Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-12
AMERICAN STEWARDSHIP
OF HAITI TO BE STUDIED
HOOver's Commission Also Would Ex-
anime Broader Phases of u. S. Policy
Under Terms of Treaty.
" WIEN the special commission

VA I soon to be appointed by
NV President Hoover leaves for
Haiti one of the first things
it will do Is to ask the treaty
officials and the Marine Corps to render
an account of their stewardship APP
pointment of the commission waits upon
formal approval by Congress of the
recommendations of the President, but
such approval is taken for granted, as
the House already has taken the neces-
sary action.
While the commission is to examine
! into the broader phases of our policy
| toward Haiti. naturally its main inter-
est at the outset will be to survey pres
ent conditions, and this leads naturally
| to an examination of the work done by
| the Marine Corps and the treaty ofh-
Gals in carrying out the terms OF the
| treaty.
John H. Russell, Marine hrigadier
of the line. is the American high COM
missioner to Haiti. Few public ofhcials
have a wider range OF duties: In the
first place he Is the diplomatic repre-
sentative of the United States Govern
ment. through whom the instructions
of this Government are transmitted. IN
the second place, he Is the head OF the
treaty offlcials," who are charged with
supervising the administration OF Haiti
affairs, and who. under the treaty, nave
wide powers. with responsibilities corre-
spondingly heavy.
| Commands Americans and Natives.
| And. thirdly, Gen. Russell is the
ranking officer present" the comman-
der of both the American and native
forces. His duties, in word, are diplo-
matte, administrative and military,
three kinds of duties seldom found In
Combination in one individual post.
Gen. Russell is a graduate Of the
Naval Academy in the class Of '92 and
a veteran of the Spanish-American and
World Wars. In addition, he has par
ticipated in q number Of Marine Corps
expeditionary campaigns. President
Harding appointed him high commits
sioner of Haiti in 1922.
| Few Americans know Haiti better
than Gen. Russell. Familiar with both
Spanish and French, the two languages
most used on the island, he has built up
wide acquaintance among the leaders
Of the island. He belongs to that grow
ing group of Army and Navy officers
who when the opportunity comes have
displayed administrative and diplomatic
skill Of high order.
Marines Constitute Reserve.
The United States forces in Haiti
consist of a skeleton brigade Of Marines,
numbering approximately 800 men. and
a mine sweeper of $50 tons displace-
ment. The Marines are concentrated
at Port au Prince and Cape Haitten.
The real work of maintaining domestic
order is in the hands Of the Garde
d'Haiti, whose higher officers are from
the Marine Corps. The skeleton 'leath-
erneck" brigade constitutes reserve In
case of serious trouble.
+, Treaty officials, under the direction
| of Gen, Russell, head the principal de-
| partments Of the government. Some
are marine or naval officers and some
civilians. AS a group they are respon-
sible for the civil administration OF the
island, and 1t is their work that has
contributed so much to the economic
progress of the republic since the United
\ States forces landed in 1915 to take
control of q situation where the func-
tons of government had totally broken
down.
Naval officers head the public health
service. No feature of the American
administration stands out brighter than
this. During 1928 the 139 rural clinics
established by the Public Health Serv-
ice gave q total Of more than 5000
consultations and treatments, an in
| crease of more than 100000 over the
totals for the previous year.
It maintains IL hospitals. Special
| treatments are given for malaria and
intestinal parasites, two maladieS COM
mon among natives. The Public Health
| Service spent during the year close to
| 100000. representing 8.9 per cent Of
the total expenditure Of the state and
a per capita expenditure Of 40 cents.
Malaria Greatest Scourge.
Malaria Is perhaps the greatest SIN
| gle scourge in Haiti. About half the
population suffers from 1t in some de-
gree. Two factors are necessary If ma
laria is to be curbed-the widespread
use of quinine and the extension Of
mosquito control measures. Vigorous
measures have been pushed forward in
| both these directions.
Control of mosquitoes depends upon
the education of the people in the
proper cultivation of the gardens and
plantations. and proper drainage and
! irrigation measures The Public Health
| Service not long ago established q Spe-
cial division of quinine administration,
similar to those which are in operation
in certain areas of the United States,
Italy, Greece and Jamaica.
| No less important as element in the
material progress which Haiti has reg
1stered under our occupation is the
service technique.
,, Farm Management Taught.
Gen. Russell and President Borno
, both believe that with the possible ex-
ception of the improvement Of the phys
ical health of the people. there Is no
work of more fundamental value than a
carefully planned program for the train
| ing of Haitians in farm management
and the care of live stock and the i'm
provement through crop experimental
ton Of the quality of native coffee, cot
/ ton and other farm nrodllce
In 1928. the service technique had
about 10000 900 to spend. OF the total