Vincent on a Visit

Seldom do the guns of U. S. forts, north or south, fire salutes to a Negro. Yet last week the guns of Fort Jay, Governor's Island banged out 21 times for a Negro sailing up New York Harbor. The Negro was His Excellency Stenio Vincent, President of Haiti, in the U. S. to talk business with President Roosevelt.

Only three things bring a Haitian President to the U. S.: 1) to borrow money; 2) to get the U. S. marines out of Haiti; 3) to have U. S. Financial Adviser-General Receiver of Haitian Customs, Sidney De La Rue, withdrawn. Haiti is in no immediate need of a loan and her public debt has been reduced $9,684,536 in eight years. The last U. S. marine will be withdrawn from Haiti by Nov. 1 and the policing of the Caribbean republic by the U. S. trained Garde d'Haiti will have commenced 30 days before. That left only the withdrawal of Customs Receiver De La Rue as a reason for President Vincent's visit to the U. S. But chances were slight, that he will succeed on his mission. President Vincent's argument that Haiti's finances are in excellent shape is the same one Washington uses to keep Watchdog De La Rue on the job.

President Vincent, who talks like a French university professor, has another little mission up his sleeve. Haitian trade with the U. S. is ten to one against his country. In his baggage President Vincent brought a great many bottles of Haitian rum. At every interview last week two or three varieties were produced, not for cocktails or punches but to be sipped straight and slowly like old brandy.

"Je suis trap modeste," said he with an elegant shrug, "to boast of the quality of our rum, but taste, gentlemen, taste."

All Haitians and most U. S. Marine Corps officers agree with President Vincent that Haitian rum is the finest in the West Indies. Aged like Scotch whiskey in empty sherry casks, it is the only rum to be distilled from the whole fresh juice of the sugar cane and not from sugar lees of blackstrap molasses. Because of this fact it is also the most expensive of West Indian rums. Even in Port au Prince good Haitian rum brings $2 a bottle, costs nearly $5 in New York. Because of this fact President Vincent is trying to persuade his countrymen to produce a cheaper spirit for export, good enough in quality to compete with the "vulgar" rums of Cuba, Jamaica, Martinique, low enough in price to slide over U. S. tariff walls.

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