The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-22

The counting of poultry before the in
eubator has turned loose its product is
not ordinarily deemed q safe system Of
calculation, but that does not deter the
energetic hustlers Of south Texas from
planning what part they will play in
the regeneration Of Cuba. and already,
there are indications of an invasion Of
the Gem Of the Antilles far moro impos-
ing than that of the armed host that
will sweep Blanco and his mon from
Cuban soil and displace the flag Of Spain
with the stars and stripes.
The gulf ports have been in closer
touch with Havana than have been the
cities along the Atlantic shore. and it Is
expected that the new era soon to dawn
in Cuba will play a mighty part in the
Of the gulf. Cuba Is supposed
to have a population Of approximately
2,0U0, 900 persons. Men who know the
island and its capabilities predict that
within ten years after the expulsion Of
the Spanish the population will DO
5000, 900. That Cuba can, in any even
tuality. remain under the rule Of native
Cuhns they consider impossible. They
declare that within two years after the
departure Of the Spanish the Cubans in
Cuba will be outnumbered and outvoted
ty the people of tho United States seek
ing residence and fortune in Cuba.
Galveston has for many years had
considerable trade with Cuba and tho
other islands of the West Indies. Two Of
the big transatlantic steamship lines of
Spain, the principal of WHICH Is the
Sierra company Of Bilbao, have had their
fleets constantly in the Galveston trade,
and as the Spanish merchantmen called
at San Juan de Puerto Rico. Havana,
Matanzas, Cardenas, Santiago do Cuba,
or other ports in the Spanish West In
dies, going from or coming to Calves
ton, this city has had q well defined
commercial relationship with the Gu
ban and Puerto Rican merchants. Not
only that, but Galveston has for q long
time been supplying the Havana market
with cattle and flour. For -four, one
steamer, the Norwegian Gyller, has been
in commission for four or five years to
the Texas Star -four mills of Galveston
and thousands upon thousands Of tons Of
Tidal Wave -four. made in Calves
ton, has gone to feed the people of Cuba
and Puerto Rico. In return, a good
share Of the products of the Spanish
West Indies has come to the United
States through this port.
The idea prevails that the Klondike
OF the south Is in that lizard shaped
island Of Cuba, and that a field for
American pluck, American brains and
American enterprise is going to be
thrown open there that will settle for a
decade tho spirit of dissatisfaction and
unrest that was being manifested in the
United States previous TO the war. II
you listen to the men who talk Cuba
and Cuban possibilities, you IN likely
to be carried away by the glowing pic
lures they will draw. They will tell
you the Spaniards have not scraped the
surface in Cuba, and that the agricul-
tural possibilities Of the island are al
most incredible. They say the most
vicious, grasping and intolerant system
of governmental oppression and unjust
exaction has not succeeded in choking
the industrial development Of Cuba,
and that once the island has the stimu-
lus of American enterprise its revivif-
cation will surprise tho world. 1t is in
talking Of reviviscent Cuba that they
are most glowing. They talk Of the
plows, of the hardware, Of the lumber,
Of the breadstuffs, of the mill machinery,
Of the railroad supplies, Of the boots
and the shoes, of the clothing and the
furniture, the cattle and the horses that
Cuba will want in illimitable quanti-
ties, in addition to thousands upon
thousands Of hustling Americans, in the
good times that are coming.
While it may take longer for Cuba
to recover from the desolation and dew
astation of war than these enthusiasts
believe, they are in the main correct in
the propositions they advance. Cuba,
in the minds OF the vast majority Of
our people, offers a most attractive field
for commercial and agricultural en-
deavor, and that combination Of Ameri-
can shrewdness, courage, pertinacity
and, alas, mendacity-the promoter
will be largely in evidence whom the
gate is opened at Havana.
In this freight and passenger traffic
to Cuba Galveston expects to cut quito
a figure. 1t is pointed out that hereafter
the coastwise vessels that ply between
Galveston and New York will In all
probability call at Havana instead of
Key West, as heretofore. 1t is also sug-
gested that Havana will be q stop off
station for the transatlantic liners and
tramps that como TO the gulf ports.
While the United States will undoubt-
eddy DO the great supply station for
Cuba il is but in the ordinary nature Of
things to expect that Europe will get a
share Of tho business. The great cargo