The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-11-09

in Jamaica, but yet sufficiently SO to
seriously reduce the profits of the pro-
prietors Ct plantations and curtail the
prodacticn This. together with the
restrictive policy Of Spain and other
causes, has had disastrous effect upon
the sugar and other industries.
Sufficient attention has not been paid
by students CT the Cuban question to
facts wholly unconnected with bad gov
ernment and Of purely economic char
acter. Foremost of these is the depre.
citation in the commercial value of To-
cal produce, especially the loss on
sugar, which is mainly due to the
cheapness and popularity of beet root
sugar on the continent of Europe. The
tobacco trade has also been Jess -four
ishing than it formerly was, and this
decline in both these industries, though
much more pronounced since the insur-
rection started, was very apparent before,
and in fact had much to do with causing
the uprising. Many plantations ceased
cultivation, and thousands of half saw
age colored folk, thrown out Of en-
ployment, were ready for any enterprise
that held out promise Of subsistence
to them without the necessity Of labor.
Though the disadvantage of competi-
tion above referred to may still react
unfavorably upon Cuban products the
island will henceforth be sure of a
market for many Of her products in
this country. We have always been the
best customers Of the island, and al
most three -fourths of the value of its
exports was derived from the United
States. This volume of trade, large as
it has been, will probably be largely in
creased in the future.
But, leaving the question Of the ma
ture of the political tie that shall bind
Cuba to the United States conjectural
as it is, there exists moral certainty
that it's conditions will be such as to
lead to the freest possible interchange
Of commodities between them. We will
continue, as before, to be the greatest
purchaser Of Cuban products, and Cuba
will be as never before rich market
for our manufactured goods, cereals,
lumber, machinery, hardware, etc.
The mining industries Of Cuba are
almost solely conducted by Americans,
but it's capabilities in this respect have
been but slightly tested. There are val
liable mines of iron ore Of the best quail
ity, Of copper, manganese, coal and
other minerals that only await men OF
means and business talents to make them
sources of great profit. Cubans, the
negroes in especial, are not good miners,
and there would undoubtedly be scope
here for some of the workers IN the
congested mining districts in Pennsyl-
vania and elsewhere providing they
could stand the rayages of the climate.
There are 5000, 900 acres of fertile
plains in Cuba, which SO far have only
been used as natural pastures. Cattle
run wild on these grassy expanses, and
hot as the climate is they seem to -four
ish as we'll as in more northern lati-
tudes. Many of the plains are also in
the inland regions, lying ensconced be-
tween the hills and mountains, where
the altitude tempers the heat Of the
sun. They are generally well watered
by the mountain streams, and where
these do not exist the copious rains
keep them ever green. This is another
industry that awaits development, and
which so far has been almost entirely
neglected.
The forest products of the island, in
exhaustible as they are, also present
immense possibilities to American en-
terprise. It's II, 900, 900 acres of wood
land contain the most valuable species
If trees used in the manufacture Of fur
niture, such as mahogany, rosewood,
etc., as we'll as those suitable for ship
building and other purposes. This field
has scarcely been touched so far and
can undoubtedly be worked to great
profit.
Coffee was at one time the principal
source of Cuba's wealth. In the early
part of the present century $1,000, coo
pounds of coffee, worth $40. 900, 900,
were produced annually in the island.
The industry had been started by French
planters who had escaped massacre in
Santo Domingo when the negroes re-
yolted. The trade fourished to an un-
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