The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-05
If CUBA IS ANNEXED
WILL EITHER THE UNITED STATES
OR THE ISLAND DE GAINERY

Protection of Trusts Would he tn.
Ruin of the Industries of the New
State, and Insurrection Might
Follow, with Spain for the
Friendly Mediator.
Washington Bureau st. Paul Globe, !
eorcoran Building.
Special to The ST. Paul Globe.
WASHINGTON. March $50 many
exciting events in our diplomatic his
tory have crowded upon each other
within q little while, that 1t is hard
to realize that theepresent Instruction
in Cuba has just turned it's third ami
versary. 1t was in, Feb. 26, 1895, that
q dispatch from Havana announced
the declaration of martial law in that
city; that armed outbreaks had occur
red in CienfuegoS and MatanZas; and
that 1.-The government seems to fear
an insurrection and to be taking ex-
treme measures to stamp it out" The
Spanish government has not yet sue
ceeded in stamping out" the insurrec-
ton, and consequently not few of our
popular agitators in cor ass are now
demanding that we shall try our hand
at stamping OUT the Spanish govern
ment.
To every argument that it would be
a mistake to annex Cuba these gentle
men respond that they do not wish an
neXation even discussed. much less
seriously considered as one of the i'm
minent probabilities. There Is no need
Of it, they insist. The conservative
element among our. public men, how
ever, assert that if we interfere in be-
half of Cuban independence we must
take Cuba to ourselves as the only
logical conclusion Of our undertaking.
A glance backward at the origin of the
present inSurrection certainly lends
color to this view.
The reports Of Consul General Will
liams to the department of state dur
ing the year 1894 disclose the economic
character of the subsequent distur-
Dances. AS he has since we'll said,
Cuba Is a commercial dependency of
the United States and political de-
tendency of Spain. The two great
products of the island, sugar and to-
bacco, must find their greatest market
in the United States, for such has been
the development of beet sugar on the
continent Of Europe that little Cuban
sugar can expect to cross the ocean.
1t now happens that by our tariff sys-
tenn we hold, as it were, finger on
the key, and can make or mar the
Cuban sugar industry at will. If we
should raise our own beet sugar as
Secretary Wilson now proposes, we
should deal Cubas leading product a
blow from which it could not recover.
To a lesser degree our tariff system
controls the tobacco industry on the
island, and hence when we push up our
duties these two Cuban Industries
languish, and economic distress leads
the way to inSurrectiOn.
MisruIe In Cuba.
Closely allied with this separation Of
commercial and political alliance is the
fact that Spain has always tried to
govern Cuba upon the old-fashioned
colonial system which lost for Great
Britain her North American colonies
more than a hundred years ago. Eng
land has learned a lesson of colonial
management which Spain has appar-
emily never been able to grasp, and the
present instruction, as an economic
movement, is a natural result Of this
unlearned lesson. If Cuba, like Can
ada, had been able to regulate her own
customs laws, she would at least have
had a chance to try to make a mar
ket for her two great products through
reciprocity. But Spain undertook to
dictate the terms upon which foreign
products could go into Cuba, and left
the products of the island to find their
own outlet. Hence. if Cuba should
gain her independence, the pressure for
annexation to the United States would
become very strong. Until that was
accomplished the island would still be
shut out by our protective duties from
her natural market, and in that sense
little better off than under Spanish
rule. The prospect Of reciprocity treat
les markedly favorable to the two great
C,,Io ~ - =
in view Of the present agitation for
beet sugar development in the United
States and the we'll known desire of
our tobacco raisers for government
bounty. It is easy to see, then, that
following the economic argument which
set on foot the Instruction annexa-
ton would be the9Sonly, ultimate con-
clusion satisfying to the Cubans.
Caused Rebellion.
The bearing Of these economic forces
upon the outbreak Of the rebellion may
be illustrated by documents on file at
the state department. In February,
1894, a report was submitted from the
board Of directors Of the Cigar Manu-
facturers' Union of Havana, which
showed that for four years efforts had
been made, and in two directions, to
secure a more profitable tobacco mar
ket; 1t mad been represented with great
force to the Spanish government that
the repeal Of certain laws restricting
and embarrassing the commercial re-
lations between Cuba and Spain was
necessary, and the home government
was asked to relfnquish it's monopoly
of the tobacco industry; at the same
time negotiations had been opened for
a treaty Of commerce with the United
States, by which it was hoped to pro-
cure a reduction Of our heavy protec-
tive duties on leaf tobacco to 80 cents
pound and on manufactured cigars
collated it appeared that Cuba was
producing for export 26O, 900, 900 cigars a
year, valued at $12,000,00O, and that of
this total 11S000,000, or more than As
per cent, were sent to the United
States. This was exclusive Of the 40
100000 cigars a year made and con-
sumed on the island. An important
factor in the misfortunes Of the cigar
makers was the onerous and illogical
character Of the Spanish customs laws
for Cuba, which fomented a spirit Of
retaliation on the part Of other cOun-
tries, so that the chances of a modi-
fication Of the United States tariff laws
became poor, while Argentina had i'm
posed duties which were actually pro-
hibitive Of the Cuban product. Next
in seriousness was the abnormal taxa
ton Of the tobacco industry by the
Madrid government, adding so much to
the cost Of production that, even in
foreign countries, whose customs sys-
TENS were not oppressive to importers,
terms were not oppressive to importers.
rates as to leave any profit.