HAITI AND ITS REGENERATION BY THE UNITED STATES 



505 



Ascertaining his whereabouts, however, 

 his foes marched to the legation. Disre- 

 garding the protests of the French min- 

 ister, they broke in and dragged Sam 

 forth, killing him and sending his hands 

 and feet and other portions of his body 

 on spears and bayonets to different quar- 

 ters of the city. An eye witness of the 

 tragedy tells how the progress of several 

 processions through the city could be 

 followed by the cries and shouts of the 

 rejoicing, blood-maddened mobs that fol- 

 lowed each grewsome relic. 



It was this action which finally forced 

 the landing of American troops in Haiti. 

 Traditionally opposed to interfering in 

 the affairs of its neighbors, the United 

 States had stood for years between the 

 little black republic and the nations of 

 Europe when loans were due and unpaid 

 or when citizens of foreign nations were 

 molested. Urging the sanctity of the 

 Monroe Doctrine, our government had 

 repeatedly settled disputes and adjusted 

 matters so that Haiti might receive ex- 

 tension of credit from its creditors and 

 avoid the forcible coercion its acts threat- 

 ened to provoke. 



The violation of the French legation, 

 however, brought matters to a climax. 

 The French Government put the problem 

 squarely to our own authorities and de- 

 manded either that we take action or that 

 they be permitted to do so themselves. 



On being assured of our intention to 

 handle the situation, the French con- 

 tented themselves with landing a small 

 armed guard for the purpose merely of 

 satisfying their national honor by ob- 

 serving the form of landing an armed 

 force on the soil of the nation which had 

 violated the sanctity of their legation. 



CHAOS EVERYWHERE WHEN THE UNITED 

 STATES INTERVENES 



Accordingly, in July, 191 5, American 

 marines and bluejackets were landed in 

 Port au Prince and the United States 

 formally took over the task of bringing 

 law and order and peace to that distracted 

 land. 



It is difficult for an American to com- 

 prehend the situation which existed in 

 Haiti when our troops first landed. 

 There was no such thing in the island as 

 law and order, or security either of life 

 or property. Armed bands ranged the 



hills in the interior and robbed all whom 

 they met, leaving a trail of murder and 

 burned villages as they moved from 

 place to place. 



In the cities the situation was a little 

 better, but during the period of each 

 revolution the cacos from the hills in- 

 vaded the towns and murder and de- 

 struction of property ensued. 



THE ISLAND RAVAGED BY DISEASE 



Disease ravaged the island, both the 

 interior and the coast, unchecked. The 

 plague made its appearance at frequent 

 intervals, yellow fever and smallpox rav- 

 aged the lowlands, and malaria, the 

 scourge of the tropics, was always pres- 

 ent. It is estimated that 87 per cent of 

 the entire population were infected with 

 contagious diseases. Less than 3 per 

 cent of the people were able to read and 

 write and practically all of these were 

 located in the cities of the coast. In the 

 interior, one might travel for days with- 

 out finding a Haitian capable of even 

 signing his own name. 



Due to the instability of government 

 and universal insecurity, banking institu- 

 tions ceased to function. Virtually no 

 loans were made and business was at a 

 standstill. Chaos reigned in all depart- 

 ments, and to all appearances the entire 

 structure of life in Haiti was on the 

 verge of dissolution. This is a true pic- 

 ture of conditions in Haiti when the 

 United States forces first landed. It is 

 not an exaggerated picture — in fact, 

 many details are omitted which are not 

 suitable for publication in the United 

 States. 



Those who desire to confirm the state- 

 ments made herein and to go further in 

 the study of Haiti and its problems will 

 be well repaid by reading any of the 

 standard works on the subject, such as 

 the classic history of Haiti, "The Black 

 Republic," by Spencer St. John, or that 

 of Marcus Rainsford, both eminent Brit- 

 ish writers. 



After slight skirmishes order was estab- 

 lished in Port au Prince by the marines 

 and bluejackets landed in July, 191 5. and 

 marines landed in other cities quickly 

 established conditions of law and order 

 along the seacoast. 



Meetings of the Haitian Congress were 

 held and a new president, Dartiguenave, 



