Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/340

304 become very cordial; the two nations will esteem each other in proportion as they mutually acquire a fuller knowledge of each other. As has just been pointed out, Haiti has, without exaggeration, never enjoyed either support, nor even the mere good will of the foreign Powers. The sum of their liberality toward her has only been to overwhelm her with criticisms, reprimands, and threats. But who has ever extended a helping hand to her? Where is the Power which, in the past, has ever rendered her simple justice? Appalling catastrophes have destroyed her cities, decimated her population, and left numberless families starving and shelterless: earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires have inflicted the greatest sufferings on the country. From abroad no word of sympathy was sent to comfort the victims; no one was moved by their trials. However, this indifference to their sufferings has not made the Haitians selfish; in their kind-heartedness they are ever ready to sympathize with the misfortunes of others. Even when undeserved calamities have befallen her, Haiti has never received the sympathy or help of the other nations. Abandoned to her own resources she is, step by step, making steady progress up the ladder of civilization. This progress, though considered slow by many, is worthy of a higher appreciation when one realizes the obstacles she has had to surmount. By extorting heavy and unjust indemnities from her, the foreign Powers themselves have impeded her evolution; for the money she has had to pay solely in order to avoid brutal treatment at the hands of some powerful nations in their support of unscrupulous