Mr. Powell to Mr. Hay.
Port au Prince, Haiti , July 29, 1899 .
Sir: I respectfully report to the Department the death of Gen. Ulysses Heureaux, the President of this Republic, and the cause that led up to the same.
Early in March, 1898, the President finding the financial situation becoming critical, the revenue of the country constantly decreasing while the expenditures were increasing, brought in part about by the urgent necessities of the Government on the one hand, on the other the payment of certain large claims that were pressing upon him by the foreign Governments; to relieve the situation he obtained from the commerce (merchants) several large loans at a high rate of interest. When the time came to repay these loans, he was unable to do so. He then endeavored to obtain other loans to cancel those he had already received; in this he was unsuccessful.
These loans had been made to him by the leading merchants in the foreign trade, principally those engaged in the sugar interests surrounding Santo Domingo City and Macoris. Finding it impossible to meet the loans, and the situation becoming more and more grave, as a relief to the smaller merchants and to the country people, he caused to have circulated a large amount of paper currency, to the amount of 14,000,000. There was no guarantee in regard to its redemption, [Page 243] and both merchants and people refused to receive it, except at a very heavy discount. Instead of this measure being a relief, it only complicated matters and rendered it more difficult to adjust.
Its primary object being to relieve the situation in the cities of Santo Domingo and Macoris, whose main industry was in the exportation of sugar, the other parts of the Republics were doing fairly well and did not need the paper money, as their products were of a more diversified character. The situation became such that the country people refused to bring to market their produce. The large planters, on their part, employing a large number of men, bought provisions in the States and sold it at a slight advance to their employees this of course still further reduced the amount of money in circulation and depreciated the paper currency more. The smaller shopkeepers, the middle and laboring class, not in the employ of the planters, felt the full force of this depreciated currency. So grave did the situation become that for ten days Santo Domingo was without fresh meat and vegetables. Matters became a little better when the President informed the public that this money would be redeemed in gold July 1, 1899, at the rate of three dollars (paper) to one in gold. He hoped to bring this about by a loan, which he was about to obtain in England, through one of the banks in London, by which he was to receive about $2,000,000; but before this loan could be made available, the promised time (July 1) for redemption had passed.
The people seeing the paper currency still in circulation, with the prospect of more to follow, looking upon the promises made by the President as hollow, and made for the purpose to deceive them, began to murmur, and this disaffection began to spread.
The President deemed it best to absent himself from the capital until the money should arrive. He had at the time a good excuse to do so, in stating the boundary question of the two Republics required his presence on the frontier. After this was settled, he had another to prolong his stay from the capital in a rumor of an anticipated uprising of certain of Mr. Jimenez’s followers in the north, near Monte Christi.
A portion of this money ($600,000) reached Santo Domingo City about the 5th of July. He distributed this sum among the merchants of Santo Domingo City and Macoris, where the greatest distress seemed to prevail; while this had a tendency to appease the people in and near those cities, it produced a contrary effect in the interior and the other parts of the Republic. They finally refused to receive the paper money, and would only exchange their products for gold. In and around Puerto Plata they would only receive it in exchange at the rate of 10 for 1, and in some cases 12 for 1.
To repress this discontent, and to suppress these murmurs, several of the parties who had severely criticised the policy of the Government in issuing paper money were shot, as examples to others or like discontented spirits.
While endeavoring to secure this temporary loan, he was endeavoring to consolidate all the debts of the country into one, pay the same off by securing a loan sufficiently large in the United States, giving to such a syndicate as guarantee the revenue of the country, and surrendering into their hands the whole fiscal policy of the Government to mold, retaining only the executive functions.
As I have stated, the measures instituted by the President to relieve the people had an opposite effect in other sections of the Republic, [Page 244] especially at Moca. This is a town of about 3,000 inhabitants and within 8 leagues of Santiago, the principal town in the interior.
Hearing of the dissatisfaction, he proceeded there. It is reported he caused some of the leading men of the place, who he was informed were plotting against him, to be shot, and orders were given to inflict the same penalty upon others. The day he was to leave for Santiago—in fact was on his horse to proceed there—three men, Ramon Caceres, Juan Ricardo, Horacio Vasquez, whom rumor had stated were to suffer the same fate, stopped the President and inquired of him whether the report that he had given such orders was true. The President is said to have replied by directing they be immediately executed. One of them immediately drew his revolver and shot him, the ball entering his heart. He fell from his horse. When his attendants reached him, he was dead.
In the excitement that followed, the men escaped. He was buried the following day at Santiago.
At this writing all is quiet in all parts of the Republic, though it is rumored that Jimenez, who is now at Habana, was preparing to leave for Santo Domingo.
The Vice-President, M. Figueroa, has taken the oath of office. He is a man of 63 years, but active and vigorous, is well liked, and has with him the army and navy, both of which are well equipped, according to the constitution. No election will be held for two years, that being the time when President Heureaux’s term would have expired.
In closing this report, though General Heureaux may have had many faults, faults that may be considered inexcusable, that he was harsh in his manner of executing the law, that he punished his foes severely, yet in justice to him it can be said by an impartial observer that he has done more to advance the condition of his Republic than any of his predecessors. He was a friend to all foreigners, especially to Americans; he was a man easy to approach, a patient listener to all, ever ready to help the poor of his Republic. He believed the prosperity of his country could only be achieved by inviting foreign capital to develop its resources. With that view he caused the most liberal laws to be enacted in their favor.
His name is indissolubly linked in the history of this Republic. At the age of 14 he led a small band against the Spanish garrison at Puerta Plata; from thence the insurrection spread, which ended in the independence of the Republic. He continued in its service until exiled by one of the Presidents. He returned after an absence of four years, and led the revolution that deposed President Baez. Prior to that he led the forces of the Republic against Haiti, and compelled it to acknowledge Santo Domingo as a sovereign state.
Excepting a slight interval of a few months, he has been President of the Republic for fourteen years.
I have, etc.,