Santo Domingo: A Country with a Future Part 9

A comparison with Haiti discloses marked racial differences. In the French-speaking republic about ninety per cent of the inhabitants are pure blacks, the remainder being mulattoes. The distinction between the two countries is due to several circ.u.mstances: in Santo Domingo the pure blacks have never been in a majority; the whites have never all left the country; ma.s.sacres of mulattoes and whites have never taken place; there have never been political parties based on color; and the relations between the races have always been cordial. In company, side by side, mulattoes, blacks and whites have lived, worked, enjoyed themselves and fought their revolutions. There is absolutely no color line. A friend of mine from Virginia received quite a shock the first time he attended a state ball in Santo Domingo and saw an immense negro, as black as coal, a member of Congress, dancing with a girl as white as any of the foreign ladies present. He rushed to the refreshment room and beckoned to a tall mulatto in a dress suit: "I'll have something to cool off, here waiter--" He was stopped just in time for he was mistaking the secretary of foreign affairs for a waiter; but after this experience he was afraid of giving his order to anyone else for fear he might be offending some other high official. The blacks are commonly the lower laborers, but negroes are to be found in all grades of society and are not infrequently represented in the cabinet itself. Of the presidents the majority have been of mixed blood, but several, like Luperon and Heureaux, were full-blood negroes. It appears that the strong strain of white blood in the country has elevated all, mulattoes and negroes.

The negroes have produced men of high ability: Heureaux, for instance, though unscrupulous and cruel, was a man of remarkable sagacity and energy.

It must not be supposed for a moment that the Dominicans are inimical to whites or, like their neighbors, the Haitians, prefer to see their country peopled by negroes only. On the contrary they are anxious to be considered as belonging to the white race and are not pleased by reference to their mixed blood. For this reason the former policy of the United States of sending colored men as ministers and consuls to Santo Domingo was resented by the Dominicans who saw therein an evidence of contempt. I have often heard Dominican statesmen express an eager desire for immigration, but only white immigration. This sentiment is reflected in immigration laws and in several concessions granted in late years in which the concessionnaire was prohibited from importing laborers of African or Asiatic descent. The Congress has even made appropriations for the introduction of white families and their settlement along the Haitian frontier, but the isolation of this region and other circ.u.mstances made such laws impracticable of execution.

During Haitian rule, from 1822 to 1844, a different policy prevailed.

President Boyer was desirous of seeing every part of the island populated by blacks and accordingly settled Haitian negroes in various parts of Santo Domingo and encouraged negro immigration from the United States by premiums to ship captains bringing such immigrants.

The American negroes were distributed in Haiti and in Santo Domingo, particularly near Puerto Plata and in the Samana peninsula. The Puerto Plata settlers have mingled with the rest of the population, but around the town of Samana, where the largest settlement, consisting of some sixty families, was made, the descendants of the American immigrants still form a distinct cla.s.s. Large portions of the peninsula are taken up by their well kept farms, and one of the sections or districts into which the commune of Samana is divided, is officially named "Seccion de los Americanos." The people still preserve the English language and proudly proclaim that they are "of American abstraction."

They have kept considerably aloof and only in recent years have there been marriages between them and their Spanish-speaking neighbors.

Their exclusiveness has more than once been criticised by Dominicans.

Of the original settlers all have pa.s.sed away, their surviving children are advanced in age and the third generation is in its prime.

The Methodist preacher of the district, a kindly black man, presented me to the oldest person of the American colony, a woman of about eighty years of age who was born only a few years after her parents arrived from Virginia. As the old woman stood smiling in the door of her little cabin, the walls of which were covered with leafy creepers, she looked the picture of an old Southern mammy. Her dialect was typical; when I said: "I am glad to meet you, Mrs. Sheppard," she answered, beaming, "Me likewise, I'se always glad to meet Americans, I is." Several of the American negroes have distinguished themselves in military matters, one of the most noted being General Anderson who grew gray in many revolutions.

Between the coast towns and the ports of the surrounding countries, particularly Porto Rico, there is considerable coming and going. This was called to my attention the first time I set foot on Dominican soil, when a large negro darted out from a group of loungers on the wharf and seized my suit-case, crying: "Let me carry your baggage, Judge." Surprised, I inquired how he knew me, whereupon he asked reproachfully: "Don't you remember you sent me to jail in Mayaguez for shampooing a saucy stevedore's head with a brick?"

Whether as a settler or transient visitor the foreigner may be sure of courteous and respectful treatment so long as he himself observes the proprieties. The laws grant the foreigner rights as ample as in the most advanced countries of the world.

The language of Santo Domingo is Spanish, and the comparative purity with which it is spoken is remarkable when the long period of isolation of the country and the extended duration of Haitian rule are considered. In this particular Haiti offers a contrast, for though French is the official language the ma.s.s of the people speak Creole French, a patois unintelligible to anyone who has not lived in Haiti.

The Dominicans do not lisp the "c" as do the Spaniards, and other peculiarities of Spanish as spoken in America are manifest, but on the whole the difference between the Dominican's Spanish and the Spaniard's Spanish may be compared to the difference between English as spoken in the United States and as spoken in England. Like several other Spanish-American nations the Dominicans are to be distinguished by their preference for certain words and endings, and by their accent and inflection. As everywhere else the unlettered cla.s.ses are given to grammatical faults and provincialisms, but on the whole the vocabulary of the Dominican peasant contains fewer archaic expressions and Indian roots than that of the Porto Rican "jibaro" and is more easily understood by the outsider. Slight differences of p.r.o.nunciation are noticeable in different parts of the country: the people of Seibo are inclined to use the vowel "i" instead of the consonant "r" and say "poique" instead of "porque," somewhat as the New York street urchin says "boid" for "bird"; the people of Santiago sometimes drop the "r"

entirely and say "poque," as the Southern negro in the United States says "fo" for "four"; the peasants of Puerto Plata show a tendency to use the "u" instead of "o" and say "tudu" instead of "todo," like some of the inhabitants of Catalonia in Spain. The Azuans claim to speak the best Spanish of the Republic, but their claim is disputed by other provinces.

Besides Spanish, the English and French languages are heard to a limited extent. On the Samana peninsula, where the descendants of American negroes are in a majority, as much English is spoken as Spanish, and in the coast towns, San Pedro de Macoris, Puerto Plata, Monte Cristi and Santo Domingo, it is also often heard. In these cities it is usually the singsong English of negroes from the British colonies. Along the Haitian border and at the extremity of the Samana peninsula, where a Haitian colony was planted by President Boyer, the French language is spoken. On the wharf at Monte Cristi I have encountered fruit-vendors from the interior who spoke no language except Creole French. Some persons who have been born and bred on the Samana peninsula know not a word of Spanish but only English. Many members of the wealthier cla.s.s of the Republic have studied or traveled in Europe or the United States and speak one or more foreign languages. In Puerto Plata I was surprised to hear a jet-black negro speak German fluently; he had been educated in a commercial school in Hamburg. The larger cities have their foreign colonies, consisting princ.i.p.ally of merchants, and most of the languages of Europe are represented.

As a race the Dominicans are robust and st.u.r.dy. All the Dominican presidents of late years have been men of commanding physique, fitting representatives of their people. As far as industry is concerned the average Dominican is little more laborious than absolutely necessary to support himself and his family. Why should he do more when nature has been so bountiful and when in the past any acc.u.mulated fruits of his toil might have been swept away by the next revolution? The spirit of the tropics pervades the country and the tendency not to do to-day what can be conveniently left for "manana" is constantly observed.

The Dominican women are as a rule graceful of body and fair of face, with large and beautiful eyes. They make devoted wives and loving mothers. The ladies of the better cla.s.s are quite as susceptible to the allurements of Parisian fashions as their American and European cousins, and the scenes at b.a.l.l.s and at evening promenades on the plaza are very attractive. The heat of the climate makes a liberal use of powder necessary, and it almost seems as if the darker the color of the woman the greater is her fondness for powder, so that some of the negresses a.s.sume an almost grayish hue. The Dominican woman is very domestic, she rarely goes out except to church, to an occasional dance or to the band concerts on the plaza. Before her marriage she is carefully chaperoned and guarded; all courting takes place in the presence of her mother or some other near relative.

Notwithstanding the large mixture of African blood and long isolation of the Dominican race, the strong personality of the Spaniard has survived unmodified and the population is to-day as thoroughly Spanish in character, customs and mode of thinking as the people of Cuba and Porto Rico. How completely the Spanish consciousness pervades the country was ill.u.s.trated by a remark made to an American naval officer by the mayor of an inland town of Santo Domingo; he was a very black negro, but in the course of a discussion observed: "Your arguments will fit Anglo-Saxons, but _we Latins_ are a different people." The first trait noticeable is the politeness of Dominicans of every degree. Only once have I met a rude official and that by a curious coincidence was the very first one with whom I had dealings, but after this beginning there were no further exceptions to the rule. A charming characteristic is the open-hearted hospitality everywhere encountered. The stranger who is introduced in any home is immediately a.s.sured in the customary Spanish way: "This is your house." The words, though figuratively spoken, are sincere, and the hosts are glad to have their new friend visit their house as though it were his own. As companions the Dominicans are delightful, being generally jovial and amiable. Some there are, especially among the country people, whose natural reticence makes them seem sullen, but once the ice is broken they are quite as light-hearted as the others.

In the idealistic tendency of their mind the Dominicans strongly show their brotherhood with the other Spanish peoples. In this connection the spirit of their renowned kinsman, Don Quixote de la Mancha, is often in evidence. When one of them mounts his Rocinante in defense of some particularly attractive abstract proposition, nothing less than a blow from a windmill will bring him back to reality. And so when any person or group of persons become enamored of an idea they are unwilling to brook contradiction or compromise. The inclination of the majority to do their will irrespective of the wishes of the minority and the unwillingness of the minority to bow to the resolutions of the majority have been and will continue to be grave problems in the government of the country. Even in personal relations a spirit of intolerance can frequently be noticed and while almost anything is forgiven a friend, not a single redeeming feature is recognized in an enemy. To their idealistic tendency may be ascribed the worship of the words "patriotism" and "liberty." Unnumbered sins have been committed under the cloak of patriotism, and true personal liberty, such as it is understood in the United States, has never prevailed in Santo Domingo; but the adoration of these conceptions continues and it is to be hoped that now, with American a.s.sistance, it will bring real and lasting liberty to the country. Perhaps it is their idealism, as much as their isolation, which causes the Dominicans to take themselves so very seriously and renders them so extremely sensitive to criticism or jokes on the subject of their country, customs or revolutions.

Foreigners sometimes complain that the affirmations of Dominicans cannot be trusted. In many cases investigation has shown that these foreigners were misled with regard to some mine, woodland or other property they had come to buy. Persons anxious to sell mines and other undeveloped properties have not distinguished themselves for veracity in any country, and with regard to sincerity in general the Dominicans may be regarded as no better but certainly no worse than the general run of humanity. With their personal friends they are generally loyal and true, but in their political relations the picture is not so attractive; for while there have been many cases where subordinates have followed their fallen chief into exile rather than submit to the victor, it is saddening to note the frequency with which governors of provinces and other local authorities have betrayed the confidence reposed in them by the chief executive, and have initiated or joined revolutionary uprisings. I have heard both ex-President Jimenez and ex-President Morales sorrowfully complain that their fall was due to the treachery of trusted subordinates. A particularly repulsive case of perfidiousness was that of General Luis Felipe Vidal, a prominent politician, who partic.i.p.ated in the murder of President Caceres, though he had only a few hours before visited the President, played billiards with him and fondled his infant daughter.

Of all amus.e.m.e.nts there is none which appeals so strongly to every cla.s.s of the population as dancing. Every public holiday is an excuse for the giving of a "baile" or dance, and when holidays are scarce the "baile" is arranged anyhow. So, while elsewhere special occasions are celebrated by banquets, here the rule is to give a dance. Historical anniversaries, political triumphs, religious holidays, weddings, birthdays, christenings: all are celebrated by dances. Waltz music is popular but the favorite dance music is the pretty Porto Rican "danza," which is kin to Mexican airs and to the Cuban "guaracha" and may be compared to a flowing brook, now gliding along serenely, now rushing in cascades. The dances are often interrupted by the serving of sweets and ices.

In the country the dance music is quite different. A rhythmic beating is kept up on a drum made of a barrel or hollow log and rude fiddles or guitars or an accordion play an accompaniment. To the traveler, riding along his road at night, the deep regular rumbling of the drums of distant "bailes" comes with indescribable weirdness. In some dances the partic.i.p.ants engage in a monotonous chant, in others there are pauses in which the young men must quickly improvise verses on some subject suggested by one of the la.s.sies. In the cities the dances begin at ten o'clock at night and last until the wee hours of morning, but in the country they begin at almost any time and occasionally last two or three days--especially during the Christmas holidays.

These country dances with drum accompaniment are similar to those popular among the negroes in Porto Rico and are probably an African legacy. But, like Porto Rico, the Dominican Republic is absolutely free from the practise of those barbarous negro rites, of which dances like these often form part, and which are known in Haiti under the name of "voudou," in Cuba under that of "witchcraft" and in the British West Indies under that of "obeah," and which sometimes lead even to human sacrifices. This is all the more remarkable in Santo Domingo as the adjoining Republic of Haiti has been the worst sufferer from such practices.

The country dances are occasionally the scenes of violent personal altercations. While drunkenness is very rare and a drunkard is regarded almost as a social outcast, the countrymen are fond of regaling themselves with rum made of cane juice, and at dances where such rum is served it is not infrequent for some one to become unduly excited. If he happened to meet another in the same condition and a controversy arose with reference to some dusky damsel, a frequent unfortunate outcome was, until lately, for both to draw revolvers and blaze away at each other and if ejected from the house to stand nearby and fire through the wooden walls. In Porto Rico such affairs are decided with the machete and only the immediate combatants are hurt, but revolver bullets are more dangerous to the innocent bystander than to those doing the shooting. In Macoris I was told of a dance where the casualties were fifteen killed--more than in the average revolution. Yet so deep-seated is the fondness for dancing that after the smoke has cleared away and the dead or wounded victim been removed, it has often happened that the ladies dried their tears and men and women continued with the "baile."

Up to the time of American intervention in 1916, the practise of carrying weapons was general. In the country a man strapped on his pistol or carried his gun as he would in other countries put on his necktie or take up his cane. At the railroad stations in the Cibao I have sometimes observed everyone congregated about the station wearing a revolver more or less visible, except two or three, evidently the poorest farm-laborers, who could not afford anything more than a dirk and who gazed at the others with envious eyes. Beautiful pearl-handled revolvers were proudly exhibited to the public eye, and on one occasion I saw a little boy not over ten years old with a revolver that reached to his knee. The habit was all the more indefensible as it was absolutely unnecessary, Santo Domingo being as safe a country to travel in as any other. Governors of provinces sometimes forbade the carrying of arms, but the prohibition was rarely enforced with reference to their friends and adherents. The American authorities have put a stop to the habit, however, and confiscated all the arms they could find; some 15,000 rifles and revolvers have thus been taken up.

After all, the average Dominican will resent a shot less than a blow.

A story is told of a prominent youth in the capital who received a slap during a quarrel; the aggressor fled, but the young man kept holding his handkerchief to his cheek for days until he met his a.s.sailant and was able to wipe out the insult in blood.

Only in the larger towns are there facilities for the gratification of the popular fondness for theatrical performances. Puerto Plata has a pretty theatre. In Santo Domingo City the ancient Jesuit church, long abandoned, was converted into a theater, the stage being located where the altar formerly stood, the boxes occupying the aisles, and the chairs of the audience being arranged in the nave; but a new open-air theatre, the "Teatro Independencia," is more commodious. The Spanish drama is popular, as well as the delightful Spanish "zarzuela"

or musical comedy. Owing to the isolation of the country it is not often visited by good professional troupes, and the interior is entirely dependent upon amateur talent.

In social life the clubs are prominent features. A town must be unimportant indeed if it has not at least one club where the men can meet, read the papers and play cards or billiards. The first attention shown the stranger within the gates is to take him to the club and enroll him as a visitor, this action being equivalent to a general local introduction. The clubs give pleasant musical and literary entertainments and dances attended by the best local society. In Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata and Santiago the ladies have a club of their own where they can meet and chat to their hearts' content. Needless to say the most popular entertainments and dances are those given by the "Club de Damas." All these clubs have been of great value in the social development of the country and many of them have given important impulses to education.

Another valuable contribution to civic development is rendered by the munic.i.p.al bands existing in many towns. They are voluntary a.s.sociations and tend to awaken in the inhabitants an interest and pride in their city. On Sunday night and sometimes on other nights during the week they play on the plaza, while the people, following the usual custom in the Spanish cities, promenade up and down. Such scenes are very attractive, the ladies, dressed in their best, with their light gowns brilliant in the moonlight; the men walking with them or watching the promenaders. It is on the plaza and in the ball-room where Cupid's arrows do most execution.

Of late years some interest has been shown in athletics, and baseball has invaded the island. Bicycle races occasionally form part of public celebrations, and horse-races and tournaments have long been popular.

Santo Domingo may be said to have two carnivals, one on St. Andrew's day, November 30, the other during the three days preceding Lent. The former is the more exciting. Until recent years there was not a person in the capital and Santiago, where the populace was most given to the typical diversion of the day, who did not voluntarily or involuntarily partic.i.p.ate therein. The diversion consisted in throwing water or flour or both on everyone within reach. The poorer people would arm themselves with great syringes and discharge them at every pa.s.serby or through the keyholes of house-doors. Others would station themselves at points of vantage with barrels and tubs of water and duck the unwary they were able to entrap. People of the better cla.s.s would place great tubs of water on their balconies or roofs, which the servants would a.s.siduously keep filled while their masters emptied buckets-full on friends in the street. The young men rode through the streets in open carriages, bombarding the ladies on balconies and housetops with eggs filled with perfumed water, and receiving drenchings in return. Within the last few years the authorities have restricted or prohibited the throwing of water, and the princ.i.p.al celebration of the day is now what is called a "white dance" given by the better society, at which the partic.i.p.ants are supposed to come dressed in white in order that the many-colored confetti, serpentines and gilt powders which those present throw at each other between dances, may appear to better effect. During the carnival proper, before Lent, the streets are filled with masked persons in groups or alone, who dance, make impudent remarks or otherwise indulge in nonsense, to the special delight of the ubiquitous small boy. The better cla.s.s celebrate with masquerade b.a.l.l.s, where the merry spirit of the Dominican is given free rein.

The princ.i.p.al vice of the country is gaming. Men of the better cla.s.s play cards, dominoes, chess, checkers and billiards, for money, but they do so rather for pastime than for gain. Among the poorer cla.s.ses, however, the predominant idea is that of making money quickly. Cards and dice are often used, but the typical form of gambling, the one at which the poor countryman is fondest of staking his hard-earned wages, is the c.o.c.kfight. Every town has its c.o.c.kpit where on Sundays and holidays the barbarous sport is carried on in the presence of crowds of whooping, screaming spectators who often ride miles to attend. The authorities claim that efforts have been made to stop this sport, but that they have all been unavailing. It const.i.tutes a source of munic.i.p.al income, the right to open c.o.c.kpits being annually conceded to the highest bidder by the various munic.i.p.alities. Raffles and lotteries are also permitted by law, being subject to taxation by the munic.i.p.alities, and in one or two cities there are munic.i.p.al lotteries.

With respect to morality the same conditions may be said to prevail in Santo Domingo as in other southern countries, the women being in general virtuous and pure and the men inclined to amorous intrigues.

The official statistics relating to marriages and births show that of the children born in the Republic almost sixty per cent are illegitimate. These figures, while serious, are rendered less alarming than would appear at first sight by the large number of what the census-takers term "consensual unions" among the humbler cla.s.ses, or cases where a man and woman, though not united by marriage ceremony, live together publicly as man and wife, rear a family and are as faithful to each other as if they were legitimately married. "Married but not parsoned" is the way in which such unions are referred to in some of the British West Indies. The considerable number of these unions may be explained by the high cost of the marriage ceremony,--for while there are some priests ready to waive their fees for a religious wedding and some alcaldes who are satisfied with what the law allows for the civil ceremony, others are not so complaisant--also by the fact that such unions have become so common that the parties see nothing wrong in them, and further by the circ.u.mstance that the parties often believe it more to their advantage to remain single rather than to be married. A friend of mine had a respectable colored man working on his plantation, the head of a large family, but not married to the woman with whom he had been living for over a score of years and to whom he was devotedly attached. My friend endeavored to persuade him to marry the woman, but the answer was a determined negative. "If I marry her she will know I have to support her and she may get careless and lazy. Knowing that I can leave her when I like she will continue to behave herself." Persuasion was then tried with his wife and her refusal was almost identical: "If I marry him he will know that I am bound to him and then he may go and fall in love with some other woman. Knowing that I can leave him when I like he will continue to behave himself."

The homes of the poorer people are mere huts generally built of palmwood and covered with palm-thatch. The houses of the country people are exactly like the "bohios" used by the Indians at the time of the conquest, as pictured and described by the early writers. In the towns outside of the capital wooden houses are the rule and some of the wealthier people have pretty chalets. In the large cities there is a good deal of "mamposteria" construction: brick or stone work, covered with cement. In the capital the walls of a majority of the houses have come down from the early days and are of great solidity--here a man's house is literally his fortress. The barred windows of the olden days are here still to be seen. One-story structures are the rule, and there are few if any of more than two stories. The heat of the climate makes window-gla.s.s impracticable and the windows and doors are fitted with shutters which permit the air to pa.s.s through. Except in the houses of the wealthiest persons the furniture is very simple and of small amount. In the parlors a caneseat sofa, several rockers and chairs and a small table with a few knicknacks are arranged everywhere in the same way. The bedsteads are of iron and the bedroom furniture is reduced to the simplest articles.

The floors are bare except for a few rugs. The climate is responsible for the simplicity of the furniture, as carpets would breed insects, and more furniture would mean endless cleaning and dusting, since everything must be open all day. The kitchens are not furnished with iron stoves, but cooking is done on brick hearths, as in Cuba and Porto Rico. The most serious drawback about Dominican houses is the want of proper bathing facilities and of sanitary closets, due to lack of running water in most cities. The most attractive feature of the houses is the patio, or yard, which is often gay with flowers, though not so a.s.siduously cared for as in some other Spanish countries. In similarity to other tropical lands home life is not nearly so intense as in colder climates.

CHAPTER XII

RELIGION

Catholic religion.--Concordat.--Ownership of church buildings.--Clergy.--Religious sentiment.--Shrines.--Religious customs and holidays.--Religious toleration.--Protestant sects.

The Roman Catholic creed has been the dominant religion of Santo Domingo from the time of the conquest. When Columbus arrived on his second voyage he brought with him twelve friars, some of whom were as holy men as their leader, the vindictive Father Boil, was a nuisance.

Others were not long in arriving and soon the country had as many priests in proportion as Spain herself. Large estates came into possession of the church, and in the city of Santo Domingo imposing churches and s.p.a.cious cloisters were erected, which still stand, either in ruins or used for religious or secular purposes. There were three monasteries, two nunneries, and some ten churches and chapels in the capital.

As early as 1511 bishops were appointed for Santo Domingo and Concepcion de la Vega and in 1547 the first archbishopric in the new world was established in Santo Domingo City. From 1516 to 1519 the island was governed directly by three friars, and the licentiate Alonso de Fuenmayor, who governed thirty years later, was not only governor and captain-general of the island, and president of the royal audiencia, but archbishop of Santo Domingo as well. The Inquisition was established in Santo Domingo in 1564.

With the decline of the colony the number of churchmen declined also, and by the middle of the seventeenth century the majority of the church buildings were closed and falling to ruin and the church's vast country estates were abandoned. The revival of the country during the eighteenth century affected the church as well, but the occupation by Haitians and French during the beginning of the nineteenth century caused its influence to wane, and restrictive legislation under Haitian dominion and the expulsion of the archbishop for political reasons in 1830, severed all connection with Rome for many years. The first archbishop appointed after the independence of the Republic was consecrated in 1848.

The Roman Catholic religion is now the recognized state religion. In 1884 the Dominican government entered into an agreement with the Holy See according to the terms of which the archbishop of Santo Domingo is to be appointed by the Pope from a list of three names, native Dominicans or residents of the Republic, submitted by the Dominican Congress, which in turn engaged to pay the salary of the archbishop and certain other officials. The agreement as to the payments inc.u.mbent upon the Dominican government had the same fate as other financial contracts: it was observed for a short time and then disregarded, so that for years only small appropriations have been made for church purposes.

In the year 1908 a controversy arose with reference to the ownership of the buildings and lands occupied by the church. The archbishop and church officials claimed that such buildings belong to the church absolutely; while the government officials alleged that they are the property of the state, possessed by the church with the state's consent. Previously few persons had ever given a thought to the matter, the church having as many buildings as it could properly care for, and more, while other former religious edifices were used by the state. Contributions for the erection and repair of churches were frequently made by Dominican towns without exciting discussion. The controversy of 1908 was precipitated by the determination of the church authorities to erect a mausoleum in the cathedral of Santo Domingo City for the remains of the late Archbishop Merino. The Executive of Santo Domingo demanded that the government's permission be first obtained, but the church officials refused to ask for such permission, holding it unnecessary. Neither side lacked historical grounds for its contention. In the old colonial days church and state were united and the questions of ownership of the church buildings never arose. When the Haitians a.s.sumed control in 1822 they considered the church edifices as the property of the state alone and religious services continued only by sufferance of the government. Upon the establishment of the independence of Santo Domingo, the new government, although friendly towards the Catholic Church, took a similar view of the ownership of church edifices and property. By law of June 7, 1845, of the Dominican Congress, all "censos" and other perpetual rents established in favor of the church were declared extinguished and by law of July 2, 1845, all property, real and personal, formerly belonging to convents and orders no longer in being in the country was formally proclaimed to pertain to the state. In 1853 burials in churches were prohibited by law of Congress as being dangerous to the public health, but in exceptional cases the Executive granted permission therefor on the payment of a fee which of late years has been $300. On the other hand, it was argued that the church has been in uninterrupted possession of its present buildings for centuries; that these buildings are not comprised in the laws of 1845; that a law of 1867 granting the gardens of the archbishop's residence to the munic.i.p.ality of Santo Domingo for the establishment of a market and c.o.c.kpit was repealed in 1871 as being a despoilment of the church and unconst.i.tutional; and that when the mausoleum of Columbus was erected in the cathedral the committee in charge, presided over by the vice-president of the Republic, applied for permission to the authorities of the church. The dispute regarding the mausoleum of Archbishop Merino came to an end when the government receded from its demand, but the main question is not regarded as settled.

At the present time the Republic is divided into fifty-seven parishes.

The episcopal head is the Archbishop of Santo Domingo. In 1903, when old age had enfeebled Archbishop Merino, one of his a.s.sistants, Monsignor Adolfo Nouel, was made t.i.tular Archbishop of Metymne, and on the death of the venerable churchman in 1906 succeeded him as Archbishop of Santo Domingo.

In the olden days many religious orders were represented in the island, but to-day the clergy is secular, with the exception of a few friars brought over in recent years from Spain and France. The majority of the priests are native Dominicans, graduated from the seminary in the capital. There are in the clerical body a number of black sheep, far too fond of the pleasures of the flesh. Of this stamp was a noted prelate, of whom I was told when I asked whether he was old: "Yes, quite old, his oldest son is over forty." As a general rule, however, the priests of Santo Domingo are earnest, hardworking, honorable men. The standard is being raised through the efforts of the present Archbishop Nouel.

The unfortunate political history of the country has not been conducive to the establishment of eleemosynary inst.i.tutions or to other philanthropic activity, and such work has devolved almost exclusively upon the priests. The names of many of these are held in grateful remembrance for their efforts in behalf of charity. Perhaps the most celebrated was Father Billini, who, a member of one of the foremost families of Santo Domingo, consecrated his life to helping his fellowmen. He was a father to the poor and through his efforts the insane asylum of Santo Domingo, an orphan asylum and a college were established. His name became notable in other directions also, for he was instrumental in the discovery of the remains of Columbus in the Santo Domingo cathedral in 1877. At times the methods of the good father were a little spectacular: thus on one occasion when supplicating Heureaux in behalf of several prisoners sentenced to death, he took off his hat and vowed he would not put it on again until the prisoners were pardoned, but the order of execution was carried out and ever afterwards Father Billini went hatless. In so great esteem is his name held that the only statue in Santo Domingo City, besides that of Columbus on the plaza, is erected to his memory.

Practically the entire population of the country is at least nominally Roman Catholic. Among the educated cla.s.ses in the cities the women, as a rule, are devout; the men either openly acknowledge themselves free thinkers or their religion is very superficial indeed. On one occasion a Dominican earnestly a.s.sured me he was a Catholic and would always remain one, "but," he added, "I cannot accept all the doctrines of the church: thus I do not believe in the Virgin Mary, nor the saints, nor the power of the priests to forgive sins, nor in the divinity of Christ, but I feel almost certain of the existence of a G.o.d." The fondness for display makes the ornate ceremonies of the Catholic Church popular with all, however, and they are observed by officers of the state whenever possible. The president always goes to ma.s.s after taking the oath of office, and the army flags are solemnly blessed.

The less educated people of the cities and most of the country people not only hold their priests in great respect, but are blindly superst.i.tious. It is common to find crosses in the courtyards of country houses, placed there to keep evil spirits away. Frequently also, three crosses are seen in conspicuous places near the roadside or even in the middle of the road. They are supposed to propitiate the Almighty, and pious persons mumble prayers as they pa.s.s them. When the destruction wrought by the Martinique volcano became known here, the dismay of the countrymen was responsible for more than one "calvario"

(calvary), as these collections of crosses are called. It is especially desired by the country people to receive the last sacraments from the priests before death. On one occasion far out in the country I met a crowd of people engaged in transporting a dying man many miles to the priest in the nearest town. When asked why the priest was not called to the sick man, they explained innocently: "He couldn't come. The priest is too fat."