File No. 839.00/1013.
Minister of The Dominican Republic to the Secretary of State.
memorandum.
In accordance with your desire, I have the honor to ratify, by this communication, the declarations which I made to you verbally in our interview of yesterday.
As my Government stated to me in a cable received three hours prior to our interview, the Hon. James M. Sullivan, E. E. and M. P. of the United States in Santo Domingo, recently announced that a Commission appointed by the Government of the United States would go to the Dominican Republic to supervise elections for Magistrates and Deputies, to be held on the 15th and 16th of the current month.
As a result of this statement, which is the culmination of a series of declarations made on many occasions by the Hon. Mr. Sullivan with regard to the attitude of the North American Government affecting elections in the Dominican Republic, which declarations have been the cause of excitement and comment in the press throughout the Republic, my Government directs me to lay before the Department its desire that in the event that President Wilson, in his laudable purpose of continuing to cooperate with the Government of President Bordas in the work which the latter proposes of cementing in morality and law the peace of the Dominican Republic, has considered it necessary and expedient to send the said supervisors as stated by his worthy representative in Santo Domingo, [Page 442] President Wilson will modify his opinion in this regard, in view of the promise made by President Bordas and which I today solemnly reiterate: that during his administration elections in the Dominican Republic will be carried out with entire liberty of speech and action.
In transmitting this desire of President Bordas, I urge you to consider—taking into account the fact that the President has never given any reason for doubting the sincerity of his promises and purposes, and, further, the inherent tendency of professional revolutionists to convert every circumstance into a pretext for exciting the suspicion and arousing the patriotism of the masses—whether the announced despatch of foreign commissioners to supervise officially our elections may not prove:
- 1st.
- Without cause, since the declarations concerning free
elections and the attitude of the United States made by the Hon.
Mr. Sullivan were not the reason for the laying down of arms by
the revolutionists, since they continued fighting many days
after such declarations, and the rebels, after losing many
battles and much ground, surrendered, according to the
confession of their leader Gen. Horacio Vásquez (attached)1; nor was this
effected as a result of any promise that the United States would
guarantee elections, but by virtue of a pact the first clause of
which is as follows:
Elections entirely free, guaranteed by the National Government, both for Constitutional Deputies and for President of the Republic; the Executive Power engaging to remove from office any authority not observing the strictest and most absolute neutrality in this regard.
- 2d.
- Unnecessary, since President Bordas has restored constitutional guaranties, has liberated many persons imprisoned during the late revolution, and nothing has been done thus far in violation of the said pact which can give rise to the belief that it will not be executed religiously;
- 3d.
- Useless, since elections are always celebrated publicly and may always be watched as much as is desired both by natives and strangers; therefore the pressure which might be exercised to nullify them could always be proved without the sending of a foreign official Commission;
- 4th.
- Counteractive, since the presence of strangers with the official mission of supervising our elections could be exploited by provokers of revolutions, who would endeavor to make the Dominican people believe that the Dominican Government had consented to the despoiling of our sovereignty, whereby either there would ensue the driving out of power a President—possibly the only one in our history who was elected by the free will of the representatives of parties who the day previous had been facing each other and disposed to go to war in order to effect the triumph of their respective candidates—or more likely would provoke a new loss of blood and money in a war which could only secure to the Government as its best result a sad triumph at a cost of the lives and interests of thousands of its sons.
In view of these reasons, President Bordas, who is profoundly grateful to President Wilson for the effective support which he has given the Dominican nation in the efforts of its Government to maintain a sound constitutional rule, hopes that he may continue to [Page 443] merit this support and the confidence of the people and Government of the United States, and believes firmly that as the cooperation of that Government in weakening the last revolution was carried out with certainty and speed without the despatch of American soldiers to fight the Dominican rebels, in the same way, without the sending of American Commissioners, the same results may be obtained in regard to the ends of justice, so much desired by all, in order that we may hold free elections, through a mere declaration of principles and wise counsel, which will always be eagerly sought, and with any other indication of the exalted aspirations of His Excellency, President Wilson, which may not be interpreted by anyone as an attack upon our sovereignty.
- Not printed.↩