Evening star., 1929-12-16
.HA|T|ANS ASK u. S.
TO CONTROL VOTING
Petitions for Supervision of
Presidential Elections in
April Are Sent Hoover.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti December
16.-Petitions signed by the president OF
seven Haitian political organizations
asking United States supervision of the
presidential elections next April, were
sent by airmail yesterday to President
Hoover.
The Signatories of the petitions claim
to have more than 100000 followers in
the interior. The petitions state that
only through American supervision OF
elections will the HaitianS receive fair
and impartial treatment. They charge
President Louis Borno with attempts to
enslave the citizenry, with denying
freedom of the press and with violat-
ing the personal liberty clauses OF the
republics constitution.
The signers state that unless the
United States takes immediate and de-
cisiye steps to clear the Haitian polit-
ical situation through the requested
controlled elections the island will re-
main Gin its present state of incipient
revolution"
They charge that free and impartial
elections cannot exist under the French
electoral system which places electoral
rights within the power of committee
of 81. They allege that this COM
mittee has always been bought by the
administration.
The petition says: "The subscribed
presidents of Haitian associations, eS-
tablished in Port au Prince and aided
by numerous outlying districts of the
republic. take advantage of the pres
ence in Haiti of special correspondents
of the press of the United States to
make known to the people and the
Government of the United States the
opinion of the Haitian nation.
Recall Solemn Pledges"
Believing that the government OF
Haiti is essentially democratic and being
furthermore assured that American in
tervention in 1915 was only to aid the
Haitian people. We ask United States
supervised elections in 1880.
THE SignerS, presidents OF leading
associations, recall the solemn promises
of the United States Government and
demand the carrying out of these
promises in their spirit and the letter
of the law. We ask that in April, 1880,
the new President be elected through
the loyalty of the people in sincere
elections instead of through the Council
of State committee of 81 which hereto
fore has been empowered to name the
new President and which has always
been subject to the intervention of the
President and other political powers
already in Office"
May Remove Martial Law.
Those who signed the petitions were
Perceval Thoby of the Patriotic Union,
Seymour Tradel of the National Con-
stitutional League, Antonio Vieux, jr.,
Patriotic League; j. P. MeXile Of the
League of Rights and Citizenship, L. G.
Herisson of the Public Instruction Asso-
citation. D. Bellegarde of the Haitian
Association of the League of Nations,
and E. M. Rampy of the Haitian
Masonic Order.
The republic was quiet over the week
end. The martial law established last
week has been relaxed and the curfew
hour gradually extended Of1cers of
the Marine Corps said they expected
martial law to be entirely removed early
this week.
News dispatches of the demonstra-
tions in New York. Washington and
other American cities have been kept
from the public by the high commits
sioner.