Evening star., 1933-10-01

l. United States Marines will
start home from Haiti, after
IL nineteen years of keeping the
Haitian situation well In hand"
Front-page events in Cuba Have dis
tracted the attention Of students OF
inter-American relations from this de-
velopment in the Latin American policy
of the United States, far less sensa-
tionalistic, but, perhaps, OF greater
significance in the future.
The first steps toward the termina-
ton Of United States Intervention IN
Haiti have been agreed upon by the
governments Of Washington and Port
au Prince.
In the capital of the island republic,
the Haitian Foreign Minister and the
Minister OF the United States have
signed an executive agreement" pro-
viding for the complete "Haitianiza-
ton" Of the Garde d'Haiti or con-
stabulary. by October l, 1884, the
withdrawal of United States Marines
and the adjustment OF American su-
During the last few months Of the
Hoover administration, treaty seek
ing similar objectives, but different in
method, was rejected by the Haitian
Senate. One of the main objections
to it was a clause specifying that IF
serious disturbances or other dihcul-
ties in Haiti, now unforeseen, should
arise" it might prove impossible to
carry out the "Haitianization" Of the
Garde, and therefore the withdrawal
of the Marines by the date specified,
sometime in December. 1884. This
was, Intentionally or not, q joker In
the treaty, and resembled too closely
the language used In the compacts
originally sanctioning American armed
intervention for the protection OF
American financial interests.
No American Big Stick.
The new agreement has substituted
for It q provision that the President
of Haiti may request the designation
of a military mission made up OF
American Marines who have served
with the Haitian constabulary. for the
exclusive purpose Of completing the in
struction of the Garde. The fact that
the Chief Executive OF Haiti; and not
Washington, is to decide whether to
request or not the military mission,
and the further provision that, In the
affirmative case, the Haitian President
will determine the scope Of its powers,
and may terminate it on sixty days
notice, obviates the contention that
the United States wished to keep a
'big stick hanging over the island
republic, as seemed to be the case In
the rejected treaty.
Another serious objection to the
treaty which the Haitian Senate re-
fused to ratify last year, was that the
suggested new financial agent would
be given greater powers than those
held by the financial adviser-general
receiver, an American official who un-
der the existing agreements, had al
most complete control of government
finances. The new pact curtails such
powers and specifies that the fiscal
representative, to take the place of the
financial adviser general receiver, shall
not have voice in the disposition OF
public funds after the sum required
for the service of the debt and collec-
ton expenses has been met. The Gus
toms revenues are to remain under the
direction of the fiscal representative
until the amortization or the prior re-
funding of the 1922 loan. In order to
hasten the maturity of the outstand-
ing bonds, now amounting to- about
$4,000, 900, and scheduled to be re-
tired in or before 1914, the Haitian
government is authorized to buy bonds
OF the several series on the open mar
ket
AS guaranty of its good faith, the
Haitian government pledges that no
new financial obligations will be en-
tered into without the consent OF the
fiscal representative. unless ordinary
revenues, after disbursement OF gov
eminent expenses. are sufficient to as
sure final discharge of such obliga-
tions.
Another improvement in the situa-
ton, from the Haitian point of view,
Is that after January /, 1884, the Gus
toms houses will have an exclusively
Haitian personnel and the citizens of
the United States employed by the Of
flee of the fiscal representative will not
exceed eighteen. About three times
that many are now employed in the
office of the financial adviser general
receiver. The excessive number of
American officials in the local admin
istration has been one of the chief
sources of complaint and resentment
growing out of the interventionlstic
adventures of the United States in
Latin America