The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-08-28
NEW FIELDS OF TRADE
OPENED BY THE WAR
Chances of American Merchants in Cuba
and the Philippine Islands, What
Men of Experience Think About
the New Possessions.

world is grown Most Of the tobacco
lands. however, are taken up, and the
| little that is left is altogether too ex-
pensive for any but the largest corpor-
| atoms to develop. There are some
chances to start on small scale IN
1 certain sections, where low grade or
! tobacco is raised. But in this business
| and the sugar industry considerable
knowledge is necessary TO avold Iallure.
Perhaps the industry th1rd IN nm
portance is furnished by the timber
| lands. In the east there are vast traN.-
of forest that have never been touched
| The suicidal policy of the spanish GoF-
/ eminent was never better SHOWN Imam
here Little attempt has been mace 70
/ reach and market these WOODS AGe
roads are few, and in many parts al
most useless. There are large quaint
ties of pine, maho gany, cedar, hgnuin
vitae, logwood and some 40 more Varl-
eties. And this land once cleared makes
a fertile soil for sugar, coffee and cocoa
1.-THE mineral deposits of Cuba are
more important than is generally ap-
preciated But little progress has Deen
made in exploring the rich deposllS III
the east, owing to the heavy duties nm
| posed by the Spanish Government.
! There are iron mines, manganese, coal,
copper and tin properties. The chances
/ for a large corporation to exploit these
/ properties are excellent, and rlcn re-
! turns can be made by such enterprises.
1
Der business there whould be but little
chance for man with limited means
There are numerous other lndus"
tries; the coffee business is prohtaple,
but it requires three years OF waiting
| before 1t Yields any return; the cocoa
business and the raising of cattle are
good money makers, and require only a
/ moderate amount of money upon WHICH
to start. For the man OF small means
there are perhaps better opportunities
tI7ea OnO n
dustry and the regular lines or trade
that are found in every city or Amer-
| fca-the hardware, grocery ana proVlS-
| ion business The ranks of retail trade
are by no means filed in most Cuban
cities.
which is with careful personal precau-
tions. better than some of the Southern
States; of the boom in city real estate,
of the future possibilities of tourist
season in Havana, Matanzas and the
Yumuri, and of the universally winch
the English language will obtain.
Yes, should most decidedly encour-
age the young man with some means TO
go to Cuba, but he must be strong ana
self-reliant in character; he must De
ready to overcome difficulties; ne must
| have intelligence, ambition and econ
omy or he will fail in Cuba as he Will
, anywhere else That country will not
be paradise for the lazy and the care
less. The Cubans will welcome the
Americans with open arms. There IS
room for many more people tnere' anu
only large additions of able men Will
bring out the immense resources that
are now lying dormant along the whole
length of the island.
Mr. FideI G.. Pierra, the former sec
rotary of the Pan-American Congress,
who has been engaged for thirty years
in business enterprises connected with
1 Cuba. says, by way OF adV1ce:
"In Cuba almost everything is to be
done It is utterly impossible at this
moment to define the thousand and one
things which it will be necessary to do
and tell the ones which must be done
first. The country is completely de-
yaStated: we do not know what part OF
the population will be left to take up
the work of nation building. outside of
the large cities where the SpaniardS
held control, all the small industries
must be re-established. The commercial
machinery for the supply of food, Of
clothing and of all the first necessities
of life must be started and at once. The
farmhouses, sheds, barns, and such
buildings in more than half of Cuba
have been completely destroyed and the
work of rebuilding them will take a
number of years. Along with this there
will be the chance of putting in the
newer American ideas in the lighting Of
the towns, the building of water
works, the supplying of modern hard
ware, and many kindred enterprises. In
all these industries there are chances
for the young American with limited
capital. On a larger scale the big mon
ey corporations of America will be de-
pended upon to build railroads, to sup
ply trolley lines, telephones, telegraphs
and similar improvements. In fact,
! there are so many medieval Spanish
ideas that will have to be replaced by
| progressive American schemes that one
cannot state them offhand.
There is an excellent chance for the
small investor In garden farming near
, Havana, Matanzas and the larger
: derfully rich that large returns will re-
suit from such enterprises as these.
: The raising of sugar is out of the ques-
: ton for men of limited means, as the
) capital required for this industry is GER
tainly hundreds of thousands. and
oftentimes millions of dollars. In the
tobacco field, too, the chances are
: slim for the small investor. The more
: fertile of the Tobacco lands are very ex-
pensive and are practically all of them
taken up now.
"I should advise any one who has
1 capital to invest to study we'll before
he embarks. There are many chances
for bIunders. In the titles of lands, for
example, there are many peculiar de-
j tails that require the utmost vigilance
} to prevent financial trouble. I think It
would be well for the man of limited
, + means to start in some of the smaller
: Industries, such as garden farming or
groceries and provisions, and them
watch for his opportunity to branch
! out. I can't see that the language will
be a drawback. Americans will be GO
ing there in large numbers, and Eng
lish will be used everywhere. 1t Is not
/ \