way of Santiago de Cuba, taking in Mole St. Nicholas
on the way. Still the foreign trade has amounted
to less than $4,000,000 a year, the imports being
valued at about $1,703,595, and the exports at $2,-
200,000. T h e latter consist chiefly of sugar, coffee,
cacao, mahogany, logwood, hides, goat-skins, and
honey, and the former of cotton fabrics, hardware,
earthenware, and breadstuffs. About half this trade
is with the United States. Since 1893, the “ San
Domingo Improvement C om p an y ” of New Yo rk
has had charge of the collection of customs and the
distribution of the revenues of the republic. There
are no national taxes except the customs duties, and
these increased from $652,000 in 1892 to $1,601,000
in 1897. There have been considerable public improvements
made in recent years, including the
building of docks, warehouses, and lighthouses, as
well as railroads and telegraph lines. The people
of Santo Domingo are generally peaceable and law-
abiding, and are especially courteous and hospitable
to strangers, but there is a lack of enterprise and
energy, and as a consequence the great natural
resources of the country have been little developed.
75 60
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