6 August 1915 · Haitian
Rosalvo Bobo arrives with his title painted on his suitcase
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Rosalvo Bobo was the northern politician most Haitians expected to take the presidency after the killing of Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. He reached Port-au-Prince on 6 August 1915 aboard the Jason, and Admiral William Caperton sent a launch to bring him and four of his ministers onto the American flagship. The party climbed the ladder in frock coats and silk hats, each man carrying a dress case with his intended office painted on the side: chief of the executive power, minister of the interior, and so on. Bobo reached the quarterdeck, removed his hat, and waited for a salute of guns. He was given a handshake. Below, in the flag cabin, Caperton listened from behind a curtain while Captain Edward Beach told the visitor he could not stand for the presidency because Washington would not permit it, that an army in the north was a threat rather than a mandate, and that Haiti would have no more presidents made by force. Bobo resigned his claim, telegraphed his men, and went ashore a private citizen.
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