The little value of the constitution between friends has
constantly been demonstrated. Certain provisions have been
systematically violated, even by the best of administrations.
Principal among them is the provision that no one be arrested without
a warrant setting forth the offense, unless caught _in flagranti_, and
the provision that every person imprisoned be informed of the cause of
his imprisonment and submitted to examination within forty-eight hours
after arrest, and not be detained for a longer time than permitted by
law. These provisions have been dead letters as far as political
prisoners are concerned. When a person was suspected of being involved
in a conspiracy against the government he was liable at any moment to
be seized and conducted to prison, where he might be detained
indefinitely, until the danger was over, or he was considered
innocuous. The ancient fortress at the river mouth in Santo Domingo,
known as La Torre del Homenaje, bears over its entrance the sign,
"Political Prison," and rarely has it been without tenants, even when
the country was at peace and the constitutional guarantees were
supposed to be in force.
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