The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-01-23

against Spain nave Dul W Sluuy lllc
statistics of the exactions to which |
Cuba has been subjected. The figures
show the iniquity and avarice of the
mother country towards the colony,and |
amply justify the efforts of the people |
of Cuba in their struggle for emancipa- |
tion.
All colonizing nations, such as Eng
land, France and Holland, have attend |
ed In one way or another to the support |
and advancement of those distant coun-
tries whittier they have undertaken to |
carry their civilization and people, to
enlarge their dominion and increase
their wealth. Spain has disregarded this
rule. Her policy has always been to
make the colony support itself with it's
own resources, and also contribute to
the national revenues. During the
whole of the first quarter of the present
century in which the population of the
island of Cuba did not reach half a mil
lion, Notwithstanding the large impor-
tation of negro slaves from Africa, Gu
bans betrayed, with their own resource
es, all the expenditures of their eX-
| chequer, while the Spanish nation failed
| to contribute single penny toward the
| increasing needs of the colony, even for
the support of public schools, which
| We're entirely neglected.
| In 1927 began to certain extent the
| agricultural prosperity of the island by
| the expectation of it's cane-sugar and
tobacco, and by the increase of it's pop
ulation, due to the immigration of
Spaniards from the Central and South
American countries that had just
achieved their independence. Spain
then hastened to withdraw half a mil
lion dollars from the treasury of the
IT.
applied to the needs of the nation. From
that date Cuba continued to contri-
butte annually to the treasury of Spain,
up to 1854, sum averaging not less
than two million and half dollars, and
aggregating $S9 1O7,2S7. The first step
having been taken in this direction,
the mother country imposed upon
Cuba in it's local budget the assign
ment of $5,372 POS for the use of Spain,
without conceding to Cubans the right
of representation in her Parliament or
of discussing and voting these assess
ments.
Spain made war in Africa against the
empire of Morocco, and imposed upon
Cubans large portion of the expenses
incurred thereby In 1S41 she acknow-
ledged a perpetual debt of $50, 900 at
five per cent interest, in favor of the
United States. to indemnify American
citizens who had sustained losses in
consequence of the wars of indepen-
dence in South America, and commit
ted the injustice of compelling Cubans
to pay the whole of this national debt
She did the same with the
expenses of the unfortunate ex-
pedition to Mexico in conjunction with
France, which ended with the drama
of Queretaro and the humiliatng
withdrawal of the European armies;
and she also made the island of Cuba
pay the cost of the occupation of San
Domingo, and the adventures in the Pa
ciflc with her former dependencies, the
republics of Peru and Chill, in 1864 '65
Thus Is explained how the estimate
of expenditures of the island of Cuba
which In 1880, when the population was
i55,695 inhabitants, amounted to $780,
934, at the rate of So per capita, gradual
ly increased every ten years to 50, 605S7
in 1870 $lO,074,677 in 1850, until, in 1866
when the population had augmented
only one-third (being 1,1O9 429)-it
reached the enormous sum of $29 SO 779,
say four-fold, or at the rate of $24.69 per
capita, this sum being mainly applied
to defray national expenditures and
debts, arising from wars and adven-
| lures III WHICH the CUBAN people were
not directly concerned, and, at all
events, should only have been called
upon to bear their proportion, conjoint-
ly with all the other provinces and de-
Tendencies of the Spanish monarchy.
: In the Spanish chamber of deputies,
a representative who is an authority in
financial and economic matters, Don
} Jose del Perojo, proved by incontroverti-
BILE figures, that the Spanish govern
ment had withdrawn from the treasury
of Cuba during the century, for the eX-
l elusive benefit of the mother country, a
total of $137, 900, 000
The annual budget of the island in
1868, at the breaking out of the first of
it's two great revolutions, amounted to
$25,415,945.
During the ten years of that disas-
=. trous struggle the nation so passionate
ly and tenaclously interested in main
tanning it's dominion over the unfortun-
ate island, which it calls and considers
IAN integral part of it's territory" did
, not contribute one penny toward the eX-
? penses of the war, but laid them all, alb
. solutely all, upon the shoulders of the
Cubans themselves, and has compelled
= them to pay these expenses in their con-
temporary and subsequent budgets. Ir
|
| Grafton has never obtained that the col.
ony should receive assistance from the
mother-country; but instead, that II
+, was bound always to produce for the
- benefit of the latter, and pay, as its
. own punishment, for the rebellions
- which in another sense are held to be 6
national conflict, of interest to all Span
= iards.
:, In short, the Cuban colonist is con
= sidered by Spain as Spaniard, in ordel
that he may pay taxes and obey. He il
: required to be loyal to the nation, bu
= is assigned an inferior position, and sub
= iected to heavy burdens, from which the
: other more favored Spaniards are eX
empt
q Let US see in what proportion Cubs
g has paid, together with it's own eXpens
es, those of the revolution of 1S6S-'7S a!
/, shown by the following figures of it!
yearly budgets.
In the first five years from 1868 tC
1873, its ordinary expenses at the rat,
Of $25,415,s45 aggregated 1927, 725
s since then its annual budget gives thes'
crushing figures:
ii lo'o-f ''''''''''''''''''''''' 'SfO'poO,oli
lSH-75 Observation-Disclosures. ~, ,43O,322