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The amount of work to be done appears all the
more appalling when it is considered that in the small island of
Jamaica, less than one-fourth the size of the Dominican Republic,
there are 1000 miles of fine roads. The American authorities in the
island are giving considerable attention to the improvement of the
principal highways around and between the more important cities, and
valuable work is being done. By an executive order of November 23,
1917, the military governor appropriated $650,000, to be expended on
portions of a trunk road which is ultimately to connect Santo Domingo,
La Vega, Moca, Santiago and Monte Cristi.
The majority of the roads and trails have scarcely been touched since
their course was fixed, centuries ago. Occasionally the abutting
property owners or an energetic communal chief cut away encroaching
vegetation or drained an unusually bad bog or threw dirt from the
sides of the road to the middle in order to raise it above water level
in the wet season, but such instances of civic thoughtfulness have
been only too infrequent.


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