Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo (A Country With
A Future) [with accents]

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Title: Santo Domingo A Country With A Future
Author: Otto Schoenrich
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SANTO DOMINGO
A COUNTRY WITH A FUTURE
BY
OTTO SCHOENRICH
1918

PREFACE
It is remarkable how little has been written about the Dominican
Republic, a country so near to our shores, which has for years had
intimate commercial and political relations with our country, which is
at present under the provisional administration of the American
Government, and which is destined to develop under the protection and
guidance of the United States. The only comprehensive publications on
the Dominican Republic, in the English language, are the Report of the
United States Commission of Inquiry to Santo Domingo, published in
1871, Hazard's "Santo Domingo, Past and Present," written about the
same time, and Professor Hollander's notable Report on the Debt of
Santo Domingo, published in 1905. The first and the last of these
publications are no longer obtainable; hence, Hazard's book, written
almost half a century ago, is still the chief source of information.
These considerations prompted me to indite the following pages, in
which I have essayed to give a bird's-eye view of the history and
present condition of Santo Domingo. The task has been complicated by
two circumstances. One is the extraordinary difficulty of obtaining
accurate data. The other is the fact that the country has arrived at a
turning point in its history. Any description of political, financial and

economic conditions can refer only, or almost only, to the past; the
American occupation has already introduced fundamental innovations
which will shortly be further developed, and a rapid and radical
transformation is in progress. Santo Domingo at this moment is a
country which has no present, only a past and a future.
My personal acquaintance with Santo Domingo and Dominican affairs
is derived from observations on several trips to the Dominican
Republic and Haiti, from friendships formed with prominent
Dominican families during a residence of many years in Latin America,
and from experience as secretary to the special United States
commissioner to investigate the financial condition of Santo Domingo
in 1905, and as secretary to the Dominican minister of finance during
the 1906 loan negotiations.
In compiling this work I have endeavored to read all books of any
consequence which have been published with reference to Santo
Domingo and Haiti and have especially consulted the following:
José Ramón Abad, "La República Dominicana"; Santo Domingo, 1886.
Rudolf Cronau, "Amerika, die Geschichte seiner Entdeckung"; Leipzig,
1892.
Enrique Deschamps, "La República Dominicana, Directorio y Guía
General"; Barcelona, 1906.
José Gabriel García, "Compendio de la Historia de Santo Domingo";
Santo Domingo, 1896.
H. Harrisse, "Christophe Colomb"; Paris, 1884.
Samuel Hazard, "Santo Domingo, Past and Present, with a Glance at
Haiti"; New York, 1873.
Jacob H. Hollander, "Report on the Debt of Santo Domingo"; 59th
Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document; Washington, 1905.
Antonio López Prieto, "Informe sobre los Restos de Colón"; Habana,
1878.
Fernando A. de Meriño, "Elementos de Geografía Física, Política e
Histórica de la República Dominicana"; Santo Domingo, 1898.
Médéric Louis Elie Moreau de Saint-Méry, "Description de la partie
espagnole de l'isle Saint-Domingue"; Philadelphia, 1796.
Casimiro N. de Moya, "Bosquejo Histórico del Descubrimiento y
Conquista de la Isla de Santo Domingo"; Santo Domingo, 1913.
F.A. Ober, "A Guide to the West Indies and Panama"; New York,

1914.
Publications of the Dominican Government.
Publications of the Bureau of American Republics and the
Pan-American Union.
Annual Reports of the General Receiver of Customs of the Dominican
Republic to the Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Department,