Evening star., 1898-12-16
CUBAN PROFILE MS
Various Channels for American Aid for
the Island.
The BACKBONE RAILWAY
Sanitation Greatly Needed in All
the Cities.
AVEN UES OF EMPLOYMENT
Copyright. 1893, by Charles NJ. Pepper.l
From a Staff Correspondent

Copyright, 1893, by Charles NJ. Pepper.l
From Stafr Correspondent.
| HAVANA, Cuba, December II, 1885,
American aid for Cuba seems to be seek
| ing various channels. 1t is of moment to
know whether in the rebuilding of the
| island and the recuperation of its inhabi-
| tants permanent relief policy is to be
| adopted. or whether, after certain period.
| its people shall be left to depend upon their
own resources. The present policy meets
present needs. The direct distribution of
rations supplied by the American govern
| ment will relieve the danger of the rem
! nant of the population dying from starva-
| ton. Why it was put off for months after
| the defeated enemy had agreed to the i'm
| mediate evacuation of Cuba is now fruit
less question. The rations are coming, and,
despite complaints, are being distributed
equitably. They reach hungry mouths.
Probably no one expects this plan to be
continued indefinitely 1t would be a bad
thing for the United States and a worse
thing for the Cubans. The question that
follows is what aid the American govern
ment can give to enable the inhabitants of
the island TO feed themselves. The DISPOSE
ton OF the American people is to be gen.
erouS without counting the cost too close
ly. rich nation which went to war to
end the intolerab bic condition in Cuba will
Iol SCI III Il IlSSaruly SDlTlC lH6 eX-
pendture for relief which had to come
after the war. The tendency now is to
discuss the measures which shall be adopt
ed. A few suggest tons on the present state
of the island and the future needs may,
| therefore, be timely They are based on
| what may be seen in the country districts,
| as well as in Havana.
| Experiment OF State Socialism.
| If the United States meant it's temporary
military occupancy of Cuba for a step to
| the permanent control of the island a
| subject territory or colony the field would
| be an inviting one for the experiment of
state socialism a grand scale. Congress
could simply authorize the expenditure of
$23D,00O,000, with the knowledge that the
projects to be entered upon were all useful
and Justifiable means of industrial and COM
| mercial reconstruction. In doing this it
| could act safely or the assumption that
every dollar of estimate would call for two
dollars of expenditure, and that ultima teiy
| another s2J0,00,0nO would be necessary
Government work in Cuba would be like
government work in the United States-first
Inc estimate. next the appropriation. then
| the additional appropriation, after that the
supplemental appropriation. and finally the
dehclency appropriation. That is my recol-
lection of the way in which rivers and har-
bors, public buildings and other government
| improvements are completed. Probably SEN
ator Allison or Chairman Cannon can find
some omissions in this summary of the an
preparations. but they are not important
| since the sum total of 81 of expenditure for
81 of estimate is sure to be reached.
If public sentiment in the United States
were tending definitely toward the expert
ment of state socialism I could give a list
| of enterprises which might be undertaken
with beneficial results to Cuba. That stage
| has not been reached, but the tendency
seems o.be toward making railroad building
| a government project. Whether the sugges-
| tions are merely tentative or whether they
| are the germs of a policy already deter
nod do
matter is one for a full understanding
Railroad building appeals to everybody who
studies the wonderful resources of Cuba
| It appeals with especial force to caOitaIists
who are accustomed to make large invest
ments and engage in big projects The GER
tainty that they will not neglect a field So
inviting as this island leads to the ques-
| ton why the American government should
undertake that which private enterprise js
ready to undertake.
The Backbone RAILWAY.
The answer is that it would be a means
| OF helping Cuba and the Cubans On that
point l shall give such information as II
| has been possible for ME TO gather The
| idea of the central or backbone" railroad
running from one end of the island to the
other, with branches to the coasts Is an
| old one Under any government excent thar
OF Spain the idea would have been realized
and the road built long ago. The Spanisl
authorities themselves occasionally had
glmpses of its Importance. Fifty years ago
he plans were completed, and com1nunica-
ton between Havana and Santiago was
promised within "a short time" But the
railroad never got further than Santa Clara
which Is 200 miles east of Havana. The
.Hw-mlle gap across the provinces OF Puerto
Principe and Santiago was never closed
Various surveys We're made. The best one
was by the French engineers. They were
given grand banquet in Havana and the
French capitalists, who thought they had a
concession, arranged to start in with the
construction of the line. They never laid a
rail- The Spanish ship owners who had
me monopoly of the coastwise trade stop
ped the enterprise. Cautious English can
ltahsts returned to it, but when they found
what was wrong they spent no money.
This Is, in brief the history of the
backbone" railway project in Cuba and
| Its setbacks The recital is given only he
cause some people think that the mineral
ana Forest resources which would be de-
Veloped by its construction are a fresh dis
covery. Elaborate official documents NAV
| be printed on this subject but they will
contain nothing new. The only question of
| present moment Is whether the United
| States should enter upon railway building
| as a part of its plan for insuring industr ria
recuperation and stable government in
| Cuba. When the revolution broke out in
| 1898 the population was thought to be
| somewhere" between 100000 and 700 900
This was pretty wide margin. A census
| taken in 1887 had shown 1,60O 900 and a
natural increase was calculated On the
! partment of public works at later period
| had shown 100000 inhabitants The cor
| rec tness of both sets of figures is disputed
| but it may be safe to guess that in 1895
the island had a population of l 800 OOo
Transportation Facilities Annie.
To serve the needs of these 1,5OoO 900 peo-
pie there were LOO miles of railroad. These
| roads carried the products of the sugar
and tobacco plantl tfons and performed the
| q he functions Of
! cilites enabled them to- handle 900. 900
| tens of sugar and 100000 bales of tobs co
| in the seasons of the crops. Probably ,hey
could have handled larger Quantities The,
roads were not destroyed during the war
They suffered, but their managers have
succeeded in keeping them in fair shape
| AS fast the sugar and tobacco planta-