territory of one of these republics; and yet such seizure of
territory, disguised or undisguised, may eventually offer the
only way in which the power in question can collect its debts,
unless there is interference on the part of the United States."

Roosevelt had already found such interference necessary in the
case of Germany and Venezuela. But it had been interference in a
purely negative sense. He had merely insisted that the European
power should not occupy American territory even temporarily. In
the later case of the Dominican Republic he supplemented this
negative interference with positive action based upon his
conviction of the inseparable nature of rights and obligations.

Santo Domingo was in its usual state of chronic revolution. The
stakes for which the rival forces were continually fighting were
the custom houses, for they were the only certain sources of
revenue and their receipts were the only reliable security which
could be offered to foreign capitalists in support of loans. So
thoroughgoing was the demoralization of the Republic's affairs
that at one time there were two rival "governments" in the island
and a revolution going on against each. One of these governments
was once to be found at sea in a small gunboat but still
insisting that, as the only legitimate government, it was
entitled to declare war or peace or, more particularly, to make
loans. The national debt of the Republic had mounted to
$32,280,000 of which some $22,000,000 was owed to European
creditors. The interest due on it in the year 1905 was two and a
half million dollars. The whole situation was ripe for
intervention by one or more European governments.