Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-18
POSTAL SERVICE In CUBA
Work of Colonel Albert O. Swift, United
States Postofics Inspector.
HE ESTABLISHED THE AMERICAN SYSTEM
1t is Much Appreciated, Especially by
Business Men-The Country Is Be-
ginning to show Signs
of Prosperity.

Colonel Albert O. Swift, United States
postoffice inspector, who has been In cuba
during the last three months assisting in
organizing the postal service along American
lines, has returned, In speaking Of his work
in Cuba Mr.. Swift said:
my work was mostly in the province OF
Santa Clara and consisted principally of get
ting the postoffices in working order and
mapping out the mail routes. The Offices
in the cities and towns are known as mill
tary stations, and are under the New York
office. Military officers are in charge. In
the smaller towns and In the country we
have selected Spaniards and Cubans for the
service. To say that the residents OF the
province are pleased with the mail service
is putting 1t very mildly. Heretofore the
postal service has been little better than
none, and consequently it has not been pa
tronized. Now we are giving the people
regular services, running daily mails in
many localities, with weekly and semi
weekly mails into the more remote districts
OF course the offices are not self-supporting
yet, but they will be before many months as
it is apparent that the mails are rapidly be-
coming better patronized The Cubans are
not great letter writer's but the business
men, seeing the stability of our system, are
using 1t a great deal more than they did a
few weeks ago.
"The money that the United States is pay
ing to the Cuban soldiers as rule does not
seem to be doing them much good. A large
portion OF 1t goes for luxuries and trinkets.
However, when you come to realize that 1t
is the first money that many OF these men
have had for months, and even years, you
can't wonder that they spend 1t foolishly
Then again, man can't buy so very much
with s75, the allowance that each soldier
atN III
must have and when they have made these
purchases they don't have very much left.
Prosperity beginning.
''The country is beginning to show some
signs of prosperity, but it will be a long
time before the plantations are under q
good state of cultivation. The long war
with Spain completely devastated the coun-
try, the fields have grown up to weeds and
underbrush and the houses and other build
ings have been destroyed. The people who
formerly occupied these lands have returned
to their homes in many instances, but they
have no means TO go on with their work.
They have no funds with which to buy
horses and mules TO use in cultiVating the
soil and they have no money with which TO
purchase agricultural implements
"As a rule the Cuban Is lazy-possbly the
climate is responsible for thls-but never
theless the Cuban is lazy and shftless and,
possessing these characteristics, IT is no
wonder that he will not work, now that he
has nothing to work with. When the coun-
try becomes Amercanized II is going to be
fabulously rich, as the soil will produce
everything that can be grown in the tropics
Some plantations, | am informed, that have
been under cultivation for more than 100
years seem to be Just as fertile and produce
tive as when the soil was first stirred"