Mr. Powell to Mr.
Hay.
Legation of the United States,
Port au Prince, Haiti, August
9, 1899.
No. 148.]
Sir: By advices received by this mail from
Santo Domingo, I place the Department in possession of later information
than that contained
[Page 245]
in
dispatch No. 144 of July 29, 1899, concerning the assassination of
President Heureaux.
He was at breakfast. While his bodyguard were taking theirs at a house at
a short distance from his, a beggar approached soliciting alms, and
while his well arm (one of his arms he had little use of, on account of
wounds) was in his pocket to give to this beggar, he was attacked
suddenly, and before he could draw his revolver, or summon aid, his body
was pierced by six bullets fired by the men named in a previous
dispatch. One bullet entered his heart, one his lungs, one his abdomen,
one his shoulder, one his head, and one his arm. The beggar was also
shot. In the excitement the assassins escaped. They have since been
caught and executed.
By a message sent by the Government to its minister, Dr. Henas, and
communicated to me, that quietness prevailed in all sections of the
Republic, a party of Dominicans endeavored to land at a place between
Fort Liberty and Monte Christi, were met by a body of Haitian soldiers.
Some were taken prisoners and are now in jail; the remainder were
dispersed, fleeing into Dominican territory, where it is said they will
soon be captured.
The financial condition of the country is in a bad shape. I inclose copy
of private letter received, which will place the Department in
possession of certain facts which will be valuable to it.
The gunboat Machias arrived on the 1st of the
month, the New Orleans on the 4th. All were
reported well.
I have addressed letters to our consuls at Puerto Plata, Mr. Simpson, and
to Mr. Edw. Reed, Santo Domingo City (Mr. Maxwell being on leave),
requesting each to inform the Department of any uprising, and if the
emergency required it to cable to the Department.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Mr. Reed to Mr.
Powell.
San
Pedro de Macoris, Santo Domingo, W.
I.,
August 3,
1899.
Dear Sir: I beg you to receive this letter,
not as an official communication, but as a private account of the
present situation in this unhappy country, which I take the liberty
to give to you to act upon, or not, just as you see fit.
You of course are aware of the assassination of the President, but I
do not think that you know fully the terribly bad financial
condition this country is in at present; in debt, without money or
credit, and with all the resources of the Government, in the way of
income, pledged already beforehand.
The facts are these: The foreign debt of this Government is about
$22,000,000—the paper currency in circulation, without any funds for
redemption, about $5,000,000—and the so-called silver money, the
intrinsic value of which is 10 cents to the dollar, about
$2,000,000.
On account of no redemption fund the paper money, before the death of
the President, stood already $20 to $1 gold; now the merchants and
country people refuse to take it altogether, though the Government
accepts the same for import duties and other fees at $6 to $1 as
against gold; the Dominican silver dollar is quoted nominally at $6
to $1 in gold, though I do not think you could buy any exchange at
that rate, the French Telegraph Company accepting silver at the rate
of $10 to $1, which is about its intrinsic value.
The sudden death of the President has paralyzed the Government
officials and the people, accustomed, as they have been for years,
to be led and ordered by him, and they look at one another
helplessly and do not know what to do, stricken almost dumb by the
terrible state of financial affairs, because in all my experience I
have never seen or heard of any country so utterly ruined
financially as this country is
[Page 246]
to-day; and all this is done by one man, who,
though able to keep peace in the country, was no financier and had
no idea of the value of money, and who spent, to keep this peace,
enormous sums of money, borrowed at ruinous interest from any and
every body, without giving a thought to the end which had to come.
Even if he had lived, he could not have run this Government longer
than a year without a collapse.
I do not think there will be a revolution here, simply because there
is no money, and the people will support any government that
succeeds in getting good money into the country to relieve the
situation, no matter at what sacrifice.
I remain, etc.,
[Inclosure 2.]
Mr. Powell to
Mr. Reed.
Legation of the United States,
Port au Prince, Haiti,
August 8, 1899.
No. 428.]
Sir: Accept my thanks for the valuable
information which your letter has given me, received in this mail,
which I shall make the subject of my dispatch to the Department by
next mail, it arriving too late for this.
From your letter I find the economic situation is far worse than it
was when I was there, or what I thought it could be. The foreign
debt is greater, the amount of the paper currency in circulation
larger, and the intrinsic value of the silver less; truly the
republic is in bad shape. I would be glad if you will quietly gather
what information you can as to the amount of the foreign debt, by
whom held, and in what amounts. Also send to me in this connection
the revenue of the Government from customs and other sources for the
five years, the expenditures of the Government for the same period.
If there is any Government publication bearing upon this, procure it
for me.
I was very sorry to learn of the assassination of President Heureaux,
and, more so, to know the unhappy predicament by which the country
is left and the dark clouds that are hovering over it. I advise you
to keep the State Department immediately advised of any uprising
against the present Government.
Your letter to Messrs. Clyde I was able to send this mail which left
to-day, by inclosing it in my mail pouch; it will reach New York by
the time you will read this.
Give me as full information as you can on the data requested, and by
next mail if possible, also any changes that may have occurred in
the meantime.
I also herein acknowledge receipt of yours dated August 4, in
reference to Cubans and Porto Ricans.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 3.]
Mr. Powell to
Mr. Simpson.
Legation of the United States,
Port au Prince, Haiti,
August 8, 1899.
No. 429.]
Sir: I have your kind favor of August 4.
Thanks for the information it contained. I regret exceedingly to
hear of the untimely death of President Heureaux, which will still
further unsettle the condition of the Republic.
I trust you will keep the State Department advised of any uprising
against the present Government, using the cable if you find the
emergency requires it.
Be kind enough to remember me to the members of your family.
Respectfully, yours,
