Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-04-07
Pearl. OF THE ANTILLES.
THE STORY OF CUBA. HER PEOPLE
AND HER RESOURCES.
copyright. 1898, by the Author.l

copyright 1885, by the Author.l
Cuba! 1t is name that now is ia.
miliar to every household in all the
civilized earth. The suffering of it's
people, the dying groans of its tortured
patriots, have formed the minor key Of
sorrow in the worlds grand song Of
progress. And yet, in spite of the fact
that it has long held the interest and
sympathy of fair minded people, no
land is SO little known and so greatly
underestimate. The traveller who
glimpses for the first time her marvel
GUS shores is overcome with astonish-
ment at the panorama Of immense pos
sibility that lies shimmering before
him, for even now, her richest vest
ments shredded, her body bleeding un.
der the violent hands of an unnatural
parent, Cuba remains the indestructible
Pearl of the Antilles, with such wealth
in her soil and under it as no earthly
power can take away.
AS everybody knows, the develop
ment of Cuba had been from its earliest
occupancy retarded and at times prac-
tically stopped by the rule of Spain.
Soon after the foot Of Columbus touched
her virgin soil the dark cloud of oppres-
sion began to hover over her, and it was
only by the sheer force of her innate
worth, coupled with the necessities of
her inhabitants, that her glorious prod
ucts became, even to limited extent
available.
When in 1911 Columbus sent his son
Diego, with number Of colonists, to
Cuba, the big island was speedily set
tied, and measurements of its proper
tions were made by a party of official
agramensores (surveyors), and these
measurements were of such accuracy
that they remain as standards today.
The length Of the island was found to
be in round numbers 600 miles, its
width at its narrowest point 81 miles
and at its widest point Ill miles.
This gives to the long, shark shaped
island an area of approximately 43, 600
square miles, or nearly the size of the
state Of Pennsylvania. 81
In view of the necessity of the extern
sive exploration which was incident to
this comprehensive survey it seems
passing strange that no more of Cuba's
richness was discovered and utilized for
the development Of the strength and
value Of the new colony. This derelic-
ton, however, was probably not the
fault Of the really vigorous and progress.
i've adherents of the son of the great
discoverer. Indeed from careful study
of history, though exact dates are not tc
be obtained, it would seem that it was
soon after it's colonization that the
greed of the mother country began tc
cripple the enterprise and mar the des
tiny Of the new government that was
forming on this new soil.
Cuba's Great Grievance.
The grievance of Cuba, which has
lasted all these years, dates from this
early period. 1t was in it's nature anG
operation the parallel of the one which
brought about the bloody but glorious
birth Of our own independence-that il
to say, taxation without representation
But there was q vast difference in the
situation of the Cubans While our Rev
olutionist fathers were vastly inferior tt
the enemy in point Of numbers, thei,
proportion to the whole number of fight
ing Englishmen who could be landed OIL
our shores was not of such smallness al
to preclude all hope, whereas the mere
handful of Cubans were SO overwhelm
ingly overmatched by the armed force
that Spain could muster as to be practi
cally in her power after the first demon
stration.
And SO there have been insurrectio1
after instruction and defeat after de
feat, and the consequent horrible butch
cries of retribution, until Cuba, thu
beautiful, the rich, the wonderful, hal
been little more than bloody abattoil
wherein the lives and hopes of veal
but marvelously courageous people hav.
been periodically sacrificed.
But the immortal longing for liberty
could not be crushed out of the breast
of the sons of these patriots, and they
in turn, have made the same struggle
But the results of these heroic efforts
became in time of more and more i'm
portance to the people of Cuba and les'
and less satisfactory to the administra