The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY SEPT. 11, 1930. STRICKEN BY HURRICANE.

Hokitika Guardian, 11 September 1930, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY SEPT. 11, 1930. STRICKEN BY HURRICANE.

Fortunate are the lands, says an exha nge which can rely on escaping disoncerting climatic extremes and visiations against the devastating effects jf which all the precautions w r hich man nay devise seem to be of little avail. Those who live in the Caribbean area lave good reason for fearing “the lurricane months.’’ In the West Inlies the hurricanes recorded over a )eriod of centuries have averaged •ather more than one per annum. Some lave been devastating, while others lave taken a course that has kept hem fairly clear of the island groups; >ut, whether they leave a trail of deoiation or not, they are terrifying visiations. The great hurricane which las virtually w’iped out the city of ianto Domingo, capital of the Dominian Republic, has anticipated tlfe usual eason for these dreaded phenomena by orae weeks. The reports being reeived from the desolated territory inlicate that the visitation has been veil more destructive than the hurri•ane which played great havoc at Porto lico two years ago, w-hen 271 persons ere killed and over 3000 injured. In lanto Domingo city the death roll is ariously estimated at from 4000 to a onsiderably higher figure while 30,,000 . eople— practically the entire populaon—are homeless, and thousands have •en injured. The difficulty attendg communication between San Doingo and the outside world in such mcumstanees makes it impossible to tdge, as yet, the full extent of the avoc that has been wrought. It is bated, however, that over a radius of fteen miles outside the city the eounryside has been laid to waste, and ■lthough Haiti at the other end of the sland, appears to have escaped, the slnnds to the east, including the British possessions, have suffered to a osser extent. To the Dominican Re•jiiblic the hurricane will prove a crushing blow. The history of the territory has been unhappy for centuries After the yoke of Spanish oppression was thrown off in 1865 and the republic declared, continual internal disturbances marked the efforts of leaders,

good or bud, to achieve unity. In 1901 the republic bed a debt ot some -sin millions sterling, with annual revenues amounting to some £370,000 and an annual expenditure of £780,0*0. Humours were rife that the European nations would intervene to collect the debts due to their citizens, and the United States forestalled this move by entering into an agreement whereby the American Government came to administer the Customs of .the Republic. This agreement amounted to a receivership, and naturally caused a good deal of friction To satisfy the demands of their countrymen Dominican officials incurred fresh debts without the consent of America, with the result that efforts to restore finances were nullified. When, in 1916, President Jiminez was deposed, the Americans landed a detachment ot troops to restore order, and the Republic was placed under the military administration of the United States. In spite of Dominican resentment this arrangement worked fairly well, and by 1922 the American troops had been withdrawn and a provincial government elected. America retained responsibility for the financial operations of the Republic and fresh loans wore floated. In recent years Santo Domingo has enjoyed a measure of prosperity unknown for centuries, and although it lias been affected by the current economic depression there appeared to be no reason why, in the Hear future, It should not be both nationally atid financially independent, The hurricane that has just been experienced will, it is to bo feared, have the effect of discounting a great part of the recent progress. Damage to property is estimated at forty to fifty million dollars, and it will not be surprising should the country be again confronted Vith bankruptcy. The Dominicans are fortunate in possessing a good friend in the United States American interest in the Republic may not in the past have been entirely disinterested. but it may be assumed that in the present disaster the stricken peoples will receive great relief in their suffering as a result of their connections with the United States. At least, they have some right to expect this.