Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-03-21

potato to pineapple; its abundant
yields of sugar and tobacco; its tremen-
dous forests Of mahogany and other
precious woods its uplands, upon which
are grown every product of the temper
ate zone, ard its fertile valleys, from
which luxuriantly spring the most lus-
cious fruits Of the tropics; its mines Of
iron and copper and manganese; its hun
dreds Of beautiful and excellent harbors,
and the soft, healthful atmosphere of
perpetual summer that forms the set
ting for this peerless "Pearl''-their
doubts will be swallowed up in conyic-
ton.
Complex Study.
A study of this wonderful island is
complex from any standpoint. The
geographer, with the best map in his
possession, will find new inlets, the nat
uralist will add to his collection, and
the mineralogist will revel in novelties.
and even the blase cosmopolitan will
recover in Cuba the zest which had gone
out of his life. And all this is merely
to say that great deal of the accepted
data with reference to Cuba is either in
exact ur wholly faulty. This, of course,
like everything else that works injury
to the island as to its relation to the
rest of the world, is due to the auto
cratic and ignorant methods of the
Spanish authorities, the tendency Of
whose discipline" is toward handi-
Gaping every public spirited enterprise
and retarding everything that is not
done directly i'll the interest of the hon
or and glory and revenue of the power
across the sea, for whom this poor.
downcast people have been working out
what has heretofore appeared to be a
life subsidy.
Notwithstanding all these difficult
ties, the enterprise Of Americans and
others foreign TO tho soil has led native
industry III the right direction, and its
commerce has grown in the teeth of riot
and instruction. The normal popula-
ton, LOO, 900, composed of something
near 10000 persons of Spanish de-
scent, 10000 foreign whites, 43, 600
Chinese and 500, 900 negroes and colored
people. is not busy throng. The loi-
tering Cuban Of today can hardly be rec
ogpized ms the descendant of those
sturdy pioneers of the sixteenth century
who fashioned the gigantic basticns IF
Ell Castillo de In Fuerza-the Castle Of
Strength-but still he can be brought to
bestir himself If sufficient financial
inducement is offered To be entirely
just, 1t should be said that enterprise is
not wholly wanting, even among the
laboring classes. And SO capital, which
was at first largely American, was put
to work, and as result cities have
sprung up. large plantations have been
put under cultivation, mines have been
opened mp, and sugar. tobacco and the
hundreds of other valuable products of
the island have been made to enrich il.
As is we'll known, large and usnrious
Part of the annual revenues of planters,
miners and manufacturers has been
taken for taxes. and at length it has
found Its way into the ever depleted
Golfers Of the home government at Mad
rid. And still traffic increased until
the beginning Of the revolution in 1895.
when there commenced the devastation
which has cost Cuba SO dearly.
The chief products Of the island are
sugar and tobacco, and the amount an
nually realized from these products dur
ing the years just preceding the last up
rising has been, On the average. 50. OO0,-
900 pesos dollars. and the revenue from
mineral sources has been grossly esti-
mated At 3, 500, 600 pesos. The amounts
derived from ether sources (includirg
,o..on. Of which good dea. is Pre-
iuced, were ccnsid9shls. hu. these