people are in despair
They earnestly appeal to all that il
best and noblest in American senti
ment and in American public opinion
to end the miseries inflicted upon then
in the name Of the American people.
STENIO VINCENT
New York, July IL, 1921.