772 



SANTO DOMINGO. 



demnity of $400,000 was paid, and $1,750,000 

 bonds additional to pay off $700,000 of advances 

 from the French bank, afterward incorporated by 

 the syndicate as the national bank of Santo 

 Domingo. These were 4-per-cent. bonds, and 

 when the whole debt was consolidated at lower 

 rates of interest the nominal amount was in- 

 creased, but not a twentieth of the total sum 

 was legitimately expended for public purposes. 



Commerce and Production. Over five sixths 

 of the area of the country is fertile. The forests 

 contain valuable woods and other products. Cof- 

 fee and cacao are cultivated on an increasing 

 scale, and banana plantations have been estab- 

 lished with American capital. Sugar cane also 

 is planted more extensively than heretofore, while 

 the cultivation of tobacco has declined. There 

 is no mining industry, although iron and copper 

 are found, as well as coal, salt, and alluvial gold. 

 About 45 per cent, of the imports come from the 

 United States, 12 per cent, from the Danish West 

 Indies, 11 per cent, from England and her colo- 

 nies, 7 per cent, from France, 7 per cent, from 

 Germany, and the rest mostly from Cura<;oa, 

 Belgium', and Italy. The total value of imports 

 in 1896 was estimated at $1,875.000, and of ex- 

 ports at $2,885,000. The export of sugar was 

 80,860,240 pounds; of cacao, 4,308,820 pounds; 

 of tobacco, 6,332,148 pounds: of coffee. 2,437,400 

 pounds; of molasses, 1.777,120 gallons; of divi- 

 divi wood, 1,304,930 pounds; of mahogany, 204,- 

 254 feet; of other woods, 14,740 tons. The total 

 imports in 1898 were $1,694,280 and exports $5,- 

 770,489. During 1898 the ports of Santo Domingo 

 were visited by 544 vessels entered and 380 cleared. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 railroad from Samana Ba to La Vega. (52 miles 

 in length, is being carried through to Santiago, 

 and another line is to be built from Barahona to 

 the Cerro de Sal, or Salt mountain. The length 

 of railroads in operation in 1898 was 11(5 miles. 



The post office handled 333,908 internal and 

 214,092 foreign pieces of mail matter in 1896. 

 The length of telegraphs in 1896 was 430 miles. 

 Several new lines were projected. The cable of 

 the French company transmits foreign dispatches. 



Revolution. Formerly Mexican dollars con- 

 stituted the principal currency. As these stead- 

 ily depreciated, while the commerce of the coun- 

 try was mainly with gold-paying nations, Presi- 

 dent Heureaux, being urged thereto by the 

 merchants and planters, had a law enacted in 

 1895 retiring the silver currency and declaring 

 a gold basis. All customs dues were made pay- 

 able in gold, and Mexican money was declared 

 to be no longer current. There being but little 

 gold in the country, a dearth of currency was 

 felt immediately. A merchant and planter named 

 Vicena, to whom the President was indebted, re- 

 ceived permission to put into circulation for the 

 payment of laborers and ordinary internal re- 

 quirements the sum of $2,200,000 in silver dollars 

 and minor coins. They were minted in the United 

 States, and contained at first 12, afterward only 

 8 cents' worth of silver. Although declared legal 

 tender at 50 cents on the dollar in gold, the peo- 

 ple would not accept them except at a heavy dis- 

 count as soon as it became known that they were 

 made of base metal. The scarcity of money was 

 more and more severely felt, and to supply'a cir- 

 culating medium the National Bank was author- 

 ized in January, 1899, to issue $4,200,000 of paper 

 currency at the exchange rate of $2 for $1 of 

 American gold or bills. It was guaranteed by 

 the Government and declared redeemable in law- 

 ful money of the republic, but declared also to 

 be itself lawful money. Congress appropriated 



20 per cent, of the export duties for its redemp- 

 tion, a provision that carried little assurance, 

 since the fund would not exceed $125,000 a \>.n. 

 The National Bank- is owned by the Santo' Do- 

 mingo Improvement Company, except one third 

 of the stock, which was sold or given to IV -i 

 dent Heureaux. The new bills became known as 

 Heureaux's money, and almost on the day of iue 

 they dropped to four to one, falling soon to -i\ 

 to one, at which rate they were held as long a> 

 no more were put out. President Heureaux de- 

 creed that six to one should henceforth be tin- 

 legal rate, and then began to issue more, upon 

 which the rate fell till it was twenty to one, and 

 merchants were afraid to accept the money. t<-:n 

 ing that the emission was already much in ex. 

 of the authorized amount. The planters had 

 agreed to pay laborers $3.50 a day in currency 

 for harvesting the sugar crop, but the prices of 

 food and clothing rose to ten, to twenty times 

 what they had been, and many storekeepers re- 

 fused to take the bills at all. When the people 

 began to starve the revolutionary spirit became 

 rife. In May President Heureaux quit i 



the paper, and to check the rising anger of tin- 

 people he announced that he would soon redeem 

 the notes with gold at six to one. This remained 

 an empty promise. He had so exhausted the 

 credit of the Government by previous bono\\- 

 ings and financial mismanagement that he could 

 no longer raise a loan on any terms. When he 

 pleaded with merchants to accent the bill- at 

 six to one they demanded the redemption of the 

 great quantity they had already taken in and 

 could not get Vid of. 



Gen. Heureaux. taking what little gold he could 

 get. determined to go into the most di-alVe.-te.l 

 and hostile section of the interior and endeavor 

 by publicly exchanging gold for bills and >ten- 

 tatiously burning these to restore confidence 

 among the common people and impress hN ene- 

 mies by his bravado. Taking only a small body- 

 guard, he journeyed on one of his naval \i-.U 

 from Santo Domingo city to Samana Bay. t'rom 

 Sanchez to La Vega by rail, and thence on hor-e- 

 back to Moca. Arriving there, he wa- received 

 by the municipalities with outward deference, but 

 was alarmed to find that hi> orders were not 

 obeyed. Still he went about courageously, -iv 

 ing 'gold coins to poor people, as wa- hi- cu-tom. 

 Suddenly he was surrounded by a band of con- 

 spirator's and shot down by one of them. No 

 one attempted to arrest the murderer, not e\en 

 the members of the President's bodyguard who 

 were present. 



The American gunboat Maehias and the cruiser 

 New Orleans were ordered to Santo Domingo as 

 soon as the news of the murder readied Wash- 

 ington, with orders to protect American lives and 

 property in the event of public distui -bam < -. The 

 arrival of these war vessels had the effect of 

 checking the machinations of some of the indi- 

 vidual members of the Cabinet who aspired to 

 the presidency and would have used focce to 

 realize their ambition except for the- fear of Amer- 

 ican intervention. As it was. they united under 

 the aged Vice-President in repressing the revolu- 

 tionary movement against the exi-tinir -y-icin. 

 each waiting for a favorable moment to unmask 

 his own design. Kioting and shooting had begun 

 in the streets of Santo Domingo, but -ca-ed a< 

 soon as the Maehias arrived. 



The most popular and powerful candidate for 

 the succession one who had already fitted out 

 expeditions and organized upri-ings for tin 

 throw of Heureaux was Juan Tsidro .Timinez. the 

 wealthiest and most enterprising of the Domini- 



