File No. 439.00/5
Chargé Goold to the
Secretary of State
No. 224
American Legation,
Santo Domingo,
July 21, 1917.
Sir: I have the honor to enclose you herewith
duplicate copies of the Dominican Official
Gazette No. 2816, of June 30, 1917, containing copy and
translation of Executive Order No. 60 issued by the Military Government
on June 26, 1917, creating the special tribunal to be
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known as “The Dominican Claims Commission
of 1917”. The purpose of this commission is to investigate all
outstanding claims against the Dominican Republic having origin
subsequent to the adjustment made to conform with the terms of the
American-Dominican Convention of February 8, 1907, and prior to the
Proclamation of November 29, 1916, establishing American Military
Government in the Dominican Republic, and to make an award of the amount
due each claimant; and to recommend ways and means for the settlement of
such awards.
I also herewith enclose copy, in duplicate, of Official
Gazette No. 2819, of July 11, 1917, containing copy and
translation of Executive Order No. 65 issued by the Military Government
on July 9, 1917, setting forth the powers vested in the Claims
Commission, and the rules by which it will be governed in the
performance of its duties.
It is expected that the Claims Commission will convene within the next
week.
Mr. John Brewer, clerk of this Legation, has been appointed, with the
consent of the Department, Secretary of the Claims Commission, the
duties of which office he will perform in addition to those in this
Legation.
I have [etc.]
[Inclosure 1]
military government of santo domingo
Executive Order No. 60
A special tribunal to be known as “The Dominican Claims Commission of
1917” is hereby created for the purpose of investigating all
outstanding claims against the Dominican Republic which had their
origin after the adjustment made to conform with the terms of the
American-Dominican Convention of February 8, 1907, and before the
establishment of Military Government by the United States under the
proclamation of November 29, 1916, and of making an award of the
amount due each claimant; and for the further purpose of
recommending ways and means for the settlement of such awards.
The Commission will be composed of Mr. J. H. Edwards, in charge of
the Contaduriá General de Hacienda, ex officio, President of the
Commission, and of the following additional members: Lieutenant
Colonel J. T. Bootes, U. S. Marine Corps, Mr. M. de J. Troncoso de
la Concha, Mr. Emilio Joubert and Mr. Martin Travieso, Jr.
The Commission will be called to meet at Santo Domingo City by the
President at as early a date as practicable after July 15, 1917.
The sum of $50,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby
made available for the expenses of the Commission from funds not
otherwise appropriated.
H. S. Knapp
Santo Domingo,
June 26, 1917
[Inclosure 2]
Executive Order No. 65
The Dominican Claims Commission of 1917, organized as announced in
Executive Order No. 60, will have vested in it the powers, and will
be governed in the performance of its duties, as hereinbelow
prescribed.
Upon being convened, and prior to entering upon its duties, the
Commission and each member thereof individually shall take oath
before the Supreme Court of Santo Domingo to the faithful and proper
performance of duty. The Secretary
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and the clerical staff shall take oath of
similar effect administered by the President of Commission before
the entire Commission. The oaths of the Commission shall be
registered in the archives of the Supreme Court, and all oaths
herein prescribed shall be recorded in the record of the
Commission.
The Commission shall have its seat at Santo Domingo City, Dominican
Republic, but may in its discretion and as may be necessary hold
special sessions at other points in the Republic.
The President of the Commission shall be the presiding officer and
shall have a vote in all proceedings. The Secretary of the
Commission shall maintain complete records of all the proceedings
and awards of the Commission; he shall not have a vote. All
resolutions, acts and business transacted by the Commission shall be
by a majority vote of the members of the Commission present, but no
award shall be valid unless subscribed to by at least three members
of the Commission.
In case any member of the Commission is interested directly or
indirectly, or related in any degree to any person who is interested
directly or indirectly, in any claim brought before the Commission,
he shall bring the fact to the notice of the Commission, which will,
as a whole, determine his eligibility to sit in the case.
The first duty of the Commission shall be to prepare and submit to
the Head of the Military Government a plan to provide for the
necessary means of liquidating the awards upon claims approved by
the Commission.
The Commission shall have complete and final jurisdiction as a
Dominican Government agency in the matter of adjudicating claims
against the Dominican Government coming before it. The decisions
rendered and awards made by the Commission shall not be subject to
review or appeal before any Dominican court or other Dominican
authority.
Any claimants who do not submit their claims to this Commission for
adjudication on or before December 31, 1917, shall be deemed to have
forfeited and relinquished all rights to such claims. Claims shall
be submitted to the Commission in the form and manner prescribed by
the Commission.
For the prosecution of its business the Commission is vested with the
powers of Dominican courts to subpoena and compel the attendance of
witnesses; to administer oaths and examine witnesses under oath; to
punish contempt and perjury; to call for the presentation of
documentary evidence, public or private; and to these ends its
orders shall be binding on all Dominican authorities. Such
assistance as may be necessary to attain any of its objects will be
rendered to the Commission by the police agencies of the Dominican
Government and if required, by the forces of the Military
Government
Any person who refuses or neglects to appear before the Commission
when subpoenaed, or who refuses to produce any documentary evidence
in his possession when such evidence is called for by the
Commission, or who attempts improperly to influence the Commission
or to obstruct its proceedings in any way, shall be guilty of
contempt. Any person who gives false testimony before the
Commission, under oath, shall be guilty of perjury. Any person who
signs a name other than his own on any document submitted to the
Commission shall be guilty of forgery. Any person who signs any
voucher, receipt, certificate or other document representing a claim
against the Dominican Republic, in which any false statement is made
to the prejudice of the Dominican Republic, shall be guilty of
falsification with intent to defraud. The Commission shall try and
pass judgment upon all such cases; and the offenders, upon
conviction of any such offenses, shall be punishable by a fine not
less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five thousand dollars
($5,000) or by imprisonment for not less than one (1) month nor more
than five (5) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the
discretion of the Commission.
The Commission shall consider as a notification only any claim
heretofore submitted to or filed with any Commission or official
appointed for the purpose of receiving and recording such claims, or
which may have been presented to any other office of the Dominican
Government; provided, however, that any claimant or interested party
who may so desire shall be permitted, upon making written
application and renunciation to the Commission, to withdraw in whole
or part any claim or document supporting such claims filed by him
prior to the creation of this Commission; provided further that the
Commission shall, prior to the return of any such claim or document,
cancel same by appropriate notation theron in such manner as to
render it of no further value as a claim.
The Commission shall not consider nor approve for payment, in whole
or in part, any expenditures made for the purpose of or in
connection with a revolutionary movement against a legally
constituted government of the Dominican Republic,
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or any claim representing money,
materials or supplies furnished in support of such revolution,
unless so furnished in submission to force majeure, of which the
Commission shall be the final judge.
Such travel as may be required in the performance of the duties of
the Commission is hereby authorized. Any member of the Commission
appointed from abroad shall be entitled to salary from the date of
leaving his home for Santo Domingo and up to the date upon which he
could arrive at his home after dissolution of the Commission, using
the first available transportation in either case. Members of the
Commission appointed from abroad shall also be reimbursed for their
actual and necessary travel expenses in coming to and returning from
Santo Domingo, provided that such expenses shall represent only the
travel from their homes and return thereto by the most direct
route.
During its life the offices of the Commission shall be open for the
transaction of business during the regular office hours observed in
the Dominican Government offices on all days excepting Sundays and
legal holidays.
The Commission shall cease to exist when the object for which it is
created shall have been attained.
H. S. Knapp
Santo Domingo,
July 9, 1917.
