839.00/2793: Telegram
The Commissioner in the Dominican Republic (Welles) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 5—9:35 p.m.]
6. Señor Peynado advised me last night that he had definitely determined to resign as candidate the Presidency of the Coalition Party. He will so advise the national convention of his party today. He stated that the reason for his decision was the fact that he had spent all of his personal fortune in campaign expenditures, that he could obtain no further funds, and that his supporters would spend no additional sums in view of the certainty of the defeat of his party in the coming elections.
It is impossible for the Coalition to select any other candidate for the Presidency who can keep together the various political elements of which the party is composed. An attempt which will be at least in part successful is therefore being made by the executive committee of the Coalition to reach an agreement with the leaders of the Alliance Party by means of which the Coalition will be granted representation in the Senate and Congress and among the provincial officials in return for Coalition support of General Vasquez and Señor Velasquez [Page 620] as sole national candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency respectively.
Should this agreement be reached with the accord of the majority of the members of the Coalition executive committee it will result in the Senate and Congress being composed of the best elements in both parties. It will provide assurance that the coming constitutional government will always have majority support in the national legislature being in carrying out [sic] of the Government’s policies and it will guarantee the successful execution of the Plan of Evacuation, with the additional certainty that factional disputes will be obviated in this Republic for some years. An apparent disadvantage lies in the fact that if only one list of candidates is presented to the voters in the coming elections the number of voters will be comparatively small and the charge will be made by the critics of the United States Government that the coming constitutional government does not represent the majority of the Dominican people and that consequently the ratification of the treaty of evacuation stipulated in the plan will have been obtained by a minority vote. This charge can be easily disproved by reference to the registration figures for the elections which indicate 150,000 voters desiring to vote for candidates pledged to carry out the Plan of Evacuation and by reference to the fact that the opponents of the plan although they have had ample opportunity to do so have never brought forward candidates pledged to combat the carrying out of the Plan of Evacuation.
I am [confident?] should this agreement be satisfactorily carried out that the ablest men in the country will be disposed to enter the Cabinet, the Senate and the House making it possible for the majority of the old school politicians who are responsible for the disastrous history of this country to be permanently eliminated from participation in public affairs. With the written commitment which I have obtained from General Vasquez and Señor Velasquez regarding the Policia Nacional Dominicana referred to in my telegram of January 5, 11 a.m., with their like written commitment to maintain the civil service law in all branches of the Executive department and to obtain the adoption of a constitutional amendment providing for life tenure of office during good behavior, I have reason to believe that the Government of the United States can be reasonably confident that a period of peace and progressive government is assured for this Republic.