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CHAPTER XXIII
THE FUTURE OF SANTO DOMINGO
Attraction by the United States.--Political future of Santo
Domingo.--Economic future of Santo Domingo.
The history of the Dominican Republic affords a striking illustration
of the rule that large bodies attract nearby smaller or weaker bodies
whether in the world of physics or in international politics. The
United States of America had scarcely become a nation when it began to
absorb contiguous territory and exert a strong attraction on Cuba.
With respect to Santo Domingo also, there was such attraction, as
became evident in proposals for annexation or the establishment of a
naval station. At times it appeared that the process was definitely
checked, as when Spain annexed Santo Domingo in 1861, and when the
United States Senate refused to annex the country in 1871, and when
the Dominican Government cancelled the Samana Bay Concession in 1874,
but these acts merely set back the clock of time which they could
not stop.
When Porto Rico and Cuba were occupied by the United States the
attraction exerted on Santo Domingo was powerfully increased.
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