Show americans aid haiti progress navy officers report on work accomplished in 1922 as showing success port au prince haiti the tee technical adi skill the energy the Int intelligence ellige nce and the herd hard work of certain officers boffl cers of the american navy all are being expended in the interests of the island of 0 hatti and its people and the year 1922 was one of peace and progress S much was accomplished and the work to Is still going on under american Amer lern leadership the americans are teaching the haitians Hait ians to help themselves they are endeavoring to train the haitian personnel so BO that they may eventually ds displace place all foreigners in island administration operation cooperation co between the two elements to this end undoubtedly Is making headway early this year the american heads of departments made reports on the results of their labors in 1922 2 to john H russell the american high commissioner miss loner for haiti covering activities in the sanitary service in fire protection in police work in public works such as irrigation road building and communications in the better lighting of the coasts of haiti and in increased shipping epidemics epidemic checked the so called prison disease which in the old regime claimed 1300 out of an average of aw 2 00 prisoners has been reduced to the vanishing point in 19 1922 the percentage of deaths in the prisons was the death rate 4 i the gendarmes gen darmes numbering 2414 hai at fians fell to the rate of per thousand the completion of the intensive campaign against smallpox assures the prevention of its spread tor for several years and the recent severe epi demic of a form of bacilla dysentery has been largely wiped out that the haitians Hait ians are responding in greatly increased number to the tha free opportunities of american surgical end and medical treatment Is evinced by the fact that in the year applied for treatment ea as compared to for the preceding year five free dispensaries dispensa ries were opened in In interior sections where medical facilities were nonexistent tor for a radius of several miles the gendarmes gen darmes have been encouraged in field and track sports basket besken hall ball baseball soccer and boxing to their physical improvement all gendarmes gen darmes in addition to their military training are receiving a tre free grammar school course that has en cou raged enlistment and caused favorable comment among the haitians Hait ians for foi the first time in its history every man in the gendarmerie gendar merie merle has been thoroughly instructed in rifle practice and the contests held have developed marksmanship of a surprisingly high quality the regulation of all vehicle traffic and the registration tIOn of foreigners were assumed by the gendar merle merie in the closing months of the th year rn port t t au prince Is if now protected against disastrous fires through the recent completion of a salt water high pressure system the equipment of the capitals fire fighting forces now comprises two modern chemical find end equipment motor trucks and a recently acquired american horse drawn engine in which the firemen resplendent in crimson shirts and brass helmets race to the fires the department of public works has bai operated irrigation service in three of the leading plains where agriculture Is almost wholly dependent upon irrigation made preliminary investigations investigation of other needed irrigation projects and determined that fully acres of at present unproductive land in the th great plain of the lie Artill onite ere are capable of irrigation road construction spreads work has begun on a 15 mile stretch of road that when completed will cut the present time of travel by automobile to between the capitals of halt and santo domingo from three day to one the new road wll run front fron las to commendador on the tb santo domingo border there are today 06 kilometers ol of road in operation throughout the republic forty bridges will be erected at inland points where traffic has been impossible in the rainy seasons A two year program for new road construction st has been approved port nu au prince now lias has a new automatic telephone system which will be extended to care tor for subscribers pole lines tor for a distance of 1500 kilometers were maintained in 1927 tor for haitian ITel tian telegraph service the figures for last year show that telegraph traffic increased 28 26 per cent and the telephone traffic doubled the lowered cost of operation und and maintenance was 17 per cent four new automatic flashing acetylene type of lighthouses with a vist brilty bality of 10 miles have been placed it ir commission in the past year thes them additions to the lighting of haitin thousand mlle coastline formerly regarded by seafaring men as the most 1 dangerous stretch of coast in the west wesl indies have given haiti eight excel lent lights |