Arizona republican., 1898-06-02
FUTURE TRADE WITH CUBA.

1t. is as yet impossible to foresee all
the broader consequences of the war,
but there can be no question that one
of the results is to be a great improve
ment in our trade with Cuba. Here
tofore, as everybody knows, that trade
has been greatly handicapped by the
restrictive policy of Spain which re-
retained to itself large share of
Cuban commerce by the purely arti-
fetal device of making it practically
impossible for the island to import
competing articles from other coun-
tries. The Spanish plan has been the
essentially brutal one OF selling every
thing in sight and subjecting abso-
lutely to the interests Of the home
government and the people Of the Ibe-
rian peninsula all those Of the island
This policy was pushed so far, indeed,
that before the instruction broke out
even the most loyal Of the Cuban jour-
nails were accustomed to complain bit.
terly of the way in which the indus
tries of the island, particularly tobac-
CO, were sacrificed by Madrid legisla-
ton
All this will be changed with the
ending OF Spanish dominion, though
for the present things have been
made even worse by the instruction
and the futile but persistent efforts
put forth to suppress it. Large por-
lions of the island have been laid
waste, so that there has been little to
export, and therefore less ability to
take imports Cuban exports have
continued it is true, to be in excess
of imports, but so poor country is,
of course, not able to use all OF its ex-
ported products to purchase goods
from one country. Both before the in
surrection and since, our imports
from Cuba have been greatly in excess
of our exports thither. In part this
has been owing to the high tariff i'm
posed by Spain; though even under re-
ciprocity the increase in our imports
from the island was greater than that
in our exports thither. Still the latter
did show some increase; in fact, Cuba
was almost the only Spanish-Ameri-
can country where, under reciprocity,
we made a substantial gain in exports.
The best year for our trade with
Cuba was the fiscal year 1893, when it
amounted to $102.000,000, of which |
SIS, OOO,0O0 were imports and $24,000,- |
goo exports. In 1894, still under reci-
procity, but before the beginning of |
the insurrection, imports dropped to
S75, OOO, 900 and exports to $40 100000
In 1895, the year when the insurrec-
ton broke out and the reciprocity ar
came to an end, there was
another decrease to $53 100000 of i'm
ports and $12,500,000 of exports. In
1896 there was another decrease, and
in 1897 imports were only 8,5O0,Oo9
and exports $7,500,00O. Thus between
1893 and 1897 about two-thirds of our
entire trade with Cuba was lost mainly
If course, in consequence of the insur-
'ection. It will also be noted, never
heless, that even during the contlnu-
Ince of the reciprocity arrangement
,ur export trade with the island aver
Lged but little more than $20,000,0O0 a
rear, against which are to be placed
Spanish exports to Cuba averaging
3O, OO0, 900 year. When the island is
reed from Spanish rule and restric-
ions we may reasonably expect that
he greater part of those Spanish ex-
,orts will be replaced by commodities
purchased in the United States, thus
making our export trade greater than
,ver before, even on the assumption
hat the recent rate of production and
legree of prosperity on the island re-
main UNCHANGED