The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-16
QUESTIONS ABOUT CUBA
AMERICANS ARE SEEKING PRAC-
TIcAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.
Prospect for Cattlemen and Dairy
men Good, but Truck Farmfng Of
fers reate Promise.

Special Correspondence Indianapolis Journal.
TRINIDAD DE CUBA. June 2~s.-Though
| American immigration has been temper
arily suspended by the yellow fever scare.
| the people seem TO be as full or
curiosity as ever concerning the Industrial
and business possibilities OF this modern
Canaan. Letters containing all manner OF
queries on subjects ranging between natural
history. political economy and the science
Of agriculture, from the price OF discarded
army mules TO the cultivation of Easter
lilies, continue TO arrive as by wholesale.
and nothing short OF a complete encyclo-
pedia OF useful information could answer q
quarter Of them. Among the score. more or
less. received by your correspondent during
the last wesk-several of them signed by
Interested Reader Of the Indianapolis
Journal, is one from a former New Eng
lander who now resides in Arizona. and I
take it as the text for a general reply, be-
cause 1t contains a number OF the questions
most frequently propounded- He asks
What show do you think a man with q
family and only four or five thousand doll
lars capital would have in Cuba7"
Gould an industrious person do anything
in the dairy business?"
What about the price Of Iand7"
Can improved land be leased at q fair
r~ental?" 81
would it be a foolish venture TO send
down working oxen to sell in Cuhar
as there an opening for chicken farms
on the incubator plan?'
"How about fruit culture?"
"Are the cabinet woods OF the island
worth considering for their marketable
value?"
"Are there many dangerous reptiles and
/ apparfpo ipsaofs Strch O a sfrLo Iafoo and
mosquitoes?"
One feels like rolling up his sleeves and
drawing a long breath before beginning on
such a catechism. In the first place the
family man should take into account the
chances of inconsistencies for his wife and
children, remembering that without content
ment life is not worth living. With tbs
working capital above mentioned he ought
to be tolerably comfortable at home and
should consider whether 1t is well to ny
from ills he has to those he knows not OF.
IL merely TO crafty a rowing propensity.
Heaven forbid that any word OF mine
should encourage the aimless spirit Of un-
rest, which affiicts so many of my country
men. The chronic emigrant, who is forever
moving on and taking root nowhere. is the
most unfortunate individual on earth-next
to the homeless ones whom he drags about
with him. He who pulls up stakes and
transfers them elsewhere. after careful de-
liberation and with a definite purpose in
view, is quite another fellow. IL may be
taken for granted that his family have also
counted the cost, realizing hat everything
is different in a foreign country and will
ing to forego much to which they have been
accustomed.
I'M GREAT DRAWBACK. !,
A. --I~ ~ -fs-.sA 20 r..l~ A,~~.a~
favorably with that Of the United States
and the natural beauties are greater. The
absence OF cold and dreary winters and the
continual presence Of exuberant vegetation
go far to compensate one for the loss Of
social pleasures. But it cannot be denied
that Cuba is still a desolated country. In
spite Of all that has been done for her
since American occupation People fresh
from a land of comfort and plenty are made
heart-sick by the poverty seen on every side.
Thousands are still dying by inches Of
"miseria"-the strange disease born OF the
war-particularly in regions where army
rations have not yet been distributed.
Around Sancti Spiritus, midway between
Sagua and Trinidad, hundreds are hiding in
the woods, subsisting on roots, nuts and
wild things growing, unable by reason OF
absolute nakedness to return to their VII
lagos, where food and clothing might be
obtained. Taken as a whole, there has been
vast Improvement among the reconcentrado
class within the last half year. Unnumbered
thousands of them dropped into their graves
during the gloomy months that followed The
blockade, and most of the survivors are now
doing something toward their own support.
True. they are wretchedly poor and need all
the support that the United States Is giving
them, but being again put into the way Of
eking out a living from the soil the army.
ration may in time be dispensed with. These
are the kind OF neighbors the American
farmer in Cuba will have, in place Of the
thrifty, intelligent. well-to-do farming class
at home.
AS to dairy farming, there is no doubt
that 1t is the safest and surest opening
which a man OF average means and capa-
bilities can find to-day in Cuba In this
province of Santa Clara, as well as in Pinar
del Rio and other parts of the island. are
immense stretches Of grazing lands. which
may be bought for a few dollars the
"caballera' GO Id acres), equivalent to q
few cents per acre. On this point / cannot
give exact figures, because here. as else
where, land varies in value-not so much on
account of the quality Of the soil as for its
nearness to railways or markets. water
privileges, etc. For pasture lands In favor
able localities. without buildings or cultiva-
tion. from 30 to 50 cents per acre would b
a fair average. BY the way. the newcomer
is likely to meet American and English cat
tlemen here who will discourage him by eve
cry means in their power. telling him there
is no money in the Cuban cattle trade. that
1t is "a losing game" etc. They stick re-
markably well themselves, however. to the
trade which has already grown 10 consider
able proportions out OF free importation.
The natural inference is that. having in
} vested money in the business. they want q
monopoly OF the first chances, and. there
fore. issue unfavorable reports to keep 9TH
ers out Of the field.
EXPENSIVE LUXURIES.
One OF the greatest items of Housekeeping
expense in Havana and other Cuban cities
is for milk. 80 cents the bottle (holding about
a quartz being the usual price. Imported
condensed milk, in c~ans-yery expensive and
vile at the best. with its nasty sgeetish
taste-is much more commonly used. There
; are perhaps a dozen small dairies in Ha-
vana, and their owners ought 10 be Million
aires. One OF them is on the Prado. with
; a fine mansion on either side OF II. Another
Is in the equally fashionable Consulate
street. and others are crowded close among
the residences. Until a short time ago thu