Evening star., 1937-12-05
Fear Settles In Haiti After
Repeated Border Clashes
Writer Examines Underlying Causes of
Tension Between the Republics
of Hispaniola.

sist on what Is produced by their
country's backward agriculture Con-
siderably greater production would be
possible in Haiti, despite the fact that
the soil has been treated villainously
ever since the Frenchwere expelled,
II 1t were not for a racial trait which
Is characteristic Of the island Well
does the Haitian peasant know this
weakness of his fellow-countrymen. OF
what use for him-or. more accurately,
for his wife-to work hard and pro-
duce an abundance if some one else
is to reap the benefit? In Haiti, the
prudent peasant never allows fruit to
ripen on his trees-if he does, his :
neighbors, on the first dark night that
comes along, will pick it for him.
Thus the situation in Haiti Is
combination of dense population with
interpretation of food. When such
a situation comes into being in any
country 1t means trouble-trouble
within the country and trouble for
the neighbors without.
Hunger Basic Cause.
In word, it is hunger, and not
just propensity for vicious thiev-
cry, that drives the poverty-strickenA
Haltlans to commit depredations. But
the isolated white homesteader In
Santo Domingo, who sees his cattle
driven off and slaughtered by rowing
bands from Haiti, does not stop to
ponder on the economic forces which
IN thelr functloning make the Haitian
marauder and himself victim. He
strongly resents having his live stock
stolen. But that, while bad enough.
Is not the worst Of his worries. He
Tears for his very life and for the
lives OF his womenfolk and children
And with reason. The individuals
composing the bands of marauders
are vicious, to begin with. or, if moi.
tney soon become SO. They live on
the borderline of savagery. In their
appearance they are terrifying. And
always there hangs about them the
malign aura of voodooism, of Papaloi
and Mamanloi, of digging up freshly
ourled corpSes for brutal ceremonies
or for food, of human sacrifices. of
cannibalism.
dominican farmers living close to
the Haitian border, faced with a con-
slant threat against their property
and their lives, decided several years
ago TO ask the government for the
right to arm themselves. The right
was granted. 1t may well be that
these armed Santo Dominican home.
steaders accounted for some Of the
Haitians who we're killed in the octo-
Der massacers.
Another Explanation-TrujiIlo
There is still another explanation
OF the killings, one which places re.
sponsibility for them selsewhere than
on the grounds of labor clashes, racial
anlmoslties. and fighting between
farmers and n1arauders.
The President of Santo Domingo.
Gen. TruJillo, is the nearest thing
america has to Fascist dictator
OF the Hitler-MuSsolini type. Getulio
vargas, who recently proclaimed him.
self the Fascist head of Brazil, cannot
be compared with him. Indeed, as
a strutter and an exhibitionist, Tru.
lillo could give both Hitler and Mus
thdIHDle.
the method he followed in intoxicating
In his people respect for the authority
and majesty of the state
The lackadaisical inhabitants of Ciu.
dad Trujillo had the habit, distressing
TO his excellency, of remaining seated
at tables in cafes or on benches in
the parks on occasions when he passed
by. They didn't know any better.
The general stood it as long as he
could, but finally, his patience becom-
ing exhausted, he gave orders to the
soldiery to see that all citizens should
be on their feet whenever he ap-
peared in public. After the Santo Do
mlnlcan gentlemen had been jerked
roughly out of their chairs a few
times they decided that the general
wasn't fooling, after ALL and now when
the President travels abroad the Spec
tacle of thousands of ease-loving Santo
DominicanS standing at rigid atten-
ton is as awesome as anything that
can be seen in Rome or Berlin.
A True Fascist.
There seems to be something about
Fascism which induces violence, blood
shed, war. Trujillo- Is a true Fascist.
province close to the Haitian bound
Is 1t possible that in the Dominican
ary, Trujillo has been doing on a
small scale what Fascist Japan is now
doing in China; what Mussolini did
IN Ethiopia; what Hitler and Musso-
hn1 together have been doing in Spain?
The intense fear, already adverted to
In this article, which all Haiti has of
TruJ1llo and which led President Vim
cent to ask the United States, Cuba
and Mexico to investigate the killings
OF Haitians in Santo Domingo, seems
TO point to something of the sort. In
ADDITION there is the eyewitness story
OF Puerto Rican journalist, Jacob
Cordova Chirino, who arrived in Ha-
Vana from Haiti and Santo Domingo
ABOUT November /. At Havana, Chi
rlno talked with correspondent of
the New York Times who, in q cable
published by the Times, quoted him as
making this statement:
L noted troops steadily leaving
Trujillo City for an unnamed destina-
ton. I talked with many of presi-
dent TruJillo's supporters who seemed
to desire to establish control oven.
Haiti. The Dominican Republic
capable OF putting 10000 armed men
IN the field, including police, and has
IL planes. The Haitians are COM
pletely without arms or ammunition.
I find no agitation in Port au Prince
for diplomatic arbitration, but only
laments that Haiti was without arms
or ammunition to fight"
Finally, there is the cable sent TO
the President Of Haiti by a group of
Santo Dominican expatriates living
IN New York, among them the we'll
known former secretary Of the treas
ury OF Santo Domingo, Jose Manuel
.IinpnpS Tho hlo