1914, December 23–28: (The Government Strikes Back: Stripping the Banque and the Vault That Held): Angered by the Machias incident and hard-pressed by Banque…

1914, December 23–28: (The Government Strikes Back: Stripping the Banque and the Vault That Held): Angered by the Machias incident and hard-pressed by Banque and commercial refusals of the Bons Da, the government hit back. On December 23, the Banque was stripped of treasury service. Then on the 28th, accompanied by a file of soldiers, a juge d’instruction strode into the Banque with writ in hand. Recognizing what was afoot, Desrue, the French assistant manager, leapt for the main vault, heaved the door shut, threw the tumblers, and spun the dial — then, facing the juge d’instruction with Gallic aplomb, courteously inquired if he could be of service. The cash drawers and lock boxes contained $66,910 in gold, and that was what the Haitians got. Inside the vault, placed under seal but beyond reach — bank manager Williams guessed it would take five or six days to breach the main vault — lay $400,000 in gold, the remainder of La Retraite. With the Banque thus paralyzed, Haiti’s finances were at a standstill, and default on the republic’s foreign obligations, announced on January 29, 1915, was inevitable.