DOMINICA

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 55, 7 March 1927, Page 4

DOMINICA

A PROSPEROUS STATE

AFTER AMERICAN WITH-

DRAWAL

Santo Domingo City, the capital of

the Dominican Bepublic, has for some

' months past been thronged with Amef'irgmTL engineers and manufacturers'

.agents anxious to obtain a portion of ,th* 10,000,000 dollars soon to be ex--ponded by the Government for public The money was raised a loan floated in the United States •and is guaranteed by the American administration of the Dominican Customs. An aqueduct and a complete /.water supply system for the capital .I lira the largest items on the programme. ! Although two years have elapsed since the marines evacuated the country, there has been no political dis- . '.tnrbance and law and- ordc'rv prevail •even in the most remote districts the?' New Tork Times"). Deitachmerits of the National Guard' patrol on foot, on horseback, or ;in;/the übiquitous Ford, and the carrying' of- weapons, which was once com--inon in: the- Bepublic, is severely punriihed.: T.he Customs are especially yigi'lant in detecting the smuggling of fire&rau, [and the possession of an un--licensed revolver means a term of imprisonment. Shotguns, however, are not and licenses for these are | readily^pro,curable on the payment of v » imall fee, for revolutions cannot be

•uccessfally carried put with this class'

.;■ of. arms... . '■ '• ' . .-' : ■ '.' -. 'v ; Bktfditryis dead in the Republic, aid !■'" th«'.people'h*ve settled down to enjoy ,iui era of /unprecedented, prosperity andpeace; ,The harvesting and milling of pthe sugar crop are soon to begin, and plmbourers are pouring in to do the work.. i.The" negroes from the British Wes 1-. Inprefer the Central located near ithe cpast, but the Dominicans and HaiItians outnumber, all others in the injterior. Spanish and English are the '.''principhi' languages spoken, but Haitian patois, almost unintelligible even ■j-.to those who understand French, is (heard yerywhere. — ' '■; Although rum ,is purveyed in every ; little store^ I drunkenness is rarely seen. [The natives indulge their desire for ex-, •eitement and gambling at the cockpits . and by playing the lottery. The lottery is a Government monoipoly and is managed with all fairness, jthe drawings taking place in the eapij,ital each Sunday in full view of the pub[lic. On a 25-.cent ticket it is possible (to win 1000 dollars, and there are many Jeinaller prizes Lottery ticket vudors j hawk the "billetes" on the streets and t invade saloo'na, stores, and hotels in '•earch of customers. Even tho most ; etrait-lacel foreigners become habituated to taking a weekly "flier" to the

of a. few dollars, and Santo Dom[ingo's largest newspaper, the "Listin .• jpiario," comes out with a list of the . i-drawings each Sunday at noon. This : [comes littered with torn-up pieces of 'tickets, and'then the ground swiftly be- ' comes littered with torn-up pieces of , gaudy paper cast down by the losers. 'Any store or hotel will cas:. winning tickets. . Santo Domingo is still a horseman's country, for, an automobile cannot travel along the narrow passages between lows of waving cane, nor can it negotiate the ancient mountain trails. Spurs .;•; jingle as merrily as they do south of '"flthe Rio Grande and two-quart hats are ■Vjthe mode.- Only the gun is/absent, bo V; ine replacedl by ■ tho long ;l-azor-edged' ; machete which dangles'from'e;ich sad-' ':'•■' die. •-. '■•.'. ' -i ■;' . •' ■ '...''■ The principal highways of Santo Domingo compare favourably with those of ■ any Country in the world; but there is a bad stretch just beyond thp Haitian 'frontier which causes considerable trouble for those who motor across for a sightseeing trip in the black Bopublic. Seats in automobiles from Santo/Doniingo City to Port aux Prjnce in Haiti cost from 40 to 50 dollars, and the journeyl takes from eighteen' to twentyr four hours, depending on. .the rainfall, if the livers Tise to^any ex't.-it alltraiyel is held up until the floods recede. . 'The Dominican. Government, 'while' de.\Ei*OUß of securing -settlers for' its sparsely.populated lands, 'does-'not weliome gipsies. l .A.- large; band of *J these wanderers, which invaded- the; country some time stgo, is soon to be deported; Americans' are not reauired to have r: passports. "'■ '■ '-. ;. ■■,' ■.-.. — ... ;:

_■ The National Guard of the Republic is-modelled after the. American Marine Corps and _ wears the same uniform^ Their dril) is the same,and their marching is the, same snappy step. Prosperity has now comb to Santo Domingo, the land Columbus loved so •well. It has commenced to develop its resources, and promises soon to take a leading position among the Latin-Ame-lican .countrios.