Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Address of the President to Congress December 5, 1916
File No. 711.38/89a
The Acting Secretary of State to Minister Blanchard
Washington, June 27, 1916.
Sir: There are herewith enclosed, for your information and the files of your Legation, copies of the agreements signed today by the Secretary of State and the Haitian Commissioners duly empowered for that purpose, establishing the emoluments of the Financial Adviser, the General Receiver and the Deputy General Receiver of Customs, and of the engineer or engineers provided for in Articles II and XIII, respectively, of the Treaty between the United States and Haiti, of September 16, 1915.
I am [etc.]
Agreement establishing the compensation of the Financial Adviser, the General Receiver of Customs, and the Deputy General Receiver of Customs
The undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have this day agreed that the following officials, to be nominated and appointed as stipulated in Article II of the treaty between the United States of America [Page 333] and the Republic of Haiti, signed at Port au Prince on September 16, 1915, shall, pursuant to the provisions of Article V, of said treaty, receive annually compensation as follows:—
Financial Adviser:—$6,000.00 United States Currency, per annum, for salary, and $4,000.00 United States Currency, per annum, for personal expenses.
General Receiver of Customs:—$5,500.00 United States Currency, per annum, for salary, and $3,500.00 United States Currency, per annum, for personal expenses.
Deputy General Receiver of Customs:—$4,800.00 United States Currency, per annum, for salary, and $1,200.00 United States Currency, per annum, for personal expenses.
It is also agreed that pending further arrangement between the High Contracting Parties, the President of Haiti shall appoint, upon nomination by the President of the United States and at salaries fixed on the recommendation of the latter, such additional aids and employees as may be necessary to assist the General Receiver of Customs properly to collect, receive, and apply all customs duties on imports and exports accruing at the several customs houses and ports of entry of the Republic of Haiti.
Provided, that the total salaries and expenses of all the officials and employees herein mentioned shall not exceed 5 per centum of the collections and receipts from the customs duties, unless by subsequent agreement between the two Governments.
In witness whereof the undersigned have hereunto signed their names and affixed their seals.
Done at Washington, in duplicate, this 27th day of June, nineteen hundred and sixteen.
Agreement establishing the compensation of the engineer or engineers
The undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have this day agreed that the engineer or engineers to be charged with the supervision and direction of the sanitation and public improvement of the Republic of Haiti, and to be nominated and appointed as stipulated in Article XIII of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Haiti, signed at Port au Prince on September 16, 1915, shall each receive annual compensation not to exceed seventy-five hundred ($7,500.00) dollars United States Currency.
It is also agreed, pending further arrangement between the high contracting parties, that should such official, or officials, as may be nominated by the President of the United States, pursuant to Article XIII, of the Convention hereinbefore referred to, be selected from the service of the United States and receive compensation as such from the Government of the United States, the Government of the Republic of Haiti shall be obligated to remunerate such officer or officers each in a sum not to exceed one-half of the above-mentioned total annual emolument of seventy-five hundred ($7,500.00) dollars.
It is further agreed that should such officer or officers be appointed other than from the service of the United States, the total annual emolument of each such officer shall be defrayed by the Government of Haiti in the following proportions:—
- A sum not to exceed $4,500 United States Currency, per annum, for salary.
- A sum not to exceed $3,000 United States Currency, per annum, for personal expenses.
In witness whereof, the undersigned have hereunto signed their names and affixed their seals.
Done at Washington, in duplicate, this 27th day of June, nineteen hundred and sixteen.
Protocol carrying out the provisions of Article X of the Treaty of September 16, 1915, with reference to the formation of a gendarmerie and its command
The undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have this day agreed:
1. That the Constabulary contemplated by Article X of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Haiti, signed at Port au Prince on September 16, 1915, shall be known as the Haitian Gendarmerie; that its strength and amount to be expended for pay, rations, and expenses of operation, et cetera, shall be as set forth in the following table:
| Per month. | Per annum. | |
| Personnel. | ||
| 1 Commandant | $250.00 | $3,000.00 |
| 1 Assistant Commandant | 200.00 | 2,400.00 |
| 4 Directors | 200.00 | 9,600.00 |
| 9 Inspectors | 150.00 | 16,200.00 |
| 1 Quartermaster, Paymaster, Director | 200.00 | 2,400.00 |
| 2 Assistant Quartermaster Paymasters, Inspectors | 150.00 | 3,600.00 |
| 1 Surgeon, Director | 200.00 | 2,400.00 |
| 2 Surgeons, Inspector | 150.00 | 3,600.00 |
| 18 Captains | 150.00 | 32,400.00 |
| 21 First Lieutenants | 100.00 | 25,200.00 |
| 3 First Lieutenants (Hospital Corps) | 100.00 | 3,600.00 |
| 39 Second Lieutenants | 60.00 | 28,080.00 |
| 8 Second Lieutenants (Machine Gun) | 50.00 | 4,800.00 |
| 6 Second Lieutenants (Hospital Corps) | 60.00 | 4,320.20 |
| 19 First Sergeants | 25.00 | 5,700.00 |
| 112 Sergeants | 20.00 | 26,880.00 |
| 262 Corporals | 15.00 | 47,160.00 |
| 40 Fields Musicians | 10.00 | 4,800.00 |
| 2,100 Privates | 10.00 | 252,000.00 |
| Pay personnel | 478,140.00 | |
| Rations. | ||
| 2,533 enlisted men at 10 cents per diem | 92,455.00 | |
| Personnel—Clerical force. | ||
| 1 Secretary | $100 | $1,200 |
| 1 clerk to Commandant | 45 | 540 |
| 1 clerk to Assistant Commandant | 45 | 540 |
| 2 clerks | 50 | 1,200 |
| 11 clerks | 45 | 5,940 |
| 9,420 | ||
| Forage and remounts | 40,000 | |
| Uniforms | 66,000 | |
| Ammunition and target practice | 15.000 | |
| Hospital, medicine, etc | 10,000 | |
| Transportation, maps, office supplies, intelligence service, etc | 35,000 | |
| Miscellaneous, rent and repair of barracks, tools, kitchen utensils, lights, etc | 20,000 | |
| 186,000 | ||
| Total land forces | 766,015 |
Coast Guard.
Annual cost of maintenance.
| 2 Inspectors, at $1,800 | $3,600 |
| 4 First Lieutenants, at $1,200 | 4,800 |
| 4 Engineers, at $276 | 1,104 |
| 4 Quartermasters, at $216 | 864 |
| 30 Seamen, at $156 | 4,680 |
| 15,048 | |
| Fuel | 20,000 |
| 35,048 |
II. A coast guard service shall be established, operated and maintained as a constituent part of the Gendarmerie, under the direction and control of the Commandant of the Gendarmerie, and in addition to the annual expenses heretofore set forth, the sum of $75,000.00 shall be allotted for the purchase of the necessary coast guard vessels for this service. These vessels may be used for the transportation of troops, Government employees, and the supplies of all departments, at the discretion of the Commandant of the Gendarmerie, subject to the direction of the President of Haiti.
III. All American officers of the Gendarmerie shall be appointed by the President of Haiti upon nomination by the President of the United States, and will be replaced by Haitians when they have shown by examination as provided for in Article X of the Treaty, that they are fit for command.
IV. The Gendarmerie shall be considered the sole military and police force of the Republic of Haiti, clothed with full power to preserve domestic peace, the security of individual rights, and the full observance of the provisions of the Treaty. It shall have supervision and control of arms and ammunition, military supplies and traffic therein throughout the Republic. It shall be subject only to the direction of the President of Haiti; all other officials desiring the services of the Gendarmerie, shall be required to submit requests through the nearest official of that organization.
The private guard referred to in Article 175 of the Constitution of Haiti shall be composed of one hundred men of the Gendarmerie, chosen by the President of Haiti, which men shall wear distinctive insignia while employed on that service.
V. All matters of recruiting, appointment, instruction or training, promotion, examination, discipline, operation, movement of troops, clothing, rations, arms and equipment, quarters and administration, shall be under the jurisdiction of the Commandant of the Gendarmerie.
VI. The Gendarmerie shall be organized and officered as provided for in Article X of the Treaty. The clerical force of the Gendarmerie shall be Haitian citizens.
VII. Rules and regulations for the administration and discipline of the Gendarmerie shall be issued by the Commandant, after being approved by the President of Haiti. Infraction of these rules and regulations by members of the Gendarmerie may be punished by arrest, imprisonment, suspension from duty without pay, forfeiture of pay, or dismissal under regulations promulgated by [Page 336] the Commandant of the Gendarmerie and approved by the President of Haiti.
VIII. Other offenses committed by gendarmes will be investigated by the Gendarmerie officers as directed by the Commandant of the Gendarmerie. If the behaviour of a gendarme is unjustified, he may at the discretion of the Commandant of the Gendarmerie be discharged from the Gendarmerie, and after his guilt is established, be punished in the same manner as other Haitian citizens, or, if not discharged, he will be punished as provided for in Articles VII and IX of this agreement. Officers and enlisted men of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, serving with the Gendarmerie will continue to be subject to the laws of the United States for the Government of the Navy.
IX. A tribunal, consisting of five officers of the Gendarmerie, is authorized for the trial of gendarmes charged with conspiracy against the Government of Haiti. This tribunal will be ordered by the Commandant of the Gendarmerie and in case of conviction is authorized to inflict the punishment of death or such other punishment as the tribunal may adjudge and deem proper, in accordance with the laws of Haiti. All sentences of this tribunal after being reviewed and approved by the Commandant of the Gendarmerie, must be confirmed by the President of Haiti before being carried into execution.
X. Persons violating the laws governing traffic in arms, ammunition, and military stores, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000, United States Currency, or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both.
XI. The Haitian Gendarmerie shall be under the control of the President of Haiti, and all orders from him pertaining to the Gendarmerie shall be delivered to the Commandant through the Minister of the Interior. All other civil officials desiring protection or the services of the Gendarmerie will make application to the senior officer of the Gendarmerie in the locality.
XII. The sum of $801,063 United States Currency, shall be appropriated annually for pay and allowances, equipment, uniforms, transportation, administration, and other current expenses of the Haitian Gendarmerie. Allotments for the various needs of the Gendarmerie shall be made from this sum by the Commandant, but the total of such allotments in any month shall not exceed one-twelfth of the total annual appropriation, provided, however, that the surplus from one month may be allotted in subsequent months.
XIII. Reports of expenditures shall be made by the Commandant as directed by the President of Haiti.
XIV. The laws necessary to make effective the above provisions shall be submitted to the legislative body of Haiti.
In witness whereof the undersigned have hereunto signed their names and affixed their seals in duplicate.
Done at Washington, D. C., this 24th day of August, nineteen hundred and sixteen.
- Robert Lansing
- Solon Ménos
Agreement carrying out the provisions of Article XIII of the Treaty of September 16, 1915, with reference to the control of telegraphs and telephones in Haiti
The undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have this day agreed:
- I.
- That the operation, management and maintenance of the telegraphs and telephones in the Republic of Haiti shall be under the control and direction of the engineer or engineers to be appointed by the President of Haiti upon nomination by the President of the United States and authorized for that purpose by the Government of Haiti in accordance with Article XIII of the Treaty of September 16, 1915.
- II.
- That in order that officers of the Gendarmerie shall be better able to fulfill their duties under the Treaty, the unrestricted service of the telegraphs and telephones is hereby assured to them, and in order to provide for the prompt transmission of messages of the Gendarmerie the officers thereof will afford all necessary protection to the lines.
In witness whereof the undersigned have hereunto signed their names and affixed their seals in duplicate.
Done at Washington, D. C., this 24th day of August, nineteen hundred and sixteen.
- Robert Lansing
- Solon Ménos