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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
T HIS volume deals with the living questions of Cuba—the questions which confront the United States in the reconstruction of the Island. It aims to give a description of Cuba as it appeared to the author when, as Special Commissioner of the United States, he was sent by President McKinley to report on its industrial, commercial, and financial condition, soon after the signing of the protocol of peace, August 12, 1898. It is the result of nearly seven months’ inquiry and hard work, in which the I
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CHAPTER I CUBA—POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
CHAPTER I CUBA—POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
A NATION, like an individual, must be gauged by its endowments, its environment, its opportunities, and the various causes which from time to time accelerate or retard its progress. Cuba is richly endowed with natural resources, it is within a short distance of the best and most profitable market in the world, and its opportunities, under favourable conditions of trade, should have made its population contented and prosperous. Had it not been for the numerous causes which have retarded all progr
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CHAPTER II CONDITIONS WHICH CONFRONT US
CHAPTER II CONDITIONS WHICH CONFRONT US
T O treat of Cuba as an American country is the purpose of this volume. If the people of the Island, regardless of nationality, will only postpone the question of the particular form of government for the present, and give all their attention to the new economic questions which confront them, the future will be full of promise. Cuba is no longer a European colony, but an American country, under the protection of the United States. So long as the Island is occupied and governed by the military fo
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CHAPTER III POLITICAL FUTURE OF CUBA
CHAPTER III POLITICAL FUTURE OF CUBA
T HE political future of Cuba is a matter of much speculation and interest. Considerable will hereafter be said in this volume on the economic and industrial future of this wonderfully productive Island, and little doubt can be entertained that with an honest effort and stable government the commercial future of Cuba will be full of promise. What of the political future? The industrial independence of the Island attained, what, if any, steps are likely to be taken for the political independence?
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CHAPTER IV THE ENGLISH IN JAMAICA
CHAPTER IV THE ENGLISH IN JAMAICA
H AVING sought light and information in relation to the future political government of Cuba from both Cuban and Spanish sources, for the Marquis de Apezteguia is more Spanish than Cuban, it may be well to ascertain if any useful lesson may be found in British colonial administration. With this thought in view, the author, after completing the work in Cuba, made a brief visit to the island of Jamaica. Through the courtesy of the American Mail Steamship Company, the S.S. Admiral Sampson stopped at
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CHAPTER V THE AMERICANS IN SANTIAGO
CHAPTER V THE AMERICANS IN SANTIAGO
A VISIT to Santiago should give relief to those suffering from “the craven fear of being great,” for there may be found much that is encouraging. In this province of Cuba may be seen in full operation the work which the Government of the United States has been impelled to undertake, and here may be studied the character of the forces upon which the people of the United States must rely in the work of reconstruction now in progress. The machinery of government is running with a fair degree of smo
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CHAPTER VI OUTLOOK IN CUBA FOR LABOUR
CHAPTER VI OUTLOOK IN CUBA FOR LABOUR
T HAT the wounds of Cuba will soon heal with the rapid promotion of work, is undoubtedly true. This is the struggle the United States is now entering upon, and the employment of the people should be the first aim of those responsible for the management of affairs. There will naturally be many disappointments, some disillusioning. The condition of labour in the Island requires the most serious attention of our Government. A brief history of it during the present century may elucidate the existing
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CHAPTER VII THE POPULATION OF CUBA
CHAPTER VII THE POPULATION OF CUBA
T HE number and the characteristics of the people of Cuba are matters of doubt. If not of doubt exactly, at least there seem to be many discrepancies in relation to the numerical side of the problem, and great variation in opinion as to the qualities and peculiarities of the several classes of inhabitants which constitute the people of the Island. Before attempting to discuss the traits of the people, it may be advisable to ascertain, as far as practicable, the component parts of the population,
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CHAPTER VIII SANITARY WORK IN CUBA
CHAPTER VIII SANITARY WORK IN CUBA
U NDERLYING the prosperity and happiness of the people of any country is health, for without it there can be no strength, no energy, no success, even if all other conditions be favourable. This is true of every section of the world, and is notably true of Cuba, which with almost every advantage that nature could bestow has ever been feared for its malarious diseases, the fatal typhus, and the dreaded “yellow jack,” which acknowledges no master save the frost. For years the world has quarantined
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CHAPTER IX CITIES AND TOWNS OF CUBA
CHAPTER IX CITIES AND TOWNS OF CUBA
T HE political divisions of Cuba, known as provinces, are six in number, and are named as follows, beginning at the west: Pinar del Rio, Havana, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Puerto Principe, and Santiago de Cuba; the capital city of each bearing the same name as its province. Of the provinces it may be said that Pinar del Rio, with an area of 8486 square miles, has a population of 225,891 (167,160 white and 58,731 black), and is the centre of the tobacco industry, the famous Vuelta Abajo district lyin
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CHAPTER X HAVANA
CHAPTER X HAVANA
W HATEVER may be said of Havana, the capital city of the Island of Cuba, however sonorously its high-sounding name, San Cristobal de la Habana, may be rolled forth, what titles of Queen of the Antilles, Key of the New World, or other titular effervescence may be thrown about it by the sentimental Spaniard, or the vivid-minded visitor, the plain, prosaic fact remains that Havana for centuries has smelt bad, and man’s other four senses are utterly routed from any field of enjoyment when his nose g
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CHAPTER XI COLONEL WARING’S SANITARY REPORT
CHAPTER XI COLONEL WARING’S SANITARY REPORT
W HEN in October, 1898, the late Colonel George E. Waring, of New York City, who had been sent by the Government to investigate the physical condition of Havana, became the victim of the monster he had sought to throttle, he had already written a large portion of his report, and he left copious notes for the completion of it, from which his efficient secretary and assistant, Mr. G. Everett Hill, prepared a full report. From this report the following extracts are made: “The death-rate of the city
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CHAPTER XII MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS IN HAVANA
CHAPTER XII MUNICIPAL PROBLEMS IN HAVANA
T HE American authorities and American enterprise have jointly taken hold of the municipal problem of Havana with considerable energy. This subject is of such vital importance, not only to the industrial reconstruction of Cuba, but to the future of the Island itself, that no apology is necessary for devoting an entire chapter to it. The problems which General Ludlow, the present Governor of Havana, has taken up energetically are those relating to the reorganisation of the police force, public wo
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CHAPTER XIII BANKS AND CURRENCY
CHAPTER XIII BANKS AND CURRENCY
T HE heading of this chapter is somewhat misleading, for, strictly speaking, Cuba has neither banks nor currency—that is, of her own. The basis of the money which circulated in Cuba before the military occupation of the United States was Spanish gold, principally the centen , or twenty-five- peseta piece, the value of which had been inflated to $5.30 by royal decree. Owing to the scarcity of this coin and to the fear that it might leave the Island, in 1893 the French louis, or twenty-franc piece
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CHAPTER XIV PAYMENT OF INSURGENT SOLDIERS
CHAPTER XIV PAYMENT OF INSURGENT SOLDIERS
T HE question of the payment of insurgent soldiers and of certain legitimate indebtedness incurred by the insurgent government has an important bearing upon the civil, if not the industrial reconstruction of the Island of Cuba. This matter was referred to a commission of Cuban officers, consisting of General Garcia, General José Miguel Gomez, Colonel Manuel Sanguily, Colonel José Ramon Villalon, Dr. José Gonzales Lanuza, Señor Gonzalo de Quesada, and Mr. Horatio S. Rubens, who acted as interpret
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CHAPTER XV REVENUE—CUSTOMS TARIFF
CHAPTER XV REVENUE—CUSTOMS TARIFF
T HE revenues and expenditures of the Island of Cuba for the fiscal year 1898-99, according to the reports obtained by the author from the Secretary of the Treasury, Marquis Rafael Montoro, may be thus summarised: While the revenues are all derived from the various species of taxation exacted from the people of Cuba, the expenditures are divided into two important classes: those under the head of “Sovereignty Expenses,” or expenses of the General Government, which, according to this estimate, ag
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CHAPTER XVI THE AMENDED CUBAN TARIFF—OFFICIAL
CHAPTER XVI THE AMENDED CUBAN TARIFF—OFFICIAL
A FTER a careful consideration of the facts given in the foregoing chapter, Assistant-Secretary of the Treasury, William B. Howell, and the author recommended the adoption of the following amended tariff, the order for the establishment of which President McKinley signed on the 13th of December, 1898; and the tariff was promulgated and took effect in all Cuban ports in the possession of the United States January 1, 1899. The new tariff, at the time this volume goes to press, is reported by the s
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CHAPTER XVII REVENUE OF CUBA—INTERNAL TAXES
CHAPTER XVII REVENUE OF CUBA—INTERNAL TAXES
I N the two preceding chapters the attention of the reader has been called to the revenue of Cuba derived from custom-house receipts, which aggregates about $15,000,000 of the $26,000,000 required by the Spanish to pay the governmental expenses of the Island. Before ascertaining the way in which this money has been expended, and before making any suggestion as to possible division of revenue for the future, it may be well to pass briefly in review the other sources of revenue; and in this proces
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CHAPTER XVIII HOW THE REVENUE WAS SPENT
CHAPTER XVIII HOW THE REVENUE WAS SPENT
I N dealing with expenditures, the factors become more certain quantities than those present in the forecasting of possible revenue. The money collected from Cuba, whether it was $26,000,000 or more, has all gone, and nothing was found in the treasury when the United States forces took possession but numerous evidences of promises to pay, records of receipts given by the Government for goods not paid for, and debts of all kinds, including the salaries of a large number of the minor officials. Th
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CHAPTER XIX COMMERCE
CHAPTER XIX COMMERCE
S PEAKING in round numbers, the commerce of Cuba during the last normal year aggregated about $100,000,000 of exports and a trifle over $60,000,000 of imports. From these figures it would seem that the balance of trade is about $40,000,000 in favour of Cuba. But this is more apparent than real. In one way and another Spain has annually turned away from the Island $40,000,000, which, had it been expended in Cuba every year, would have added immeasurably to the prosperity of the country. This mone
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CHAPTER XX SUGAR—HISTORY AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
CHAPTER XX SUGAR—HISTORY AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
O F Cuba’s 28,000,000 acres, about 2,000,000 are devoted to the raising of her sugar crop, which in amount is a little less than half of the entire cane-sugar product of the world. Historians differ as to when the cultivation of sugar began in Cuba, but in 1523 Philip I., King of Spain, allowed a loan of 4000 pesetas to each person who would undertake to establish a sugar plantation; and although it appears that the people of San Domingo began cane farming about this time, it is not positively k
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CHAPTER XXI TOBACCO
CHAPTER XXI TOBACCO
T HE companions of Christopher Columbus on the first voyage of discovery in 1492 found what has since been known as tobacco. Two weeks after sighting the first known land in the New West, that is to say, on the 27th of October, the ships of Columbus anchored off the shores of a great land, supposed to be the Kingdom of the Khan, to whose ruler Columbus bore letters of introduction from the King and Queen of Spain. Here—in the Island which is now called Cuba—exploring parties went ashore and proc
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CHAPTER XXII MINES AND MINING
CHAPTER XXII MINES AND MINING
T HE first questions asked the natives of Cuba by Columbus and his company concerned gold and silver, and they heard many tales of the riches of the unknown interior, but all their searching produced nothing of value, nor have the succeeding centuries added greatly to what was first discovered. Some little gold and silver was found, but it amounted to really nothing, and the mineral riches of the Island remained hidden until 1524, when copper was discovered near Santiago de Cuba; and here grew u
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CHAPTER XXIII AGRICULTURE AND STOCK
CHAPTER XXIII AGRICULTURE AND STOCK
D ATA of any kind on the farming interests of Cuba are difficult to collect, and those obtained are, as a rule, meagre, indefinite, and unsatisfactory. Statements vary as to the acreage under cultivation, estimates vary from 2,000,000 to 9,000,000 of acres. One writer says there are 100,000 farms, plantations, and cattle ranches in the Island, valued at $20,000,000; and Cabrera, in 1862, gives these figures: 18 cocoa plantations, 35 cotton plantations, 782 coffee plantations, 1523 sugar plantati
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CHAPTER XXIV TIMBER AND FRUIT TREES
CHAPTER XXIV TIMBER AND FRUIT TREES
O F the approximately twenty-eight millions of acres in Cuba and its islands, it is estimated that from thirteen to fifteen millions of acres are covered with timber, the vastly larger portion of it yet untouched by the axe. Of this, mahogany and cedar lead in value as lumber, though, for the variety of its uses, the palm, of which there are thirty species in the Island, easily takes precedence. A notable peculiarity of tree growth in Cuba is the presence of the pine, a distinctively northern pr
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CHAPTER XXV TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER XXV TRANSPORTATION
T HOUGH it has as poor a system of railway and waggon-road transportation as could be imagined, Cuba is by nature fitted for the very best system possible. With a length of over seven hundred miles a main stem of railway from end to end of the Island would have control of every shipping point on both coasts, by the extension of short branches to such of the harbours on either side (at the farthest not more than fifty miles away) as seem capable of development. With such a system of railways, the
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CHAPTER XXVI NAVIGATION
CHAPTER XXVI NAVIGATION
N AVIGATION , with Cuba, may be considered under three division: a —Navigation between Cuba and foreign countries other than the United States. b —Navigation between Cuba and the United States, including Porto Rico. c —Navigation between Cuban ports. The most delicate problem connected with merchant shipping in Cuba during the military administration of the affairs of the Island by the United States, has been the regulation of the coasting trade. Under Spanish administration, transportation by s
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CHAPTER XXVII EDUCATION AND RELIGION
CHAPTER XXVII EDUCATION AND RELIGION
W HATEVER the Cuban people may have thought of Spain and her methods, it is plain that in one regard, at least, the child deemed its mother a pattern of excellence and followed her example far beyond the pattern,—and that regard was education. Spain has always been at the head of the ignorant list among European countries, but Cuba is far worse, for she has the sloth of climate against her, in addition to other handicaps, and the people are slow to avail themselves of even such opportunities as
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CHAPTER XXVIII A VISIT TO GENERAL GOMEZ
CHAPTER XXVIII A VISIT TO GENERAL GOMEZ
“T he following account of the author’s official visit to General Gomez has an important bearing on the future of the Island, and is deemed of enough importance to insert here in full. Washington, D. C. , February 6, 1899. Hon. Lyman F. Gage, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D.C. Sir : Acting in accordance with your instructions, and after consulting, as you suggested, the President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of War, I proceeded on the afternoon of Friday, January 27th, to Havana.
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CHAPTER XXIX CONCLUSION—A LOOK AHEAD
CHAPTER XXIX CONCLUSION—A LOOK AHEAD
I N the opening chapters of this volume we have seen Cuba as it is and speculated on what it should have presented to the world at the close of the present century. The past, it is to be hoped, is a closed book. The future is more hopeful, perhaps, but replete with difficult problems and many dangers. The war has emancipated the people of Cuba from Spain, made them a self-governing people protected by a great nation, the flag of which is a symbol of freedom and a guaranty of the fruits of indivi
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