The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-19
OWNERS OF THE SOIL OF CUBA.
Spanish Property Holders Make Good Citizens, Honest,
Peaceable and Thrifty. n

! conquered territory and proceed to an
mex the island they would remain.
PRETENDING THEY'RE SCARED.
This talk was heard from the Spanish
I merchants of Santiago after the en-
! trance of General Skaters army IL
/ will be heard from those in Havana
and other cities. All the time these
I shopkeepers and property owners VIII
know that they are playing a part.
They do not possess the sense OF hu-
I NOR If they did they would be laugh
ing in their sleeves. In a fairly extern
sive acquaintanceship among them L
have never found one who was IN lear
of his life or reprisalS from the Gu
bans. They did not need Gomez's re-
4 peated promises of protection TO tnelr
lives and property to assure them-
Their only real apprehension was OF
the uncertainty and instability Whlch
much necessarily surround the forIna-
ton of anew Cuban government. Like
the foreigners engaged in business IN
Cuba, they would much rather have
immediate annexation. Yet, II that
cannot be secured, they are not going
to leave. The motive that will keep
them there is the motive that obtains
the world over. The Spanish merchants
and property owners can make more
money in Cuba than they can else
where. They know that if they move
out, others will come to take, their
places. When the Americanization OF
the island begins and the rush from
the United States takes place, there
will be a revelation of the degree to
which the Spanish property owner is
rooted in Cuban soil. Yankees" who
think all they have to do is to take
possession in order to monopolize trade
and business, will discover lit. They
will find the Spanish merchant holding
his own, stubbornly refusing to be
ousted, and with as much shrewdnesS
as themselves; but this will apply only
to established lines of trade. In the
development which will come from the
inflow of fresh capital and new enter
prises, the Spanish business man will
not be a competitor.
He will be slow in Selling the oppor-
tunity, and, falling behind in the be-
ginning, he will never catch up. His
strength lies in following main trav-
eled roads, and the profits from ven
turesome undertakings do not appeal to
him.
MUST LEARN POLITICS.
On the political side the Spanish
property owner will prove disappoint
ment to those who have been sounding
his praises. His education in public
affairs has been neglected. If his
class should have their wishes gratified
and secure immediate annexation to
the United States, a kindergarten of
political instruction would be neces-
sary.
The raggedest and most ignorant Gu
ban soldier, who has been carrying his
machete in the bushwhacking warfare
of the last three years, has better
preparation for citizenship. In the
struggle to free Cuba from Spain he
has at least learned the elementary
of MT 10 I'm
that it means more than a system Of
organized plumber for the benefit of a
privileged few. The property owner
and shopkeeper from Catalonia and
Asturia, or from the Basque provinces, j
has faint conception of what his own I
rights and responsibilities will be. In
the colonial government he has never /
had a part. The integrity which marks
his private dealings would have placed /
him at disadvantage if observed in
transactions with the official classes. |
To buy justice has been his first rule. !
To pay roundly for concessions which /
give him trade has been another To 1
make out false bills where his customer /
was the government has been the rec /
ognized practice. To bride customs of /
ficials, from highest to lowest, has been !
the indispensable condition of doing
business of any kind To |
engage in the shipping trade without /
lining the pockets of the harbor Off /!
Gals would be to invite ruin. 1t is a /
saying of captains that Havana is the !
only port in the world where a ship 1
can clear before she enters the harbor 4
1t is not the fault of the Spanish mer-
chant that these practices exist, and +
heretofore he has been able to manage /
so that it should not be his misfortune
But the process of educating him away
from the system which makes the gov
an instrument of plumber will /
not be completed in a day.