The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-05-24
The lie dger Account With Cuba.


The etatistician of the United States
department of agriculture, Mr.. John
Hyde, contributes to the National Geo
graphic magazine for May an article
on the trade of the United States with
Cuba, before and since the outbreak
Of the last insurrection, which goes far
to justify intervention without regard
to moral reasons. Having been con-
WINGED by the testimony of our con-
suls that this insurrection could not
be terminated by either class of it's
participants, but, unless adjusted from
outside, would continue indefinitely
having as its only effect the substitu-
tion of anarchy for government and
chaos for commerce, we would have
had ground in the destruction of our
trade to intervene even though there
had been no high principles of human
ity at issue.
Our trade with Cuba, as Mr.. Hyde
points out reached its highest figures
in 1928, when it amounted to S102,-
S64, 2O4, the ratio of imports to exports
being approximately 10 TO 4. The prin-
cipal article imported is sugar. In
1S93-94 the amount was 949,77S tons,
one-half of the total consumption Of
the United States. Next is tobacco,
the trade in which reached it's max
imum i'm 1S94-95, when the amount inn
ported was considerably more than one
third the value OF the domestic crop.
| The only other importation worth mem
tioning is that of vegetables, amount
ing in 1928 to $2,5OOOOO.
This total was almost equal to that
of our entire Asiatic trade, was nearly
| four times that of our trade with
| China or Japan, and thirteen times
| that Of our trade with Russia, while
| it even exceeded the grand total Of
that with Austria Hungary, Russia,
| Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Tur-
| key, Greece, Italy, Switzerland and
| Portugal combined. Nor does this con-
| trast derive its strength mainly from
| the largeness of the imports. The ex-
| ports themselves. products Of our own
| country, We're nearly twice as great
| in point of value as our exports to
Italy, over three times as great as
| those to China and Japan combined,
nearly six times as great as those to
| Sweden and Norway, and over ten
times as great as those to Russia; they
amounted to almost half as much
again as our total exports to Asia,
and even exceeded our total exports
| to South America, exclusive of Brazil.
The principal articles of export are
| meats, breadstuifs and manufactured
goods, the trade i'm all of which articles
was rapidly assuming very large di-
| mensions at the outbreak of the in
surrection. Coal, coke and oils were
| also exported in considerable quanti-
ties. Indeed, so diversified were our
exports that there is no considerable
section of the entire country that was
not to a greater or less degree benefit
ed by the market for our agriculture,
mineral and manufactured products
that existed i'm Cuba.
Between 1S93-94 and 1S96-97, how
ever, our imports from Cuba suffered
a decline of 75.7 per cent, and our ex-
ports to the island a decline of 6l7 I
per cent, the imports being reduced
TO less than OHe-fourth and the ex-
ports TO little more than one-third OF
their previous volume. During the
first year of the insurrection our trade
fell off over $3O 100000; during the
second year further sum of SlS0OO,-
0O0 and during the third year a still
further sum of S21 100000, making a
total decline of $69,OOOOOO in the
annual value Of our foreign trade, and
a branch of 1t, moreover, that is car,
ried almost entirely in American bot
toms. From these figures of trade de-
cline under incompetent Spanish ad,
ministration We may gain an idea OF
what our commerce with Cuba will
be when the island Is made free tC
work out its productiveness unhamp.
cred by voracious, tyrannical and i'm.
beetle administrators.