10 MAY 1919, Page 22

Santo Domingo. By Otto Schoeurich. (Macmillan. )6s, net.)—This well-written and

comprehensive aecount of the negro Republic of Santo Domingo is, according to the American author, the first that has been written for half-a-century. The island which Santo Domingo shares with Haiti is about as large as Scotland ; Santo Domingo occupies two-thirds of it, with a population of seven hundred thousand or so. Its history is a long tale of revolutions ; but its great natural resources are now being developed in peace, under an American Military Governor. In May, 1916, while our eyes were fixed on Verdun, American Marines landed with the consent of a President who hastily resigned. After some sharp fighting the Americans suppressed the insurrection which that President had failed to overcome. The next President declined to accept the American demand for control of the Customs, finances, and police, as in Haiti. Thereupon in November, 1916, the American commander declared Santo Domingo to be under military occupation. That is the situation now. Santo Domingo's rights of self-deter. mination were found to be incompatible with either her own interests or the interests of her neighbours. The League of Nations will not concern itself with her, for the Monroe Doctrine

covers Santo Domingo. "