The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-08
CUBANS ARE TALKING WAR.
PEOPLE OF SANTIAGO WANT THE
TROOPS WITHDRAWN.

German Consul Says His Country
FavOrs Independence, But as
Business Proposition He Believes
in AnnexatiOn-That Is what All
Men of Business Standing Want.
Dissatisfaction In the Province
May Cause Trouble.
Correspondence of the Associated Press)
Santiago de Cuba, Feb. 28.-The complex
ion OF political affairs in the province of
Santiago has been gradually changing
since the beginning of January.
This Is due to more than one cause, but
the main reason is probably the fact that
the people themselves are out OF sympathy
with everything, even a benefaction, that
comes TO them through Havana. Men
who. a few short weeks ago, were en-
Enthusiastically in favor of annexation, are
to-day talking about declaring war against
the United States, If the troops are not
removed from the island by July L
The business men Of Santiago are very
glum over the condition of affairs, and
say that it is impossible for people to in
vest any large sums of money in the ISL
and until some settled form of government
is established; and that for Cuba to be an
Independent republic would mean the ut
ter ruin of the island even supposing
that the Cubans were better able to govern
themselves than any people in the world,
for at one blow the sugar industry would
be annihilated, because the United States
is in possession of Porto Rico on the one
side and of Hawaii on the other which
are also two great sugar producing ISL
ands and the sugar from those places
go into the United States free of duty,
whereas even on the best terms. the su-
gar of Cuba, unless the island was an
nexed, would have to pay some duty and
would be entirely unable 10 compete with
that of the other islands
The Tide Toward Annexation.
Herr Schumann. the German consul
here, an influential business man, says
that nothing would please Germany more
than for Cuba to become independent, be-
suse il would mean that they would still
be abe, with their beet sugar, to hold
their own in the United States. He be,
lieves that Cuba has great possibilities
before her, but, from a purely business
point of view. he thinks it impossible for
the island 20 succeed in any way unless
annexed to the United States
Other merchants here are favorable to
the Cubans getting home rule in the wav
that any state in the union has, believing
that they should have the right to govern
themselves in the matters of local taxa.
ton, Elections and everything of that ma.
ture. But II is absolutely impossible in
Santiago to find any man of business
standing who owns any large amount of
land, or any man of intelligence who does
NOT say that he is strongly in favor of an
nexation to the United States, not as a
matter OF sentiment, but as a matter of
purely business common sense. though
many of them agree that had Porto Rico
ana Hawaii not been annexed they would
nave been in favor of Cuba being an in
dependent republic.
There's Much Dissatisfaction.
Many thousands of men have gradually
drifted into the city expecting work. This
however, it was impossible to supply them
with, for the work that was to have been
given them had to be suspended, owing
TO the complaint from Havana that the
estimates are very large forsIhis province
although $4,000 of the revenue of the Iasi
month was sent to Havana.
The work of road making on an extern
siye scale has practically been stopped.
and the dredging of the harbor and mn
merous improvements that were intended.
have had to be delayed on this account.
All these causes combined have tended
to raise spirit of dissatisfaction, to say
nothing of the long delay in the payment
of the employees, who are paid from Ha-
vana.
In this province In the course of the
next three weeks, there will only be the
four white regiments and the Ninth I'm
munes available. A regiment of regular
cavalry Is very badly needed In the de-
partment. and were it here, it could do a
lot to prevent any wholesale taking to the
woods by the Cubans.
AT present there are only two companies
in each regiment mounted, but Gen. Wood
hopes to get the cavalry regiment here
within the next month.