Page:Haiti- Her History and Her Detractors.djvu/406

370 position of the island think themselves competent to give information about the Haitians; undeterred by the scantiness of their knowledge, they hasten to affirm that instead of progressing they are relapsing into barbarism. This is another assertion as common and as widespread as the charge of vaudou-cannibalism. Even the grave Encyclopedia Britannica has been led into adopting and propagating such slanders on the authority of writers of the class of St. John and Pritchard. When a work of the kind contains such misleading information about Haiti, one wonders what faith can be placed in what it says of other countries. In the United States people take all possible advantage of this slander. Does a politician desire to create the impression that it is necessary to assume a certain control on some of the American Republics on account of the probable opening of the Panama Canal, he at once resorts to the famous theme of Haiti's reverting to barbarism. Does he wish to establish that it is not safe to confer the right of voting on a certain class of his fellow-citizens, he will always draw his principal argument from the thesis of Haiti's relapsing into savagery. Haiti thus at the same time is made into a sort of moral scare-crow as well as continually serving as a scape-goat. However, she need occasion no anxiety to the United States. She has never thought nor ever will think of alienating the smallest portion of her territory, no more than does Haiti entertain the idea of consenting to the least attack upon her independence. Consequently it is very hard that the people of the United States, in order to facilitate some of their home problems, should make use of such calumnies against a small State which is earnestly striving to fulfil all its duties. I am glad to say that an American citizen has of late done us justice on this point. Professor Robert T. Hill says in his book that "Sir Spenser St. John's conclusions are not borne out by history, and the Haitians, instead of degenerating, are, excepting the Cubans, Porto Ricans and Barbadians, the only virile and