soon became the chief product. In the early part of the seventeenth century French and English adventurers (alias pirates) obtained a foothold on the mainland of Haiti, and towards the end of the century were confirmed in their possession by the Treaty of Ryswick.

When the French Revolution came, nearly a century later, this colony had attained a high degree of prosperity. Its population was composed of whites, free mulattoes, and Negro slaves. The mulattoes demanded civil rights, which the National Convention of France conferred upon them in 1791. As a consequence of this a civil war between whites and mulattoes and slaves broke out, resulting in the most revolting cruelty on both sides. In addition to its other troubles a British force invaded the colony. By a treaty with Spain in 1795 France acquired title to the entire island, although the British remained until driven out by Toussaint l'Ouverture in 1798.

Toussaint l'Ouverture was in control of Haiti by 1801. When the French under Bonaparte sent General Leclerc with 25,000 troops to reduce the colony to submission and restore slavery, previously abolished in 1793, the colonists offered a ferocious resistance. L'Ouverture was not defeated, but was treacherously seized and sent to France, where he died in prison in 1803. Under Dessalines the blacks renewed the struggle and finally forced the French to evacuate the island in 1803.

From the accession of Dessalines to power the history of Haiti has been that of a succession of revolu tions, massacres, and bloody overthrows. After the assassination of Dessalines came the romantic tyrant Henri Christophe, who built the gigantic palace in the north of Haiti, the remains of which still loom high above a tropical jungle. Christophe committed suicide. His successor was driven from the island by revolution. The political division of the island came in 1844, when the Republic of Santo Domingo broke away and formed a separate government. This act was followed by almost continuous revolution in the Republic of Haiti until 1849. The Emperor Faustin I held the reins of that country for nine years, until he was deposed and exiled. A president followed, who was in turn forced to flee to Jamaica. The next president was shot; the next three were driven into exile. And so the tragedy continued until order was in a measure restored by the election of Nord Alexis in 1902. But his administration also failed, and finally ended in his expulsion from the island. From his expulsion Haiti's affairs became increasingly entangled with foreign nations. This tragic chapter culminated in the assassination of President Guillaume Sam in 1915, after he had Bought protection in the French Lega

tion. He was dragged from an upstairs room, and his body cut in pieces and paraded about the town of Port-au-Prince.

From this moment the history of Haiti is the history of the American occupation. That is told in the official despatches contained in the Barnett report, which has been alluded to in pre

vious issues of The Outlook.

At this time the Marines landed at Port-au-Prince. The occupation was effected with slight bloodshed and with the remarkable discipline and self-control which has always been the boast of our Marine Corps. The action of one company is cited as an example of the manner in which this occupation was effected. The report says:

For more than an hour and a half, while the light faded to darkness, this company was endangered by occasional shots from snipers, but did not fire a single shot, though they disarmed a large number of Haitian soldiers and took possession of the Arrondissement.

At this time no de facto government existed. As Rear-Admiral Caperton cabled the Navy Department, “all government functions are at present carried on by a committee of citizens practically under practically under my direction."

Rear-Admiral Caperton's report of August 2, 1915, described conditions as follows:

Professional soldiers called Cacos are largely responsible for the existence of the large number of Haitian revolutionists. The Cacos are organized in bands under irresponsible and lawless chiefs who side with the party offering the greatest inducement, and only nominally recognize the Government. All Haitians fear the Cacos, and they practically control politics. There are now in Port-au-Prince about 1,500 Cacos retaining organization and believed to have hidden arms and ammunition, but ostensibly disarmed. The majority of the populace are submissive and well disposed and will welcome disbanding Cacos and stopping revolutions.

Rear-Admiral Caperton endeavored to establish a good relationship between the Haitians and the United States. He made no promises to the various Haitian factions save that order would be maintained and foreigners and Haitians protected.

The Haitian Congress was in session at this time, but since there was no President, under the Haitian Constitution, the Congress possessed only elective powers. The leading revolutionary at this time was General Bobo, who ȧspired to the Presidency of Haiti. On August 5 Admiral Caperton reported:

The Haitian Congress to-day issued a bulletin that on Sunday it would elect a President, but at my request it has postponed the election. The time for an election is inopportune. I have been informed that Dartiguenave, now President of the Senate, is the candidate likely to be elected. He, I have heard from many sources, is a man of personal honor, patriotism, and ability. He has never been connected with any revolution and is anxious for Haitian regeneration. He realizes that Haiti must agree to any terms demanded by the United States, and he professes to believe that any terms laid down by us will be for Haitian benefit. He states that he will use all his influence with the Haitian Congress to have Haiti agree to such terms. Should he be elected, he must be sustained by the protection of the United States.

On August 9, 1915, the Acting Secretary of the Navy cabled to RearAdmiral Caperton :

Whenever the Haitians wish, you may permit the election of a President to take place. The election of Dartiguenave is preferred by United States. You will assure the Haitians that the United States has no other motive than the establishing of a firm and lasting government by the Haitian people and wishes to assist them now and at all times in the future to maintain both their political independence and territorial integrity unimpaired. That the Haitian Government will grant no territorial concessions to any

foreign governments will be insisted
upon by the United States.

The attitude which the Department took at this time, it will be seen, was very much more sweeping than anything which the United States has previously attempted in its relations with the black republics. Under Mr. Roosevelt we supervised the customs of Santo Domingo, but the Dominican Government remained virtually intact.

In accordance with American desires, Dartiguenave was elected on August 12, 1915. The accession of Dartiguenave was followed by manifestations of hostility in other parts of Haiti than Fort-au-Prince, and the Marines proceeded to occupy other parts of that troubled Republic. The United States assumed charge of Haitian custom-houses, and its officers were ordered to see that the funds collected were used for the organizing and main. aining of a constabulary and for the naintenance of public works and relief. At the end of August there were more han two thousand officers and men of he Marine Corps stationed in Haiti.

A treaty between the United States and Haiti was signed September 16, 1915, which recognized the Haitian Government but provided for the coninuance of the American occupation nd the establishment of a Haitian genlarmerie under American control.

The reports of our commanders in Haiti from this date on deal largely with the efforts to suppress banditry in Haiti, and to exterminate the leaders of he professional soldiery which has long umbered in its tattered ranks a large roportion of the Haitian population. t was in the suppression of this banitry that the bulk of the natives of Haiti ho have fallen before American rifles

ied. The record of this suppression is eplete with stories of daring and courge which add luster to American miliary history, although the American orces suffered lightly in the successive attles and skirmishes with the Cacos. One incident of this campaign which ccurred as late as October, 1919, may e cited here:

On the night of 31 October, 1919, Captain Hanneken, Gendarmerie d'Haiti, Lieutenant Button, Gendarmerie d'Haiti, with faces blackened, and twenty gendarmes, all in old dirty civilian clothes, and one automatic rifle, took up a position at the point where it had been learned Charlemagne [a bandit chief] intended establishing his headquarters during the attack on Grande Riviere..

Captain Hanneken had observed some seven hundred men advancing to an attack on Grande Riviere. He knew the attack on- Grande Riviere would take place. He decided to advance with his own force and try and penetrate Charlemagne's lines and capture or kill him.

At tremendous risk and with many narrow escapes he and his men pene

trated through six lines of outposts, and at midnight attacked the camp and killed Charlemagne and nine other bandits. It is believed Charlemagne's personal guard consisted of not less than two hundred and fifty men.

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The story is more fully told in Harry A. Franck's "Roaming Through the West Indies," published by the Century Company, a volume which should be read by any one interested in the status of West Indian affairs. Mr. Franck's volume is by no means whitewash of the activities of our forces. He gives them credit for courage and devotion to duty, but he also cites injudgment and in a manner seriously to stances wherein they acted with lack of complicate the relations between Haiti and the United States. It is in Mr. Franck's volume that the story is told that our Marines once evicted the Haitian Senators from their Senate chamber with the direction, "Come on, you niggers, get out of here." Evidently if this story is true the Haitian Senate failed to impress our Marines as did the Roman Senate the Barbarians from the north! Mr. Franck also says that our officers in Haiti have been drawn much too largely from the southern part of the United States, and that these officers early environment to understand and to were ill adapted by education and

control with a minimum of friction the citizens of a black republic jealous of tionally possessed. the freedom which they have tradi

One of the instances cited both in volume wherein our forces displayed a the Barnett report and in Mr. Franck's lack of judgment and understanding was in the re-establishment of the corvée system, the system of compulsory labor recognized by the Haitian taining and constructing roads. At the laws as a legitimate method of maintime of the American occupation Haitian roads had fallen into complete disrepair, and in an effort to stimulate reconstruction the corvée was re-established- a fact which drove Haimany tians to banditry, an act which increased the forces of the Cacos by many hundreds of men. The lack of wisdom of this act was tardily recognized, but in a certain portion of Haiti the orders to abolish it were not even then carried promptly into effect. It was this section of Haiti in which those outrages occurred under an American officer of the Gendarmerie d'Haiti which served to call attention to the whole problem of our relationship with this black republic.

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It would be unfair to the American forces to end this summary with description of our failures. In the Barnett report is contained a quotation from a speech made by the Right Rev. Charles B. Colmore, Bishop of Porto Rico and Haiti, who says:

Americans can hardly visualize the awful squalor, suffering, and chaos

that existed in Haiti before its occu-
pancy by Admiral Caperton nor real-
ize the extent of the regenerating
labors of the United States Marines
during the months they have been on
duty there.

The Marines have literally taught the Haitians how to live decently. Before their coming sanitation, save in the crudest and most unsatisfactory forms, was unknown, fevers and epidemics were as plentiful as revolutions, a press-gang was in vogue, and the country was the victim of continuous uprisings engineered by political scoundrels, each of whom ravaged the customs money-drawer as each in turn came into short-lived power.

The entry of the United States Marines ended this sorry story. With the wonderful facility and adaptability for which the Marines are noted, these advance agents of American civilization so changed Haiti that after they had been there four months, when I went on my annual visitation to the island, I hardly knew it to be the same spot. It had been improved beyond my wildest hopes. Sanitary systems had been installed, the towns had been cleaned up, former idlers and revolutionists were working happily for living wages, and a new spirit was. animating the people.

The problem before America is to conserve the good work which the Marines have accomplished, to establish a native Haitian Government, and at the same time protect the islanders from their own misdeeds and from the selfish demands of foreign Powers. Nor may we forget that we should guard against our own selfishness as well as the selfishness of others.

It is possible that under the next Administration a full investigation of the Haitian situation will disclose the need for a change of emphasis in our Haitian policy. We believe that under a commander such as General Wood the pacification of Haiti could have been carried on with less friction than has existed in the last six years-while the United States was enunciating as a cardinal principle of international action the demand for the self-determination of small peoples. Certainly our occupation has been a direct violation of this doctrine. Perhaps both the United States and Haiti will be happier under an Administration which believes, as Republican Administrations have always believed, that there are nations and peoples incapable at present of complete self-determination. It is better to face existing facts frankly and to proceed accordingly than to enumerate general principles based upon impracticable ideals and then to proceed to violate those principles as the occasion seems to demand.

The recognition of actual conditions is in no way incompatible with the highest ideals. In fact, idealism which does not recognize reality is the best ally of gross materialism and international selfishness.

P

RAGUE presents the spectacle of all that is oldest and newest in our civilization. Architecturally the most medieval town in Europe, with its powder gate of the fifteenth century, its astronomical clock where the Apostles still appear at the solar hour, and, crowning all, its magnificent royal castle with its eight hundred and ten rooms, formerly occupied by royalty one week during the year, it is symbolic of the past-gone, we hope, for

ever.

Governmentally, as the capital of the new Czechoslovak state, Prague is the seat of the directing force of one of the most advanced, perhaps the most progressive Constitution in Europe, with its absolute political equality between the sexes (a woman may become President of the Republic), its strict limitation of landholdings, its proportional representation. It is a remarkable juxtaposition of the old and new, making for all that is best in our modern life. There is reverence for the old, faith in the new, to which I would add the third fundamental quality of this people, willingness and ability to work.

A NATION OF HOPEFUL ENERGY

In the often-quoted words of the Czechoslovak President: "States survive by the qualities which brought them into being. Our state was founded on legitimate warfare and upon work, and upon work will it continue."

Every one is working; there are no idlers, and, as a result, in spite of lack of raw materials, lack of industrial machines (looted by Germany and Austria during the war), and lack of rolling stock (from the same cause)-in spite of these handicaps, Czechoslovakia was the only late belligerent state whose exports were in excess of imports when I was there in July.

Hopefulness is, I would say, the predominating characteristic of the people to-day. One sees it in the bright glance, the upright carriage, the springing step, the voice; it is omnipresent. Coming to Czechoslovakia directly from France as I did, it was particularly noticeable and in striking contrast after the prevailing depression of Paris.

And why should these people not rejoice and have faith in their future? After three hundred years of oppression they are again their own masters; their land is rich in all that makes for material prosperity-coal, iron, forests, fertile soil for sugar-beet cultivation, from which they supplied forty-two per cent of Europe's need before the war. They have well-developed industries (glass, porcelain, and textiles), and, above

all, they have wise statesmen directing the affairs of the country-that remarkable triumvirate of patriots, Masaryk, Benes, and Kramar, who worked unceasingly through the war for the independence of their country, besides many others whose names are less familiar in Western countries. Dr. Masaryk is now at the head of the State as President of the Republic, Dr. Benes is in charge of the Foreign Office, while Dr. Kramar, owing pri marily to differences in policy as to treatment of Germans in the country, and particularly as to the use of the German language in schools, has retired

(C) Press Illustrating Service

from the Government after splendid service as the first Premier.

OLD MONEY FOR NEW

The problems to be met are great but by no means insurmountable. While almost every country in the world has inflated its currency, Czechoslovakia has had the courage to deflate hers. Shortly after the founding of the Republic in October, 1918, all the former Austro-Hungarian currency was called in by the Government and for every two kronen of the old money one krone of the new Czechoslovak currency was given, with the result that, while the Czechoslovak krone is depreciated in value and forms one cause of the economic distress, it is

nothing as compared with the depreciation in neighboring states.

The gold reserve on which that currency rests has a unique history. Part of the money was printed in the

United States. Indeed, the thousand kronen note printed in the United States is the most artistic issue the Czechoslovaks possess, in spite of the fact that the artist gave the symbolic figure of Justice six fingers. But the Government was confronted by the fact that there was no gold reserve on which to base the currency, and the nation was called on to give to the country its gold possessions to be melted up by the Government.

An American who was there at the time told me that the amount of gold arti cles brought in, from plate to bracelets was remarkable-another instance of the intense patriotism of the Czechs And upon that gold reserve and notes for their share of the gold of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, still held in the vaults at Vienna, rests the cur rency of the new Republic.

To remedy the depreciation of the the currency by increase of exports

Government has encouraged the farmers to plant sugar beets for sale abroad, and it is another indication of the deroted patriotism of this people that in a country seriously in need of foodstuffs hundreds of thousands of hecares were planted to sugar beets for export instead.

DIVIDING THE LAND

The land question is perhaps the greatest internal problem. When the Republic was founded, nearly one-third of the land was in the hands of two undred and three owners. These large states-so large, indeed, that in some ases they were called kingdoms, as, for xample, the Swartzenberg Kingdom in he south-were in the hands of Geran-Austrians, Magyars, and a small emnant of Czech nobility who had ecome estranged from their nation. The results were depopulation of the ountry, overcrowding of industrial owns, land hunger, and emigration to oreign countries in vast numbers.

The Land Act of April, 1919, seems Western minds extremely radical, but e demand for dividing up the great states had become well-nigh universal. This was proved by the fact that the ct providing that everything in excess f one hundred and fifty hectares of rable land and two hundred and fifty ectares of general land should be eized by the state was passed unaniously in a National Assembly repreenting all political parties. The state, nder the law, becomes trustee of the eized land, which in time will be sold private persons or corporations. The ewly instituted Land Offices have harge of the transactions, which have lready started. The act is not confisatory. With certain necessary excepons, such as, for example, the estates hich belonged to Hohenzollern or lapsburg and to those guilty of of enses against the Czechoslovak nation, e seized land will be paid for, the mount of compensation to be deter

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mined by a bill shortly to be acted upon by the National Assembly.

A REPUBLIC BORN OF FAITH

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This is only one of the great social reforms contemplated, but the Government, under the wise leadership of President Masaryk, is content to proceed slowly, to take each, forward step as the people are prepared for it. The President is firmly convinced that violence is never beneficial. "I think," he said to me, "that all parties should take for their watchword far-reaching social reforms without bloodshed."

One has the feeling in Prague of being present at the birth of a nation. As a fellow-countryman of ours who is working for their Government for a pittance of what he could earn at home

more:

said to me: "It is worth two or three years of a man's life to be able to assist in such a work, and it is worth twentyfive or fifty years of the world's life to allow this experiment to be made, the first steps of which are being so courageously taken by the new Republic." To quote President Masaryk once "We have achieved our independent Republic because we had a burning faith in our national ideals, because in our hearts we acknowledged and honored something sacred, because we had faith in our fellow-men and the people. In the same way we shall maintain our Republic and democracy if we keep faith in our ideals, if we recognize that which is sacred in our lives, and if we have faith in one another."