Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-07-09
CUBA AND ITS RESOURCES.


The Importance of It's Commercial Rela-
lions With the United States
The beautiful island. of Cuba. lying
off our Florida coast and resting under
the stern dominion of Spain, has been
an object of deep interest to the United
States for many years One reason for
this lies in the fact Of its proximity to
our continent and its distance from
the power which rules it Another is
to be found in the extraordinary rich
ness and variety Of the natural re-
sources of the island.
For Cuba has been well named s'the
garden of the West Indies" Its soil
and climate are capable Of yielding an
almost unlimited range Of agricultural
products
Not only does it grow the best tobac-
co in the world; a yet more valuable
product is the Cuban sugar. Coffee,
corn, rice and cotton can be profitably
raised from it The forests of Cuba are
rich in mahogany, rosewood, ebony and
cedar.
The fruits which are grown on the
island are as various and luscious as
those yielded by the fertile plains of
southern California They include
oranges and lemons, pineapples and
bananas, figs and bread-fruit, pome-
granates, cocoanuts, mangoes and qua
va, and others less familiar to US.
Within the past ten years, moreover,
an important iron-mining industry has
developed near Santiago, as a result Of
which it is stated that iron ore to the
value of million and a half of dollars
will be exported thence to the United
States in 1891. In return the Cubans
will receive American coal
But this island, so bountifully gifted
by nature, has never yielded to the
world the amount of products which it
is capable of giving. 1t is the least de-
veloped country in our hemisphere,
Brazil alone excepted 1t has now ff-
teen hundred sugar plantations. but is
capable of providing ten times that
number, and the same may be said of
the possible increase of tobacco, coffee
and cotton plantations
While the working people, white,
negro and Chinese, are generally peace
able and fairly industrious, it remains
true that Cuba is not cultivated to any
thing like the extent that is possible.
The se1fishness of Spanish domino
ton, and the consequent bad economic
condition of the island, are the main
causes why Cuba remains to so large a
degree undeveloped. The sugar plant
ers are stated to be poor, unable to
make their product valuable and equal
" unable to secure skilled labor.
Cuba is politically subject to Spain;
but its geogra phical and commercial in
terests lie with the United States Cuba
needs the machinery and supplies which
the United States could give it; but the
economic relations between the island
and the continent have hitherto pre-
vented Cuba from receiving them.
These relations are to some degree
shown by the value of the exchange of
products which take place between the
two countries The reports show that
| in 1889, while we received from Cuba
| articles to the value of fifty-two mil
| lions Of dollars, we only sent to Cuba
articles to the value of about eleven and
q half millions.
On the other hand, in 1SSS, Great
Britain received from Cuba and Porto
Rico goods only valued at a million and
| half dollars, while of her manufact-
ures and other goods she sent to them
| articles reaching a value of about
| twelve millions
Negotiations have lately taken place
between the United States and Spain,
| which have resulted in a treaty which
is expected to result in a much freer in
| terchange OF products than has been
made heretofore. A secondary result
| of the treaty will probably be to intro
duce American capital and enterprise
| into the island.-Youth'S Companion