La Solidarité

A prominent political figure of Port-au-Prince in the early decades of the 20th century, Constantin Mayard was also a founding member of a long-lasting mutual aid society, La Solidarité. Formed sometime after his pronouncement at a Masonic lodge, De la solidarité; conférence prononcée à la Loge [de] la Vérité, le 9 juin 1918, this organizations appears to have outlasted other mutual aid societies in Port-au-Prince. For example, Georges Jacob's mutualist organization created in 1917, which presumably drew from artisans and laborers associated with the Maison Centrale, does not appear to have lasted very long. Mayard's project, however, was drawn on the principles of social solidarity he promoted in the 1918 brochure. According to Le Matin, Mayard disseminated the following opinions: solidarity as the essence of any organization, it was formed through worker associations, a nation, or humanity as a whole, Haitians were a race within themselves, neither Africa or France, and blaming the failure of Haiti on the entirety of the population, not the elites. 

The mutualist ideology promoted here sounds something like the promotion of the "spirit of association" spoken of by Justin Bouzon in 1892, as well as the inter-class collaboration of Odette Roy Fombrun's konbitisme. Needless to say, the US Occupation of Haiti at the time likely created some degree of solidarity or camaraderie between urban artisans and workers and the upper classes, although historians such as Michel Hector point out the limited nature of Occupation-era labor parties, unions, or confederations as actual labor power. From what can be gleamed from newspapers such as Le Matin and Le Nouvelliste, Solidarité was eventually presided over by a president, Bosq, and Lelio Joseph, who were probably lawyers or similar like-minded reformist professionals eager to bridge the social divide in Haiti and strengthen social solidarity at a time when US Marines ruled Haiti. Their meetings were held at the lodge of the Grand Orient d'Haiti in the 1920s, suggesting some base in Freemasonry or at least overlapping members, like the Coeurs-Unis des Artisans of Cap-Haitien. Notices for their meetings in the major Port-au-Prince papers indicate the general topics of of conversation revolved around general savings fund, interests, and correspondence, at least according to one 1930 notice. Presumably, funds used by the organization went to pay for illness, funerals, healthcare, and other predicaments. 

By the 1920s, Solidarité was involved in celebrating the growth of Haitian national industry, and promoting labor interests. One article from 1924 contains the words of a meeting in honor of Pantaleon Guilbaud, who launched a major cigarette company which employed over 100 workers. Celebrated as an example of a Haitian who, through industriousness, skill, and intelligence, launched a major Haitian-owned enterprise, he was seen as a role model for artisans and workers since he started his career as a mechanic. Other notices for meetings of Solidarité also indicate topics such as the experience of bakers as well as urging members to attend Mass on the feast of St. Joseph, since the special mass was said in honor of workers. So, presumably the organization brought together various types of artisans and laborers, while also uniting some lawyers, middle-class professionals, and politicians together in an inter-class organization that lasted for most of the US Occupation (if not longer). 

Although politically not an ostensibly radical organization like the Communist party which emerged in the 1930s, or even anti-imperialist like Jolibois fils and his circle, the longevity of La Solidarité, the fact that it was recognized as a public utility in 1925, and its success in bringing together various strata of Port-au-Prince society suggest an importance for mutual aid societies and urbanization. Of course, various forms of mutual aid existed in the countryside, but their evolution in Haitian towns captures elements of social formation quite well. Perhaps a further exploration into the lives, activities, and social impact of these mutual aid societies on Port-au-Prince and other towns during the US Occupation could shed light on the anti-Occupation forces and the eventual rupture in the nationalist movement?