Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Address of the President to Congress December 4, 1917
File No. 839.00/2062
The Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of State
Washington, November 15, 1917.
The Secretary of the Navy presents his compliments to the Honorable the Secretary of State, and desires that 1 forward herewith for the information of the Department of State a copy of the Quarterly Report of Military Government of Santo Domingo, from July 1, 1917, to September 30, 1917, from the Head of the Military Government.
Very respectfully,
Lieutenant Commander, U. S. N.
The Quarterly Report of the Military Government of Santo Domingo for the months of July, August and September, 1917
The conditions have continued to be quiet, and good order has been maintained throughout the country, speaking generally. There has been occasional lawlessness which must be expected in any country. Conditions are improving every day and are such now that reasonable security of life and property appears to be assured. There have been rumors from time to time of uprisings supposed to be fomented by German influence. Up to this date none of these reports has proved to have any foundation; all such reports are, however, made the subject of careful investigation.
As was reported, the bandit Vicentico Evangelista was killed while endeavoring to escape from the guard having him in charge. His death and the capture of his band have resulted, as was expected, in the resumption of peaceful conditions in Seybo Province and the adjacent part of Macoris Province. He had kept his band together by fear, and had imposed his will upon the parts of the country where he operated by the same means. He had achieved an extraordinary influence, which was manifested in many ways. With his death, however, and the surrender of his band, the entire atmosphere changed; and report after report from that section of the country shows that the people are going back to their peaceful occupations, that crops are being grown and products moved to the sea, where everything had been in a state of stagnation. A number of the principal lieutenants of Vicentico have been, or are being, tried by military commission. The records will be forwarded together, as they are so interrelated that it appears advisable to have them all reach the office of the Judge Advocate General at one time.
The disarming of the population has continued; a very interesting report upon the subject was made recently by the Brigade Commander, which has been forwarded. A resume of that report shows that since the institution of Military Government, the following total number of deadly weapons has been turned in.
| Revolvers. | Rifles. | Knives. | Swords. | Machetes. | Pate de mules. | Shotguns. | Rounds ammunition. | |
| Northern Dist | 19,419 | 5,493 | 735 | 257 | 2 | 474 | 111 | 100,160 |
| Southern Dist | 10,530 | 4,412 | 776 | 1,088 | 1,889 | 87,560 | ||
| Total | 29,949 | 9,905 | 735 | 257 | 778 | 1,552 | 2,000 | 187,720 |
The custom revenues of the country have continued to show a gratifying increase over previous years, although they have somewhat fallen off from the collections of May and June. This, however, is an annual occurrence, the months of late summer and early fall invariably showing a decrease of customs revenues. [Page 719] In no month have the customs revenues fallen below $415,000 and the average for the three months covered by this report is $462,000. The internal revenue collections have also kept up to a gratifying figure. The result is that with economical administration about one and one-half million dollars have been received in the Dominican Treasury, during the ten months since the advent of Military Government, in excess of the current demands under the budget that has been in effect. A revised budget will soon be issued.
In the matter of education progress has been made. The report of the Commission on Education has not yet been submitted, but the main features of it, as applied to present conditions, have been decided upon. Much discussion apparently seems to be required before the final report can be prepared. In the meantime, however, the secretary of the commission has been appointed Superintendent of Education in the place of the incumbent found when Military Government was declared. A considerable increase in budget will be made, unworthy teachers will be weeded out, less attention will be paid to higher education and much more to primary and secondary education. One of the two so-called universities will be suppressed, and efforts will be bent toward reducing illiteracy rather than to providing for the needs of a limited class of students in professional and literary subjects.
The question of agriculture has continued to receive the attention of the Military Government. The employment of traveling demonstrators has continued and the results obtained are very encouraging. It will be a matter of time, however, to find a sufficient number to cover the whole Republic, because the men employed must, in addition to their technical education, be able to speak the Spanish language. Negotiations are under way to employ a Director of Agriculture. The gentleman in mind is now in Porto Rico, serving under the Island Government, and is highly recommended by the Director of Agriculture of that Island. He has been here for a conference with the officers of the Military Government while this report was being prepared. He is expected to return here shortly for a six months’ engagement, at the end of which time, if his services prove satisfactory and nothing arises to prevent, he will be permanently employed. His opinion coincides with that already formed by the Military Government, that it is wiser to employ traveling demonstrators than it is to attempt anything at present in the way of agricultural schools. Probably it will be wise in time to have also one or two experimental farms; but the character of the people is such, and their illiteracy is so great, that any attempt to convey agricultural information to them by written matter would be almost entirely lost. Added to this is the conservatism always found in the agricultural classes, but which will, it is believed, yield here most readily to practical demonstrations where the advice of traveling demonstrators is followed. The appropriation hitherto made for the Department of Agriculture will be considerably increased in the new budget under consideration at the present time.
The comprehensive scheme for future public works is not ready, but will be, I trust, very shortly. Preliminary studies have been made, and the formulation of the scheme is, in its general features, already well decided upon. It has, however, seemed wiser to wait until the new budget could be formulated and published, as the two matters will be somewhat connected. It will be my intention to use a certain part of the funds that have accumulated since the advent of Military Government in smaller items of public works, as has been done in the past months, for instance, for the repair and maintenance of public roads. The amount that will be available for such use will have its bearing upon the balance left from the $20,000,000 loan; therefore the scheme for the employment of the latter funds will be withheld until the new budget can be formulated.
No final scheme for the organization of the Public Health Service of the Dominican Republic has, as yet, been adopted, but preliminary steps have been taken in ways that will fit into such an organization when it shall be put into effect. Matters concerning the Quarantine Service have been put on a more satisfactory basis; and the medical officers of the occupation have rendered much valuable service in the localities where they have been stationed. There will be an opportunity for thorough cooperation between the Public Health Service and the Guardia Nacional, which should become closer and closer as time goes on.
The Dominican Central Railroad has continued to improve under the management of Mr. J. T. Collins; and all reports from the region served by it go to show the satisfaction of the people in the bettered conditions. An attempt is being made, from earnings in excess of amounts needed for ordinary running expenses and repairs, to put the road in first-class condition and to build up the working [Page 720] capital of $75,000 which was approved by the State Department in Washington. It will take some time to do this; but the receipts of the road have shown a gratifying balance over expenditures for the past few months.
The Guardia Nacional Dominicana, the constabulary force of the country, has been recruited and trained thus far under the direction of officers and non-commissioned officers detailed from the Marine Corps, with the exception of a few officers of experience and knowledge of Spanish who have come from civil life. In every case the last named have previously been in either the Army, the Marine Corps, or the constabulary of some of the dependencies. At the end of the quarter, the strength of the Guardia has reached twenty-one American and seventeen Dominican officers, and 691 enlisted men. The necessities of the case have continued to demand that detachments of the Guardia be sent out into the country to preserve order before they have had the thorough training that would have been desirable, but they will be drawn in from time to time for further training and replaced by trained men. In the larger places considerable bodies of the Guardia are kept assembled, and are not only being trained under military discipline but are being instructed in the necessary laws and other matters which will enable them to carry on in a proper manner their general police duties.
By Executive Order No. 66, steps were put in motion to establish a civil service for government departments. It was considered wise in the beginning to leave the initiative very largely in the hands of the officers administering the different departments rather than to attempt the formulation of a series of rules that would apply to the whole number of government employees, in the belief that after some experience a body of civil service rules applicable to the whole scheme of government could be evolved that would require less readjustment than would have been the case by starting out with a theoretical organization. The first body of government employees to come under civil service rules will be those of the postal administration. A date for examination has been set, and a commission is being provided for to conduct the examination. The head of the commission will be Mr. Terry, Chairman of the Porto Rican Civil Service Commission, whose services have been kindly lent by the administration of that Island. The services of one of the United States Postal Inspectors of Porto Rico have also been secured while this report has been in course of preparation. The third member of the commission will be a Dominican. By the first of the year practically every postal employee in the country will be holding his position under civil service rules. The service will be extended to other departments as rapidly as the officers administering them can make the proper arrangements. It is contemplated at a later time to appoint a civil service commission which shall have cognizance of all civil service employees of the country.
There are two other matters of interest that may be briefly mentioned: The original proclamation of Military Government did not reserve the power to remove unworthy judges. This power has recently been given to the Military Governor in cases where constitutional methods cannot be followed, and in which the unworthiness of the judge is proven beyond a doubt. In the earlier days of the war I represented the dependence of Santo Domingo upon the United States for certain foodstuffs, and the Export Board has adopted the very liberal policy of giving a blanket license for both Santo Domingo and Haiti, provided that measures were taken in both countries to prevent the reexport of the foodstuffs to the enemies of the United States. These steps have been taken, and there has been no shortage of any necessary foodstuffs to my knowledge.