New-York tribune. [volume], February 17, 1905, Image 1

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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VOIV O1 LXIV....N 0 21.275.
ITS OFFICERS RE-ELIXTED
HARMOXY IX EQUITABLE.
Committee tn Report on Voting by
Policyholders.
Fallowing a conference yesterday morning
v.ith J. Pierpont Morgan and talks -with August
j^elmont ard E. H. Harriman, Senator Chauncey
If. Depew poured oil on tha troubled waters
I the Equitable. Life Assurance Society's dl
-.-cforp' meeting: in the afternoon, and in &
like his old fashioned stump speeches,
the Hyde and Alexander factions into
harmony. Af ■ result thft old officers were re
acted for another year. Nevertheless, the
I was a decisive victory for the Hyde
adherents, and James Hazen Hyde was
• in smiles when he left the hoard roonx
A friend of Mr. Alexander's was much in-
night at reports that Mr. Alex
,r.d the men who had signed the peti
• -th him had receded from the attitude
>k in those documents. Nothing was
frnm th«Mr thoughts than any such aban
:' r^eir grounds, he said; in fact, every
man irno figned those petitions would have
for the ideas in them to the last ditch,
■ •- society sooner than surrender.
• Df the meeting in voting to consider
-ion plan and the re-election of Mr.
i»r itself showed that the sentiment
.: the directors was with Mr. Alexander,
.
r any future friction or disagreement
• 'he r°liO" of thr Equitable. Mr. Alex
■ >uld not discuss it. and he was
• ilr. Alexander himself was not con
_- it The President, he said, was de-
I to work for the interests of the com-
M a? he had been doing. Any ques
• resignation, voluntary or involuntary,
would be speculation, where the situation de
i the consideration of facts. No officer
~.pany was elected for more than a
rbere was only one test of strength in the
-. that which came when a committee
rl on s plan of mutuaiization of the
I Of the forty-five di
tbe meeting, twenty-eight voted on
th° Hyde side, and the result was the appolnt
f a committee nf seven, four of whom
are Hyde men, who will report a plan entirely
In accordance with Mr Hyde's wishes. A plan
be reported before April 12.
rpont Morgan's entrance into the Equi
r.troversy was entirely unsuspected by
Be, although his influence had been dis
crr.^-'i once or twice, it was thought. While
he did noi es-pouse either side actively, he was
I to use his influence for the Alexander
I urty. He called at Senator Depew's home
pcatierday morning to urge that efforts
be made to avert any rupture in the company.
Senator Depew told Mr. Morgan that he was
firmly committed to Mr. Hydes side in the con
troversy. Mr. Hyde's interests and Mr. Hyde's
c;:ies were his. but he agreed with Mr. Morgan
that all efforts should Ye made to restore har
rr.ony.
After Mr. M^rtrnr.'s visit to him Senator De
•vhere he saw Mr. Bel-
Mr. Harriman and Mr. Hyde. He was one
c>f the first to arrive at the Equitable offices !n
i he afternoon, and in an office on the third floor
-ito conference with Messrs. Hyde, Bel
xriort aod Haxriman. The result of these con
s was the extermination of the Hyde
I any to fight to a finish if it became absolutely
reoesfsry, but preferably to adopt conciliatory
est a great harm befall' the business
h all were so deeply interested. These
te Senator expressed in the speech which
an end all resistance from both sides.
7 -.;>• after the meeting he went to
- ■ on.
THE GATHERING OF THE DIRECTORS.
Th<? ■.fixation plan which Is to be adopted
was the subject of the greatest discussion. It
has bc*cn made apparent from the first that Mr.
Hyde did not object to any mutualization, if it
were desired by the stockholders and policy
holders, which would leave the company pro
tected. He has objected strongly to any plan
by which policy holders could vote by proxy,
since such an arrangement would leave the con
trol of the company in the hards of the men
fj*a could get the proxies, at which the agents
and superintendents of agents would have the
I r-5t opportunity. The most likely plan, it was
raid, would be one permitting only such policy
holders to vote as were duly accredited and at
tended the society's meetings in person.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 2 p. m.
At that time most of the directors had assem
bled hi the board room, but after a few min
utes ere they retired, with the announcement
that the meeing had been adjourned for an hour
to give a committee more time to prepare its
report. At 3 p. m. they gathered again—forty
five out of the fifty-one directors— whom
were sir. Hyde, President Alexander. Senator
Depen-. Colonel John Jacob Astor. Jacob H.
Schiff, E. H. Harriman, August Belmont. Will
ism Alexander. Charles B. Alexander. Henry
:.I. Alexander. Gage B. Tarbell. G. T. Wilson.
H. C. Deming, Alvin W. Krech, Valentine P.
Fnyder. Charles Stewart Smith. W. H. Mcln
lyre. H. D. Ripley. Alfred G. Vanderbilt. Thom
as T. Eckert, Brayton Ives, Thomas D. Jordan,
John A. - - -wart, Jose F. De Navarro, John J.
McCook. C. Ledyard Blair and R. H. Wlnthrop.
Most of the directors had been conferring In
the hour's wait, and they entered the board
room the second time in little groups of two and
three. Mr. Hyde himself delayed about a quar
ter of an hour, until two or three of the others
went after him, telling him the meeting was in
■•Sa of him.
Once Inside, however, he became active
enough. One or two routine affairs were cleared
away nd then Mr. Hyde took the floor. He
declared that ■ great deal had been said re
<^Ot!y about mutualiz!r:g the Equitable. The
first he had heard about this idea, he desired
to gft on the record, was on February 3, »hen
President Alexander walked into his office with
: - v .e petition which has since become public
i-operty. In view of the fact that he. the ma
*Mity Mockholder. would naturally work for the
fcst interests of the company, he thought it
■•■sis a little queer that the president should go
ibout an improvement in such fashion.
He was quite willing that the company
ehould be mutualized. and If the directors were
in favor of such action he would concur in any
tcheme they might suggest and do his utmost
to have it put Into effect. He couldn't see the
use for any further washing of linen in public,
however, for. whatever other effect it might
Jiave. Jt would certainly result in harm to the
comt-any.
HYDE WINS AT ONLY VOTE.
Thnn ensued a. lively discussion, In which
JBany directors of both Bides took part. Rome
' r the Hyde men urged that President Alexan-
Continued on third scare.
WHY NOT SEE WASHINGTON
*rhl!e ihe weather Is pleasant there? Pennsyl
vania Railroad Tour February -!- SI2OO or *14.»
gwm vi \ ♦xjx-nws fo r ttirfc ■ tail* from C.
* lv k. P. A. No "'iJ iil»-av* New- YorU.— A.;-, i.
i> i.i.'. fnir un<l wwm«r.
To-morrow, fair.
THE COLOSSAL BRONTOSAURUS.
Exhibited for 4he first time yesterday at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park.
BROXTOSAURUS RECEIVES
A Tea to Celebrate Opening of
Fossil Hall.
That magnificent educational institution, the
American Museum of Natural History, entered
upon a new stage of usefulness yesterday, -when
a large apartment which is devoted to a sin
gle group of fossirs — the remains of dinosaurs —
was formally opened to the public. The room
adjoins the Hall of Mammals, and is at the ex
treme eastern end of the building. Mounted in
the centre and facing the entrance, was a co
lossal brontosaurus. the only representative of
its species yet placed on exhibition anywhere
in the world, while around the sides of the hall
■were displayed portions of the skeletons of
scores of related, reptiles. There, on the invita
tion of the director. Professor Herman C. Bump
us, a large company assembled in the afternoon
to drink tea and do honor to an important class
of paleontological treasures.
The affair was called a 'dinosaur tea." Sev
eral hundred invitations had been issued to ed
ucators and scientists and to the friends and
patrons of the Museum, and between 4 and 5:30
practically all who were invited enjoyed a pri
vate view of the huge fossil.
Present as the receiving party were President
Morris K. Jesup, First Vice-President J. Pler
pont Morgan, Second Vice-President Professor
Oaborn. and Director Bumpus. Tea and choc
olate were poured by Mrs. H. Fairchild Osborn,
Mrs. C. Bumpu*. Mrs. Henry Wise Miller. Mrs.
"William Pierson Hamilton, Mrs. H .raert Par
sons and Miss Anne Morjsraru
The tables, decorated with ferns and flowers,
stood on the northerly side of the hall, in the
shadow of the towering saurian.
Among those present at the reception and tea
were Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, of Columbia;
President John H. Finley of City College. Sir
Percy Sanderson and Mr. and Mrs. Brander
Matthews.
Naturalists employ the term "dinosaur" to
designate a large group of reptiles, mostly of
gigantic size. The majority lived on plants.
Some had four legs and some only two, but In
quadrupeds the hind ones were usually the
longest, bo that when such animals stood on
"all fours" they were higher at the hips than
elsewhere. Several genera had stocky figures,
whereas others had iong necks and tails. It has
been estimated that the extreme length of a
camarasaurus might be nearly or quite eighty
feet in length and its height sixteen feet. The
proportions of a brontnsaurus are believed to
have nearly equalled these, and in exceptional
instances it is possible that the latter creatur*
was seventy-five feet long. The specimen now
on exhibition in West 77th-st. has a length of
Gti feet 8 inches. It certainly bears wonderful
testimony to the virtue? of a vegetarian diet
and fresh water at a period dating back about
twelve million years. The rocky stratum in
which its bones were imbedded belongs to what
geologists call the upper Jurassic, and contains
evidence that it was deposited in a shallow,
unsalted sea which overspread the interior or
th» continent. Immediately before and after
this time the ocean feems to have invaded the
region, because fossils of a truly marine type
are found above and below the layer In question.
The gigantic amphibian whose skeleton is
now publicly displayed for the firs, time was
discovered In Wyoming, about three miles west
of the famous Bone Cabin quarry, in 1887. The
bones were removed within the next two years,
and nearly five years have been devoted to
freeing diem from adhering material, and ar
ranging them so as to tell their story to the. ob
server. Two-thirds of the original skeleton has
iif-en found. In completing the restoration, and
. sj ecially in supplying the skull, use has been
made Of the remains of a related form, a moso-
Baurus, taken from the Bone Cabin quarry. The
work of preparing a specimen of this kind for
scrutiny by both the initiated and uninitiated
calls for a rare combination of mechanical skill,
anatomical knowledge and special familiarity
with Ancient form of life. Professor H. F.
Osborn, curator of vwtebrate paleontology at
ihh American Museum of Natural History, and
his assistants possess these qualifications In
such a measure as to justify confidence in the
product of th<'ir labor. They and other nfflcc.s
<>)■ the Museum received many congratulations
yesterday <>:i the successful outcome ajid also
on th" honor of anticipating similar exhibitions
elsewhere. Yale )u<s a brontosaurus of about
tJu- same rise as that In New-York, and nearly
or quite as complete, but for some reason it has
not yet been shown to the public.
XO ILL WILL AT CARACAS.
Castro Greets American Travellers —
Good, Wishes Exchanged.
fBT rABI.K TO THi: TIUBr.NE.}
(Copyright. IMB. bj The Tribune Aksoi iatlon.;
Caracas. Feb. 16. — There was a big demonstra
tion on the Plaza Bolivar last evening in honor
of two hundred American travellers from th«
Hambuig-Am. i :>:iti Line's steamer Victoria
Louise. President < "astro made his appearance
at the concert given by the military band, and
was warmly greeted by both Americans and
V« r f-zui-lans. National hymns wore sung and
handshakes exchanged. The hearty enthusiasm
was mutual.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR'S NARROW ESCAPE.
IBY TEI.EGIIAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.]
Colorado Springs. Col., Feb. X— Chester A. Ar
thur, son of '!,. dead President, was in a sleighing
accident to-day, that might easily have had furi
ous results. Ma was thrown violently from a Ug|
box teal, hf* head crazing a curbstone and strik
es In a s-uow Jv-vi(j besias'j.t *,
NEW-YORK, FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 17. 1005. -FOURTEEN PAGES.-
JAY COOKE DEAD.
The Xoted Financier Passes Z4way
at the Age of 83.
Philadelphia, Feb. lfl.— Jay Cooke. whose fame
as a financier was once worldwide, died to-night
at the home of his son-in-law-, Charles D. Bar
ney, at Ogontz, a suburb of this city. Mr.
Cooke was eighty-three years old. He had been
complaining of general debility, the. result of
old age, for several years. His condition was
not considered serious, however, and his death
to-night came rather suddenly. Last Monday
he entertained as his guests 125 young women
attending the Ogontz school and their friends.
On that occasion he appeared to be in good
spirits and was the last to leave the reception
room.
Mr. Cooke's family, relatives and friends were
informed of his illness early to-day, and many
of them, including Mrs. Butler. Mrs. Barney and
Jay Cooke, jr., his children, were present when
he died. Few, except his closest neighbors,
knew that he was ill.
Jay Cooke was born in Sandusky, Ohio, on August
10. 1821. Leaving a country grocery store for a
clerkship in a Philadelphia banking house, he be
came, on attaining his majority, a partner in tho
firm of W. E. Clark & Co.. and made money rap
idly for himself and his patrons.
In 1858 he retired from the banking business and
became interested in large railroad enterprises.
Borne of them in the western part of Pennsylvania
and some of them in the gr _' Northwest, destined
to become the theatre or toe .nost. fateful cv V.i
of his life — the inception of the Norrherr. Pacific
Railroad. In this time he negotiated the sale of
the Pennsylvania State Canal, which led to the
completion of one of the greatest railroad systems
of the world— the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The house of Jay Cooke & Co. is widely remem
bered through the work it accomplished in raising
the money necessary to carry on the operations
of the government in the Civil War. Colossal as
the figures may appear, it Is a fact that in one
year, during which it was the sole, financial agent
of the government, the house of Jay Cooke & Co.
transacted a business of $3,<XiO,<XiO,ooo. This was in
the year in which the great 7-30 government loans
were floated.
Within less than five months of that year Jay
Cooke & Co. paid to the United States Government
$830,000,0(10 in gold. Indeed, the reputation of Mr.
Cooke and his place in history will be fixed by
these (normous negotiations of the government
during the Civil War. He may be compared with
Robert Morris, for what Morris did for Washington
Jay Cooke & Co. did for Lincoln and Btanton.
At the outbreak of the war the- National Treas
ury was empty, and it became necessary to raise
at times |5,000,000 a day. Chase, Fessendeo and
MeCulloch had exhausted aI 1 their ingenuity, and
finally Mr. Cooke \v;i.s called upon and was ap
pointed sole fiscal agent of the government. Gen
eral Grant, after the war. in a letter to Mr. Cooke,
said that through his efforts the nation was in
debted for th« means thu rendered military suc
cess possible.
One morning Mr. Cooke was going- to his place of
business in a streetcar. When he h^ard that Presi
dent Lincoln had been shot. He Instantly marked
out his course of action. His firm held a vast
amount of government paper. Without going to
his office. Mr. Cooke sought a telegraph office and
instructed his agents in every city in thf North to
advance th* price of government bonds a half cent.
Then he waited until noon on that fateful April IS,
and again gave orders to raise the price of bonds
another half cent. Just before the close of business
that day he. again raised them a hair cent, and the
next day he kept them on the upward tendency.
It took money and great pluck to do this, hut Cooke
had both. On the second day he telegraphed the
Treasury Department at Washington tn know if it
would support him. The reply came back that it
would. Everybody was nonplussed. Speculators
who had gone "short" on the market could not see
why the President's death did not break the market.
Financiers in London could not then get the news
by wire, as now. and the danger w ;ls that when
they did get It they would send so many bonds back
here that the North would he swamped. When,
howev.-r. they saw no falling off in the price, but
Instead a steady rise, they concluded there was no
danger, and held th'-ir bonds. The people of this
country did the same. And thus by the prompt
action of Jay Cnoke a panic wat averted.
Mr. Cooke's vast enterprises in floating govern
ment loans gave him a wide foreign acquaintance,
and after acquiring a controlling Interest In the
company organized under the old Purham charter
for a road from i.nke Superior to Plight Sound, the
tight against the I'nior. Pacific syndicate for the
special act of Congress authorizing & bonoed in
debtedness was successfully carried out. Then came
the celebrated meeting at Ogontz, Mr. Cooke'l sum
mer home, near Philadelphia, where the Northern
Pacific scheme was talked over frith Baron Gerolt,
th^n Herman Minister to the I'nl'.ed States, one of
th. ohlef ligurts, and a number of leading German
bankers. <>n that evening >Tr. Cooke received
exchange on Amsterdam for JoOO.OO in gold as a
mere guarantee for an agreement that these bank
ers would contribute 150.000.0fHi to build th« Northern
Pacific.
The negotiations went on, and ln the mean time
the house of Jay Cooke & Co. held this $50n.(i00 of
■joid In Us vaults. Two days before the outbreak
of the Franco-Prussian War Mr. Cooke received a
cable message that the $60,000,000 would within
forty-eight hours he on deposit in a well known
banking house ln London. Thus the Inception or
the Northern Pacific Railroad on the broad basis
planned by Mr c ( .ok* und his friends appeared to
:red Within two days war was declared
between France and PruwU, and the guarantee of
160.000,000 foil through and the $500,000 was returned
3Butl3 But l ' Mr. Cooks and hlu friends still did not }o««
faith In their Northwestern enterprise. A pool or
Continued •■•■ third poc**-
Sleeping car to Springfield. Ma« daily, on train
leaving Grand Central Station. New \ork. at li.W
y m commencing Feb. 20th.-Advt. .
CURE FOR SPOTTED FEVER
Discoverer at Gouverneur Hospital
Will Not Tell It at Once.
That cerebro-spinal meningitis, frequently called
"spotted fever," Is to be robbed of its terrors is
believed at the Gouverneur Hospital, where a
method of treatment discovered by Dr. Edward
Waltzfelder. visiting physician there, has led to
many speedy recoveries of late. Dr. Waltzfelder,
when seen at the hospital yesterday afternoon by
a Tribune reporter, declined to make public his
method of treatment immediately, declaring that
he intended to describe it first in a paper to be
published in a medical journal. Observing his
wishes, .other physicians at the hospital declined to
talk about the treatment further than to say that
it had been successful, and seemed likely to render
the dreaded disease harmless to mankind.
"I beleve we have made a discovery of great
value to medical science," was Dr. Waitzfelder'a
own expressed opinion, while he held fast to the
determination not to give iriTormation about it to
the general public until he had described it for
the benefit of the medical profession.
Until Dr. "Waitzf elder's method was tried with
such marked success lately at the Gouverneur
Hospital there had been a large percentage of
deaths in cerebro-spinal meningitis cases at hospi
tals in this city. About a year ago the city had a mild
epidemic of the disease, which continued until the
warm weather set in. The disease then fllaap
peared, but th« severe cold weather of the present
winter seems to have brought on another epidemic,
as the disease ha-<? been Increasing in the city raa
idly. While the disease is not believed by phy
sicians to be contagious, as some other fevers are
contagious, it become? epidemic In certain districts.
Just at present the lower JSaet Side, in wmleh
Gouverneur Hospital is situated, is the part of the
city where the epidemic of the so-called "spotted
fever" is at its worst.
Several cases of the disease are being sent to the
hospital daily for treatment. Since Dr. Waltz
t'elder's method has been adopted all the patients
are recovering, and several have left the hospital
apparently cured. The fame of Dr. Waitzf elder, ac
cordingly, has been spreading rapidly on the East
Side, and dwellers in the tenement houses there
ask to be taken to Gouverneur as soon as they
feel any symptoms of the disease which has been
to them a cause of terror. '
Cerebro-spinal meningitis in epidemic form first
made its appearance in this country In 1803. Since
then there nave been several severe epidemics 01
the disease in various parts of the country, always
in the winter and spring months. The symptoms at
first are. some fever, irregularity of the pulse,
headache, giddiness, somnolence, gradually deep
ening to coma, followed by muscular weakness and
paralysis. An Important feature of the disease is
the occurrence in many cases of an eruption on
the skin, which has caused the disease to be called
"sootted fever." In malignant cases the disease
usually baa caused death in a few hours.
TO SPEXD $23j000,000.
P. R. R/s Bills for New Equipment
May Reach $27j000 t OOO This Year.
Philadelphia, Feb. 16.— The Pennsylvania Rail
road will buy new equipment costing not less
ti.an $23,000,000 this year l<>r Its lines east and
west of FiUslmrg-. and if the entire programme
is carried out as arranged the cost will be *"J7,
000,000. The decision was reached to-day to or
der three thousand additional freight cars, to be
divided between the Pennsylvania Railroad and
the Western lines. Already contracts have been
placed for 12,300 cars, so that, with the present
order. 15,300 cars will have been ordered by the
Pennsylvania for delivery this year.
Contracts have been placed with builders for
370 locomotives. The Pennsylvania Railroad
has arranged to build 190 additional loco
motives In its Junlata whops. Beyond this ar
rangements have been made for such part of
two hundred more locomotives as may be needed
later, while still Another fifty may be built in the
Junlata shops. Payment for all this equipment
will be made part in cash and part in equipment
trust certificates. The Pennsylvania company
will finance for three thousand cars for the
Western lines by issuing $.'!,<•< io,oo»» equipment
bonds. For the locomotives cash will be paid.
COL. ASTOR LOSES $6,000.
Watchman at the Weber Music Hall
Recovers It in Bo>r There.
A week ago lost night, it was learned yester
day, John Jacob Astor dropped a pocketbook
containing six $1,000 bills in a box at Weber's
Music Hall. He Returned to the sta^e entrance
at 1 a. m.. but the nij;ht watchman, IV'njamin
Clarke, would not admit him to search for it,
not being sure who he was. Mr. Astor. how
ever, waited outside while the watchman
Marched the box where he had been sitting.
Clarke found the purse. The next day he re
ceived Mr. Astor's check for $!<*>.
EIGHT HOUR DAY FOtl MONKEYS.
Nebraska Legislature Passes Bill Fining the
Animal and His Owner for Overwork.
[BT TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.]
Lincoln. Neb., Feb. 16.— The Nebraska Senate to
day passed the House bill for protection of ani
mals in domestic service against cruelty. Among
its provisions Is one that monk employed as
adjuncts to Italian organ grinders shall not be
worked over eight hours a day. on pain of line and
imprisonment of both the monkey and the grinder.
QUICKEST LINE TO CLEVELAND.
Leave New York 5:32 p. m., arrive Cleveland 7:lj
next morning. Cincinnati 1:30 p. m.. Indianapolis, t/H
p. m. v St. I»uls 9:45 p. m by New York Cent.al.
Tine wr'.ivlce. No excess fare.— Advt.
MONROE DOCTRINE IN DOMINICA
PRESIDEXT ROOSEVELT. IX MESSAGE TO SEXATE.
EXPLAIXs HIS ACTIOS.
Duty of the United States to It* W raker Xeighbors Set Forth — Respon
sibilities Involved in Assertion of Monroe Doctrine.
[FROM TitE TRJBVXE BCP.EAC]
Washington. Feb. lfi.— President Roosevelt's
notable message, transmitting the Dominican
protocol, was made public by the Senate, in
executive session to-day. It is as follows:
Tr> the Senate:
I submit herewith a protocol concluded be
tween the Dominican Republic and th^ I'nlted
States.
Th» conditions ln the Republic of Santo Do
mingo have been growing steadily worse for
many years. There have been many disturb
ances and revolutions, and debts have been
contracted beyond the power of the republic to
pay. Sonif of these debts were properly con
tracted, and are held by those who have a
legitimate right to their" money. Others are.
without question, improper or exorbitant, con
stituting claims which should never be paid ln
full, and perhaps only to' the extent of a very
small portion of their nominal value.
Certain foreign countries have long felt them
selves aggrieved because of the non-payment of
debts due to their citizens. The only way by
which foreign creditors could ever obtain from
the republic itself any guarantee of payment
would be either by the acquisition of territory
outright or temporarily, or else by taking pos
session of the custom houses, which would, of
course, in itself, in effect, be taking possession
of a certain amount of territory.
It has for some time been obvious that those
who profit by the Monroe doctrine must accept
certain responsibilities along with the rights
which it confers; and that the same statement
applies to those who uphold the Doctrine. It
cannot be too often and too emphatically as
serted that the United States has not the
slightest desire for territorial aggrandizement
at the expense of any of its Southern neighbors,
and will not treat the Monroe Doctrine as an ex
cuse for such aggrandizement on its part. We
do not propose to take any part of Santo Do
mingo, or exercise any other control over the
island, save what is necessary to its financial
rehabilitation in connection with th«s collection
of revenue, part of which will be ti.rred over to
the government to meet the necessary expense
cf running it, and part of which will be dis
tributed pro rata among the creditors of the
republic upon a basis of absolute equity. The
justification for the United States taking this
burden and incurring this responsibility is to
be found in the fact that it is incompatible with
international equity for the United States to re
fuse to allow other powers to take the only
means at their disposal of satisfying the claims
of their creditors, and yet to refuse itself to
take any such steps.
An aggrieved nation can, without interfering
with the Monroe Doctrine, take what action it
sees fit in the adjustment of its disputes with
American States, provided that action does
not take the shape of interference with their
form of government, or of the despoilment of
their territory under any disguise.
But, short of this, when the question is one
of a money claim, the only way which remains
finally, to collect it is a blockade or bombard
ment, or the seizure of the custom houses, and
this tieir;, as ha* -been -said abuv*. what is in
effect a possession, oven though only a tempo
rary possession of territory, the United States
then becomes a party in interest, because under
the Monroe Doctrine it cannot see any European
power seize and permanently occupy the terri
tory of these republics; and yet such seizure of
territory. disguised or undisguised, may
eventually offer the only way in which the
power in question can collect any debts, unless
there is interference on the part of the United
States.
A COMPLICATED PROBLEM.
One of the difficult and increasingly compli
cated problems which often arise in Santo Do
mingo grows out of the violations of con
tracts and concessions, sometimes improvldently
granted, with valuable privileges and exemp
tions stipulated for upon grossly inadequate con
siderations which were burdensome to the State,
and which are not infrequently disregarded and
violated by the governing authorities. Citizens
of the United States and of other governments
holding these concessions and contracts appeal
to their respective governments for active pro
tect.'on and intervention. Except for arbitrary
wrong, done or sanctioned by superior author
ity, to persons or to vested property rights, the
United States government, following its tradi
tional usage in such cases, aims to go no further
than the mere use of its good offices, a measure
which frequently proves ineffective. On the
other Hand, there are governments which do
sometimes take energetic action for the protec
tion of their subjects in the enforcement of
merely contractual claims, and thereupon Amer
ican concessionaires, supported by powerful in
fluences, make loud appeal to the United States
government in similar cases for similrr action.
They complain that in the actual posture of
affairs their valuable properties are practically
confiscated, that American enterprise is par
alyzed, and that unless they are fully protected,
even by the enforcement of their merely con
tractual rights, it means the abandonment to
the subjects of other governments of the in
terests of American trade and commerce through
the sacrifice of their investments by excessive
taxes imposed in violation of contract, and by
other devices, and the sacrifice of the output of
their mines and other industries, and even of
their railway and shipping interests, which they
have established in connection with the ex
ploitation of their concessions. Thus the at
tempted solution of the complex problem by the
ordinary methods of diplomacy reacts injuri
ously upon the United States government itself,
and in a measure paralyzes the action of the
Executive in the direction of a sound and con
sistent policy
The United States government is embarrassed
in its efforts to foster American enterprise and
the growth of our commerce through the culti
vation of friendly relations with Santo Domingo
by the irritating effects on those relations, and
the consequent Injurious influence upon that
commerce, of frequent interventions. As a
method of solution of the complicated problem
arbitration has become nugatory, inasmuch as.
in the condition of its finances, an award against
the republic is worthless unless Its payment is
secured by the pledge of at least some portion
of the customs revenues. This pledge is inef
fectual without actual delivery over of the cus
tom houses to secure the appropriation of the
pledged revenues to the payment of the award.
This situation again reacts injuriously upon the
relations of th<> United States with other nations.
For when an award and such security are
thus obtained, as in the case of the Santo Do
mingo Improvement Company, some foreign
government complains that the award conflicts
with its rights, as a creditor, to some portion
of these revenues under an alleged prior pledge;
•and still other governments complain that an
award in any considerable sum. secure 4by
pledges of the customs revenues, is prejudicial
to the payment of their equally me/itprlous
claims out of the ordinary revenues^'and thus
controversies are begotten between' the United
States and other creditor nations 1 ..Vnuse of the
apparent sacrifice of some of their claims, which
may be just or may be grossly exaggerated, but
which the United States government cannot in
quire into without giving grounds of offence to
other friendly creditor nations. Still further
illustrations might easily be furnished of the
hopelessness of the present situation growing
out of the social disorders and the bankrupt
finances of the Dominican Republic, where for
THE TIME TO GO TO WASHINGTON
via Pennsylvania Railroad tour leaving New York
Tuesday. February 21 Round trip rate and all
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considerable periods during recent years the
bonds of civil society have been practically dis
solved. :.
DANGER IN FOREIGN* INTERVENTION. '
Under the accepted law of nations-, foreign
governments are within their right, if they
choose to exercise it. when they actively inter
vene in support of the contractual claims of
their subjects. They sometimes exercise this
power, and. on account of commercial rivalries,
there Is a growing tendency on the part of other
governments more and more to aid diplomat
ically in the enforcement of the claims of their
subjects. In view of the dilemma In which the
government of the United States is thus placed,
it must either adhere to its usual attitude of
non-intervention in such cases— an attitude
proper under normal conditions, but one which,
in this particular kind of case, results to the*
disadvantage of Its citizens, In comparison with
those of other States — or else it must, in order
to be consistent in its policy, actively intervene)
to protect the contracts and concessions of Its
citizens engaged in agriculture, commerce and
transportation In competition with the subjects;
and citizens of other States. This course would*
render the United States the Insurer of all that
speculative risks of its citizens in public se
curities and franchises of Sant© Domingo.
Under the plan in the protocol herewith sub*
mined to the Senate insuring a faithful colleo-*
tlon and application of the revenue to the sped-*'
fled objects, we are well assured that this diffi
cult task can be accomplished with the friendly*
, co-operation and good will of all the parties con-«
cerned, and to the great relief of the Dominican!
Republic.
DOMINICAN* SITUATION MENACING. '
The conditions in the Dominican Republic nofj
only constitute a menace to our relations wltht
other foreign nations, but they also concern tbe»
( prosperity of the people of the island, as well as
the security of American interests, and they arei
intimately associated with the interests of thai
South Atlantic and Gulf States, the normal ex
pansion of whose commerce lies in that dlrec-*
tlon. At one time, and that only a year ago.,
three revolutions were in progress in the island
at the same time.
It is impossible to state with anything' Ilka
approximate accuracy the present population of
the Dominican Republic. In the report of the*
Commission appointed by Grant in IS7I. th«
population was estimated at not over 150.000
souls, but according to The Statesman's Year
Book," for I!X>4. the estimated population la
' 1888 is given as 810.000. The bureau of the
: American Republics considers this the best es
timate of the present population of the repub
lic. As shown by the unanimous report of the
Grant Commission, the public debt of the Do
minican Republic, including claims, was Sl.iviO.
331.59%. The total revenues were $772,654.75^4.
The public Indebtedness of the Dominican Re
public, not including all claims, was on Septem
ber 12. last, as the Department of State 13 ad
vised. $32,280,000; the estimated revenues under
the Dominican management of custom houses
were $1.5.V>.000; the proposed budget for cur
rent administration was $1,300,000. leaving only
$.V>O,ooo to pay foreign and liquidated obliga
tions, and payments ">n these latter will amount
during the ensuing year to ?1.70t\000. besides
?900,000 of arrearages of payments overdue,
amounting in all to 52.fi00.000. It is therefore
impossible under existing condition?, which are
chronic, and with the estimated yearly revenues
of th« republic, which during the last decade
have averaged approximately $I.finn,ooft to de
fray the ordinary expenses of th» government
and to meet its obligations.
DOMINICAN FOREIGN DEBT.
The Dominican debt owed to Europvan credit*
ors is about $22,000,000; and of this sum over
$18,000,000 is more or less formally recognised.
The representatives of European governments
have several times approached the Secretary of
State setting forth the wrongs and Intolerable
delays to which they have been subjected at the
hands of the successive governments of Santo
Domingo in the collection of their just claims,
and intimating that unless the Dominican gov
ernment should receive some assistance from the
United States in The way of regulating its
finances, the creditor governments in Europe
would be forced to resort to more effective meas
ures of compulsion to secure the satisfaction of
their claims.
If the United States government declines to
take action and other foreign governments re
sort to action to secure payment of their claims,
the latter would be entitled, according to the de
cision of the Hague tribunal in the Venezuelan
cases, to the preferential payment of their
claims; and this would absorb all the Dominican
revenues, and would be a virtual sacrifice of
American claims and Interests In the island. If.
moreover, any such action should be taken by
them, the only method to enable them to secure
the- payment of their claims would be to take
possession of the custom houses, and. consider
ing: the state of the Dominican finances. tMs
would mean a definite and very possibly perma
nent occupation of Dominican territory, for no
period could be set to the time which would be
necessarily required for the payment of their
obligations and unliquidated claims.
The United States government could not in«
terfers to prevent such seizure and occupation
of Dominican territory without either itself
proposing some feasible alternative in the way
of action or else virtually saying to European
governments that they would not be allowed to
collect their claims. This would be an unfortu
nate attitude for the government of the United
States to be forced to maintain at present. It
cannot, with propriety, say that it will protect
its own citizens and interests, on th© one hand,
and yet, on the other hand, refuse to allow
other governments to protect their citizens and
interests.
IMPROVEMENT COMPANY CASE.
The actual situation In the Dominican Re
public cannot perhaps be more forcibly stated!
than by giving a brief account of the case of
the Santo Domingo Improvement Company.
From TWO to lNi>7 the Dominican government
issued successive series of bonds, the ma,* x rtty
of which were in the hands of European \ d-
Sta. Successive issues bore Interest at \ 53
ranging from '2% to ti per cent, and what A-h
commissions and other deductions and the heavy
discount in the market the government prob
ably did not receive over o»> to 7-". per cent of
their nominal value. Other portions of th* debt
were created by loans, for which the govern
ment received only one-half of the amount it
was nominally to repay, and these obligations
bore Interest at the rate of 1 to _' per cent a
month on their face, some of them compounded,
monthly.
The improvidence of the government In Its
financial management was due to its weakness,
to Its Impaired credit and to its* pecuniary needs
occasioned by frequent Insurrections and revo
lutionary changes an.l by Its inability to col
lect its revenues.
" In 1888 the government. In order to secure -be
payment of an issue of bonds, placed the custom
houses and the collection of its customs duties*,
which are substantially the only revenues of
the republic, in the hands of the Westendorps. '
bankers of Amsterdam. Holland. But the na
tional debt continued to grow, and the govern.
ment finally Intrusted the collection of its reve
nues to an American corporation, the Parto Do
mingo Improvement Company, which was to
take over the bonds of the Westendorps. The
Dominican government finally becarre dissatis
fied with this arrangement, and. in l'JOl. ousted
the Improvement company from its custout
houses and took into its own hands the col
lection of its revenue*. The company thereupon
appealed to the United States government to
maintain them In their position, but their re
quest was refused. The Dominican governs
then sent its Minister of Foreign Affairs to
Washington to negotiate a settlement. He ad
mitted that the improvement company had equi
ties which ought not to be disregarded, and th*
Department of State suggested that the Do
minican government and the Improvement com
pany should effect by private negotiation a sat
isfactory settlement between them. .
- They accordingly entered into an arrangement
tor a settlement which was mutually satisfac
tory to the parties. A similar arrangement «v
likewise made between the Dominican covern-