838.00/1749
The Military Representative in Haiti
(Knapp)
to the Secretary of
State
Port au Prince, 23
September, 1920.
[Received September
28.]
No. 8
Sir: I have the honor to report as follows
concerning the mission upon which I have come to Haiti:
[Page 801]
On Thursday, September ninth, I hoisted my flag on board the U.S.S.
Minnesota and proceeded to sea, arriving
at Port au Prince on Monday, September thirteenth, in the afternoon.
I at once went ashore and called upon the Minister, who returned my
call the next day. I did not seek an audience with the President at
once as I wished to familiarize myself with conditions by
consultations with the Minister and treaty officials. When I was
ready to have an audience with the President, I heard that he was
recovering from an illness and so the request for an audience was
delayed until Friday, September seventeenth. The audience was set
for the following morning. With the American Minister I called upon
the President, accompanied by Captain Hasbrouck of the Minnesota and the members of my personal
staff. As I expected, I found the President surrounded by his
cabinet, and I therefore turned the visit into one of pure
formality; but, on leaving, requested the President to give me and
the Minister a private audience on Monday, which he did.
On Monday, September twentieth, the Minister and I had an audience of
over two hours with the President, at the end of which he assured me
that the wishes of the United States Government would be met. I
therefore trust that affairs are in a way to being arranged
satisfactorily. Upon arrival here I found that the Council of State
had been called to meet on the sixth instant, but that it had not
yet received the special message of the President outlining the
business before it. It, therefore, met only on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays for the accomplishment of certain routine business
before it, but awaiting the President’s special message. The Council
of State met yesterday in regular session, but I have not yet heard
whether the President’s message was sent to it. A rumor from a
Haitian source considered ordinarily accurate is to the effect that
after the visit of Minister Bailly-Blanchard and myself on Monday
there was a meeting of the Cabinet at which it was decided to put
through the program of the United States. This is given for what it
may be worth.
I enclose a summary of the conversation held with the President.
After talking with well informed people here, I was quite prepared
for its outcome, as the opinion seemed to be general that the
Haitian Government was simply seeking to get out of the bad
situation without too much loss of face. There is, of course, still
a chance of a hitch in the proceedings on the part of the Haitians;
but, on the whole, I think the situation may be regarded with
optimism.
In pursuit of the discretion given me, and after discussing the point
with the Minister and Mr. McIlhenny, it was considered wise to pay
the suspended salaries for the months of July and August.
[Page 802]
When I reached here I was
under the mistaken impression that the salaries of the Council of
State had been paid for the month of July, owing either to a mistake
in Washington in deciphering the message of the Minister or to a
possible mistake in the paraphrasing of the despatch. I found,
however, that no salaries had been paid, either to the Council of
State, the President, or the Cabinet, for the month of July. The
period of thirty days which was offered to the President for the
completion of the immediate program desired by the United States was
fixed upon after considerable discussion. It was recognized that the
President would need a certain amount of time to put the program
through. This may be shorter or longer, according to circumstances,
but thirty days was considered a liberal allowance if he went at it
with entire good faith; on the other hand, thirty days retains the
status quo until October twentieth in
case the President does not, or is not able to, fulfill his
undertaking. This postponement of the necessity for any further
action was believed by the Minister and myself to be not in itself
undesirable, in view of the conditions in the United States.
I am [etc.]
[Enclosure]
Memorandum of the Military Representative in
Haiti (Knapp) of an Interview with President Dartiguenave
By appointment at a private audience with the President of Haiti,
Monday, 20 September 1920, Rear Admiral Knapp explained orally
his mission to Haiti to the President, assuring him of the
continued earnest desire of the United States Government to
cooperate with the Government of Haiti in measures to be taken
in accordance with the Treaty between the two countries.
Rear Admiral Knapp spoke of his recent visit to Washington, and
of his personal interview with the Secretary of State and the
latter’s principal assistants, as a result of which he was able
to assure the President that, though the personnel of the State
Department had been changed, the sentiment animating the
personnel with regard to matters pertaining to Haiti was
unchanged and was one of the highest altruistic purpose.
Rear Admiral Knapp spoke of the concern felt by the United States
in the recent lack of cooperation on the part of Haiti, which
seemingly amounts to an attitude of obstruction in certain
matters. He referred to the agreement entered into between Haiti
and the United States on 24 August, 1918, in accordance with
which no laws affecting the Treaty were to be placed in effect
by the Haitian Government until accord had been reached through
the American
[Page 803]
Minister,
who would express the views of the American Government. He
referred also to the later understanding by virtue of which a
modus operandi was established to
insure that the agreement of 24 August 1918 would be observed.
He then expressed the concern of the United States over the fact
that Haiti had ignored both the agreement of 24 August 1918 and
the later understanding of November 1919, and went on to say
that the United States Government had noted with pleasure the
last paragraph of Minister Barau’s communication presented by
the Haitian Chargé d’Affaires to the State Department on 23
August 1920,35
and that in consequence he had been instructed to say that the
American Government would confidently expect the President of
Haiti to see that the laws which have been promulgated in
contravention of these arrangements would be at once revoked,
and that he was further instructed to say that the American
Government would likewise confidently expect that certain other
laws would be immediately passed. This was presented as an
immediate program. Reference was made to the fact that the terms
of the paragraph referred to in Minister Barau’s communication
were general, but the confident belief was expressed that the
President would at this interview give his definite personal
assurance that this immediate program would be put through. The
President was then told that he might have thirty days in which
to put this immediate program through; and that, furthermore, as
an earnest of the sincere desire of the United States Government
to reach an accord with the Government of Haiti and remove the
misunderstanding that seems to have arisen, if the assurance
regarding the immediate programme were given by the President,
the Minister would authorize the payment of the suspended
salaries for the months of July and August, and that when the
program was finally concluded in accordance with this assurance,
that the order to suspend salaries would be entirely
withdrawn.
Rear Admiral Knapp referred to other matters, which the American
Government had instructed might be left in abeyance while this
immediate program was being undertaken, and which it did not
include in the immediate program, referring to the Bank Contract
and allied questions. He made it plain, however, that the
American Government considered it a matter of principle that the
Haitian Government should live up to the obligations which it
had undertaken, and that therefore the laws which have already
been passed and promulgated in contravention of the agreement of
24 August 1918 must be revoked. He also made it plain that the
American Government would expect the Haitian Government to
undertake
[Page 804]
the passage
of necessary measures in connection with the Bank Contract as
soon as the ground should have been cleared by accomplishment of
the immediate program placed before the President.
Rear Admiral Knapp pointed out to the President that the United
States considered him, under the very peculiar circumstances
existing, as the Government of Haiti. He referred to the support
given to the President from the first day of his incumbency; to
the good offices of the United States in the revision of the
constitution, a special feature of which gave the President a
term of seven years in office, although in future the term of
office would be four years; to the further special provision of
the Constitution by which a legislative body had been created
which was not elected but was appointed by the President and
depended upon his sole will. He also mentioned the fact that the
President’s Cabinet was appointed by the President without, the
necessity of having the advice and consent of the Senate, as is
the case in the United States. Under all of these circumstances,
some of which are temporary and exceptional, the President of
Haiti, at the present moment and so long as the constitutional
term of the Conseil d’Etat shall last, occupies a position of
extraordinary personal power. The President was reminded that
the United States Government was not unaware of his
embarrassments; but, at the same time, that it was also fully
aware of these extraordinary powers, and as a consequence it
looks to him to carry out the necessary measures of cooperation
under the Treaty as being himself the Government.
Rear Admiral Knapp referred to the confidence that had been
placed in the President in the early days of his incumbency and
until recently, but he also very frankly said that that
confidence had been greatly shaken by the events of the past few
months, and he informed the President that he could reestablish
the confidence of the American Government by promptly taking in
hand the measures that it desired and that had been indicated as
the program for immediate execution. The President gave his
formal assurance to the Minister and Rear Admiral Knapp that he
would put through the program which has been referred to as
immediate,—that is, the repeal of the laws which, while not
necessarily objectionable in themselves, had been passed and
promulgated in contravention of the agreement of 24 August 1918,
and the passage of the laws which had been indicated as
immediately necessary by the American Government in its recent
note verbale.36 This assurance of the President was
repeatedly made, and he said that the payment of the July and
August salaries would greatly facilitate his task.
[Page 805]
Much conversation took place during the interview regarding
certain of the laws which had been passed or were to be passed.
Endeavor was made to have a perfectly clear understanding that
the United States Government insists that the undertaking of the
Haitian Government duly entered into must be observed with
regard to the passage of laws. In connection with the laws to be
passed as part of the immediate program, the President said that
the Haitian Government would like to make certain observations,
to which of course no exception could be taken, as that
distinctly of itself is in accord with the agreement of 24
August 1918. No promises, however, were made that these
observations would necessarily be accepted by the United States,
but the thirty days of grace which has been granted would give
ample time for their presentation and discussion.
A suggestion had been made that the President be required to
give, in a written document over his signature, the assurance
that he did give orally. This matter was debated in all its
aspects by the Minister and Rear Admiral Knapp before the
interview and they were agreed, at the end of their discussions
on this matter as they were at the beginning, that such a
requirement would be offensive to the dignity of the President
of Haiti, and would be much more apt to do harm than good, and
they also agreed that an oral assurance given by the President
in the presence of both of them was as much as could possibly be
expected. No reference was therefore made to any written
assurance, and the matter rests as has been explained above,
upon the oral assurance given by the President, which was
however reiterated several times. The Minister asked the
President if he gave this formal assurance as the President of
Haiti, to which the President replied in the affirmative.
Later in the day, the order was given by the Minister to the
Financial Adviser to make the payments of salaries for the
months of July and August, and the matters are now in as
advanced a state as is practicable until the expiration of the
thirty days given for the execution of the program, or until the
program shall have been executed within a shorter period of
time.
The underlying motive of the action taken by the Minister and
Rear Admiral Knapp was to save the susceptibilities of the
Haitians to the greatest possible degree, while at the same time
making perfectly clear the fact that the United States
Government insisted upon a strict compliance with the terms of
the agreement made by the Haitian Government, and to which its
good name was pledged.
There is, of course, a possibility of a hitch in the proceedings
if the Cabinet and the Council of State adopt an obstructive
attitude that the President may not be able to control. This is
to be feared, perhaps, but until such an attitude becomes
manifest, there seems to
[Page 806]
be nothing to be done. If it does become manifest, the
President will be informed that, if necessary, he must surround
himself with a Cabinet and a Council of State that will keep
faith with the United States. As the Council of State is now in
session, and is meeting from day to day awaiting a message from
the President, it should not be a long time before some
indication becomes manifest of the way in which the matter will
eventuate.
