Atlanta Daily World

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MARTIN DANIEL RICHARDSON

Somewhat hastily as to details the grave gentlemen in Washington have announced that the United States is to withdraw its marines, guardianship, etc from the little island of Haiti within two years. A great air of mystery seems to have surrounded all of the negotiations that were made relative to this withdrawal, but greater yet is the mystery of the reason this move was not made sooner.

Haiti certainly deserves the advantage of conducting its own affairs. For too many years has the yoke of American interference been weighing it down. To the Haitian, the American is frankly an outsider: that proud race, though small numerically, has no use for the sort of tyranny that America and Americans and those foreign components who comprise the American whole hand out. The prejudice and the oppression, and the segregation, all of these things that America's Negroes either do not resent or are too shiftless to resist, grate against the skin of the proud Haitian.

America's intention in intervening in Haitian affairs was supposed to have been most magnanimous. It was for the purpose of protecting them, to further the American enlightenment among them, to assist the Haitians, they said to help in public improvements, and a host of other Utopian things. Nothing was said of course, about advancing the interests of the National City Bank and several other Wall Street institutions. No mention was made of the fine advantages Haiti offered American political job seekers. These things did not have to be mentioned, they were taken for granted by those who might be directly affected by them and indignantly denied by most others.

Whatever the country's intentions its results have been a gross failure all the way. It has replaced independent government in the island with a sort of autocratic mess of red tape. Haitians walking along their lovely tree-lined streets, prosperous people happy people are jarred into a realization of the presence of America among them when they hear the insults of American marines. Their taxes are doubled the excess going to support the stockholders of some American financial institutions.

Devious and intricate are the ways of the American. He has thirteen million of black folk at home whom he mistreats, abuses, segregates and occasionally hangs and burns, as the mood strikes him. But this is not enough. He must go abroad and find others upon whom he might saddle his yoke of maltreatment. His material gain in so doing is not often a large one not nearly as large as that that might be delivered by keeping his interests at home and making wholesome citizens out of his darker brethren. But no, no: he must go into Hawaii, and out of the polyglot population there try to make a successful American territory to the Philippines, and make a race of people more Japanese or Chinese than anything else, America-minded. To Haiti, to try to conform a race of people older and prouder than most of the present Americans to the American standards of lynching, disenfranchisement and subservience.

It might be remotely possible that there are people in this great land who really are desirous of spreading American culture, and the benefits to be derived therefrom. There are some sincere folk in the worst groups. But the sincerity of these people, allowing that they exist, is misplaced. The first duty of any worker for uplift is the uplift of the benighted and persecuted millions inside the house: those outside on the porch can wait, and believe it or not do infinitely better by themselves while waiting than they will after they have been helped. If America must occupy something, let her occupy the sunny south and propagate adherence to and a love of, the American Constitution and the various rights and privileges it grants its subjects. Let the American Occupation center itself in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida especially the latter on election day; let that Occupation uplift those thousands of Negroes who would like to vote, and have been so intimidated that they dare not. Instead of sending marines to Haiti or the Virgin Islands, send them to the southern towns where Government relief flour is being bartered for votes by American Occupation, but not in human bondage. Yes, long live the Haiti!