Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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212 ZZie &ZZ*GG?. 'Ever since the wholesale massacre of the whites hy the order of Gen eral Desjaline in ISO4, just after she became an independent country, Haiti haii drawn a mantle between herself ?;ud the rest of the world. Notorietj ' misgoverned, this little country has for years been the scene of blood.1.' revolutions, and today is haying one of the most serious civil ?wars in her history. Many of the Haitian culera have been both cruel and corrupt, and it seems surprising ' that the whole system of government has not crumbled long ago. The en tire courlry has been alternately gov erned by so-called generals of the army, who hold in their hands the power o'l! life and death. They rule much after the fashion of a schoolboy bully an-A deal out justice with about the same lack of discrimination be tween right and wrong. Dislike at seeing others of their race prosper it a trait which displays itself in the Haitian character when the occasion arise?, iind in the frequent uprisings taese jealousies often result in the most cold-blooded murders being committed under the pretense that it is for the good of the country. 'Men have hi en taken from their beds in the mic die of the night and shot to death at sunrise of the same day af ter a trial which was little less than a farce. The residences of men who were n .erely political suspects have been, burned and their families mur dered In a most brutal fashion, their only crime being that they did not agree with the political methods of the rul ing power. In the revolution of 190$ a general, who was living quietly at Jacmel, one of the princi pal seaooast towns of the island, was suddenly taken from his home and thrown into prison. He never learned the nature of his offense, for he was heheaded the same evening. His head was then stuck on a bayonet and pa raded through the streets for an hour, and later tossed into the sea. The "body was buried at a desolate spot in the mountains. Quite recent ly the government soldiers burned a town n.nd massacred the helpless in habitants, and afterward had a free ' fight among themselves. Theso crimes are but a few of the many atrocities perpetrated in tho name of "crushing a revolution." Several times the United States had i heen compelled to send warsMps to the scene'of trouble, and frequently the United States Consul at Port au Prince has been overcrowded with Haitians who have sought the pro tection of our flag during these dis turbances. The French and German Consulates also have been called up^n to aff->rd shelter to the refugees, and had It not been for the Monroe Doc trine one of these two countries would long ago have put an end to these uprisings and would 'have | taught the negro republic some: wholesome lessons in the respect ofj other people's lives and property. Our own government seems to be getting tired of Haiti's monthly revolutions, and a short time ago warned the Hai tian authorities that more humane methods must be used in the hand ling of political prisoners. This may stop bloodshed for a time at least, for while the Haitian has little love for the American, he knows since our Spanish-American Wa^ over condi tions in Cuba, that tl are is a limit to Uncle Sam's patience, and that in tervention is sure to follow a contin uance of the troubles of the past. The Haitian army is a ragged looking body of men of uncertain number. It has almost as many gen erals as private soldiers, to say noth ing of the colonels, majors and cap tains. The officers draw nearly all the pay coming to the army, an-, if the soldier's word is to be taken the Matter's mere pittance of a wage must pay tribute to the grr =>d and tyranny of'their superiors. The private t Di dier of Haiti is an ill-fed, ill-cl:thed Individual for he must provide both of these necessaries himself. Indeed, he is often compelled lo lay down his gun and carry bags of coffee to the wharf in order to get a square meal. If the government changes he fares no better, and if he rises in rebellion he is shot?so, no matter what hap pens he still goes hungry and ragged. Haiti, too, has a police department, whose chief work seems to be to make a noise, for they have a series of calls &>: night which make sleep impossi ble. During the day they lounge about the streets and smoke, and are usually absent when there is a row. Remnants of the French regime still cling to the citizens, and the residents in a feeble way try to ape the French nation. Men will swelter I in black frock coats in midsummer because they fancy such, is the style I in Paris. They mu3t also wear goa tees, for this is likewise French. The women are the real, workers of Hai ti as the majority of the men spend their time in smoking and drinking the "rhum," made on the island in rude stills, operated by hand. The men who do work are either employ ed by the government, do odd jobs for the foreign merchants or live in the mountains trusting to the fertile soil to produce enough wild fruits for their sustenance. If they reside in the country, few clothes are need ed, and their children require none until they are at least 10 years old. Haiti has been steadily going backward for the last fifty years. The large coffee plantation once own ed by the French have been allowed to go to ruin, and the fine homes once occupied by the owners of these rich coffee fields have long ago fallen to decay and native huts have taken their place. The cities are without sanitation and in most of them the garbage is thrown into the streets where part of it is eaten by the hogs allowed to run at large, yet the peo ple are unusually healthy. During the rainy season it is impossible to walk these streets unless rubber boots are worn. In the country a few roads become bogs and are practi cally impassable. Bridges over streams have fallen to decay and the only way to cross the deep streams is to swim. The traveler who goes to Haiti is first of all impressed with the congested condition of the coun try, for more than 2,000,000 of peo ple are crowded into the little part of the island, the Dominican Repub lic occupying two-thirds of the land. Go where you will, even in the moun tains, you will find hundreds of peo ple passing and repassing. Every body has something to sell, especi ' OJ^TTJJD ally the "women* who will stand for hours trying to dispose of half a {pound of coffee, a few bananas or a chicken, the foot of which has been tied to a stone to keep it from get ting away. The means of transporta tion of products is the same as it was a century ago, and it takes consid erable dodging to keep out of the way of the hundreds of produce-lad en monkeys ridden by women on their way to market. Port au Prince boasts of a street car?the only one in the republic. In many places its tracks are one or two feet above the street bed. The motive power is a small donkey engine, and the two cars attached have the exact motion of a child's rockinghorse and one ex pects every minute to be thrown from the track, yet the center of gravity is always maintained. The roads leading into the country from Port au Prince are perhaps the best in the dsland, but these are bad, for, as the German residents declare, i "roads and cleanliness are not Haiti's strong points." The peasantry of the black repub lic are for the most part ignorant and lazy, but of a kindly dispdsition. They are generally uneducated and having no intercourse with the out side world, seldom see a foreign face. They have little knowledge of other countries and have a deep root ed conviction that Haiti could con quer any other land. They dwell in huts such as one might expect to find in the Congo, and while these huts are for the most part filthy, the women insist that what clothes they (the women) do wear shall be clean and every day hundreds of the women can be found at the streams doing the family washing. Often they are almost naked as they work. The clothing to be washed is roll ed into bundles and pounded with a rock or flat paddle. Afterwards it is spread on the stones to dry. It is needless to add that after this pro cess of beating the buttons have all disappeared from the garments. This may account for the great num ber of safety-pins found on sale in the shops. The women, too, are the real bread-winners, aud will work hard to support their children. Often they will travel for miles over almost im passable roads, carrying heavy loads on their heads and dragging chil dren by their sides. The boys learn to shirk work early. If by chance the lord and master of the house should go w.'ith his wife, he will ride the donkey, while she walks behind, carrying the market produce on her head. Dancing Is the chief amusement of all classes?dancing of every conceiv able style and to the music of any instrument which may be obtained. In select circles in Port au Prince balls are frequently given and the social lines are clor y drawn. The poor people will dance, no matter what their labors of the day have been or how many miles they have walked to attend the affair. Even after-noon dances are popular, and the American graphophone playing The Merry Widow waltz is usually the orchestra. As to the educational advantages of the Island, the Haitian will tell you that at least one-tenth of the revenue goes for this purpose, and you will at once conclude that the revenue is small. Nearly every school in the island in conducted by Sisters of Charity, and in Jacmel there is a very excellent one for lit tle girls. The children of the island, generally speaking, are mischievi ous, but not wicked or vicious, and there is an absence of the street gam in. Superstition and ignorance go hand in hand in this strange coun try, and travelers tell wierd stories of voodoism, slow poisoning and snake worship, but it is difficult to verify these stories, Catholicism is the religion of the country, and whether or not this is but a veener to cover up strange doctrines the poor people give liberally to the cause. The foolish laws of Hah-.I are re sponsible for its backward condition. Their cry is Haiti for the Haitiana, and no foreigner may own land. He must reside in their country for five years before he may become a Hai tian citizen, and even then he may be blackballed if some official does not fancy his naturalization. It he Is a Syrian he must live in the Is land for ten years before he may be come a citizen. This distinction is because the Syrian is the merchant , of the Island, and after he has made a certain amount of money he re turns to his own country to live. Sometimes he intermarries with the natives and the children of these parents are unusually very pretty. The commerce of the Island is practically in the hands of a few for eigners, for while the average native hates the man from the "bigger land" he cannot get on without him. Haiti is a perfect Garden et Edea for the coffee Importer, and 'the ber ry grows wild on the old French plantations and finds a ready market, especially in Germany. The coffee Is spread out on sail cloth in the dirty streets to dry, and men are employed to bag and weigh it for a trifling sum. It is then taken to (:he Cus tom House for reweighlng for cus toms duty. The export duty charged is three cents per pound. Another set of laborers, who can 'Dear the weight of 170 pounds on their heads with ease, carry it to the barges on which it is lightered out to the steamer. It is not uncommon for a steamer which stops at a seacoast town in Haiti once a month to take seven or eight thousand bags of this wild coffee to St. Thomas for reship ment to Germany. This coffee readi ly brings 25 cents per pound in the German empire. Cotton, too, grow wild and Is al so shipped under heavy export duty. Oranges, grape fruit, shaddocks, rice, corn and yams are also plenti ful. The mountains teem with Hg num-Trttae, the Logwood, so valu able for dyeing purposes, is easily obtained. The weighing of this is done on the beach for exjiort duty, as the Haiti government allows noth ing to go out or to come In free of charge. Cocoanuts grow in large quantities, and the luscious greea jellynut Is one of the articles of food. Everywhere on the Island Is well watered, undeveloped land, just waiting for the guiding hand of the white man to make it "blossim as the rose." ?? Adventures in Society. That a man may ba a great states man, an eminent scholar and a man of invincible power and yet be the rawest recruit in the social world is the motive of Dav:id Graham Phil lips' novel, "The Fashionable Ad ventures of Joshua Craig," a beau tiful book of fiction for fifty cents. Sims' Book Store. LOUIS COHEN & CO. 23.2 and 234 King, and 203 Meeting Streets, Charleston, S. C THE ? 1a0e store. The largest Wholesale and Retail Mail Order house in the South. Write us. Try us on an order. Your near est mail box places our store right next door to you. GRAND SHOWING of Spring and Summer Dress Goods, Silks, dainty white and coloren Wash Fabrics, Notions, Gents Furnishings, Shoes, Floor Coverings, Muslin Un derwear, Ladies and Children Dresses, Walking Skirts, Tailor Made Suits, Millinery, Etc : : : : : We Solicit Your Patronage, and Guarantee Sat isfaction or Your Money Back. j ? ? j ^^^^^^^^ ^ ; j v ! \ ? Jk. - ^01P * 1 gjf ife^ . '_ | ^nir~ Tri??-'?? Ida St. Leon in "Polly of the Circus." Telling, as it does, the story of the odd romance of a pretty little circus rider and a village pastor in Middle West, "Polly of the Circus" which will be presented at the Acad emy of Music, tomorrow evening, a drama as original as it is refresh ing, and is one of those rare plays that appeal to the "gallery gods" with the same force as to the occu pants of orchestra chairs. Since this play was first produced, hundreds of thousands of persons have been mov ed from laughter to tears and to sheer joy in following fortunes of the wistful girl, from which comes the title "Polly of the Circus," and her ministerial admirer. The reproduc tion of a circus in full swing in the third act is one of the greatest ot sta?e realism. Dainty Miss Ida St. Leon will be seen in the title role. The personnel of the supporting cast is an apparent assurance of a finish ed and artistic portrayal of the other characters. The scenic production is remarkable for one of such admit tedly unusual skill In such matters as Frederic Thompson. YOU LIKE Music. Perhaps You Cannot Play any Instrument. Doifit Deprive Yourself any Longer of that Pleasure. Get an Edison Phonograph The perfection of that class of Machine. Made by the INVENTOR, THOS. A. EDISON. All Talking Machines are simply adaptations of the great Inventor's idea. IT IS THE BEST. If there were a beiter one, WE would sell it. It has the LONGEST PLAYING RECORD in the World-The Edison AMBEROL playing 4 to 4 3-4 minutes. It has the exclusive services of the World's GREATEST MUSICIANS and VOCALISTS. The Records include everything from CRA ND OPERA to POPULAR SONGS and VAUDEVILLE SKETCHES. It is the ONLY MACHINE having a PERMANENT REPRODUCING POINT. This point does away with the constant changing of necles incident to other types of Machines. The Records are the CLEAREST made. "thereI!esdion phonograpih ?2 every man's pocket. 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