The Washington times., 1922-04-28

e$S% ~ 49, ~ &&4$H us 10 stay III
WILLIAM HARD Haiti for while.
After prolonged conversations with
both sides to this difference OF
opinion ! gather that the tacts
and the arguments al the bottom
of it are along the lines laid down
in the following paragraphs.
IL is charged, and It is not denied,
that our conquest OF Haiti was
gross breach OF faith. President
Wilson said publicly at Mobile that
the sovereignty OF every small ma
ton would be completely respected
by him and his administration. lie
then secretly and without any eNpla.
nation. either TO Haiti or TO the neo.
pie of the United States, issued an
order which sent American marines
To Haiti TO take physical possession
OF Haiti and Of the Haitian govern
ment by force This order is still on
file i'm Washington and is 'egalded
as a supreme instance Of the CON
Quest Of foreign country by the
will of one man.
II Is claimed. and il is admitted.
that no outrages on Americans had
taken place in Haiti. II is on the
other hand claimed-and not denied
that many outrages had taken
place by IIaitians on Hsitians, ana
that the whole OF Haiti was in con-
dition of almost continuous govern
mental disorder i'm the course or
which the mass OF the Haitiahs were
deprived of all genuine popular seli'
government and were physically CO
creed and plundered and HnpoNer-
ished by small gangs OF Haitian 20.
ntical and military adventurers.
1t is charged and il is not seri-
ously denied that the treaty which
we now have with Haiti and which
gives us our legal justification Tor
STAYING in Haiti was exacted from
the Haitian legislature and the
Haitian president by displays OF
force and by threatas Of force and
by a refusal on our part to let the
TIaitians have any OF their own
governmental revenues rom thelr
own governmental taxes in Haiti
until they signed the treaty. IL ls
established beyond question that
our treaty with Haiti is not a free
act by Haiti but an act imposed on
Haiti by us ourselves.
II Is tldltleu AudA ial &C 'uhlcNAS
OF killings of Haitians have been
done in Haiti by our marines and by
Haitians organized into an American
constabulary by our marine officers.
II is said on the other hand, and
proved. that most of these killings
were in course OF suppressing dis
orders and that II the Government
of the United States told our marine
Officers TO suppress disorders in
Haiti they had to suppress them.
II is claimed that our marines,
while suppressing disorders, com
mitted numerous atrocities. 1t is
counter claimed that most Of these
atrocities were not by our marines,
but by new Haitian recruits in our
constabulary-recru still following
Haitian methods OF warfare and not
yet disciplined into American meth
ods. 1t is further Counter-clIimed
that only I'm six cases are any Ameli-
can marine officers really proVahly
guilty of atrocities, and that two of
these officers have committed sui
eide. one has gone insane and has
been sent TO an asylum cell, one has
disappeared, and one is in prison un-
der sentence of fifty.five years.
IL is claimed that Haiti today is
governed virtually by American mar
tial law, and that the Haitian prest-
dent is an American puppet who has
so little power that edicts regulating
the Haitian press are issued, not by
him. but bv the American Secretary
Of the Navy at Washington. This is
all true.
The argunent on the other side is
that under American martial law the
mass of the Haitians are secured in
their persons and properties against
Haitian revolutionaries and Haitian
marauders, and that the physical
material welfare OF the Haitian peo-
pie Is getting improved by peace and
safety, and by the building OF good
roads for better communication and
for better trade.
The arguments on one side arc
based on the idea that the United
States ought 10 remain true to the
principles laid down i'm the Ameri-
can Declaration Of Independence
and ought not TO destroy the indie
pendence of neighboring people.
The arguments on the other side
are based on the idea that the
Haitians at the present time are
better off without independence than
with it.
In other words IL is claimed on
one side that we are becoming an
empire and IL is claimed on the
other side that we are a good empire.
It is noted that the British also
claim to he a good empire. and that
tho Japanese claim 10 he good
empire too The final question. in
justice to the aspiration OF both
sides to the controversy about Haiti
in Washington becomes this:
AnoMe wish to Ne good empire