Evening star., 1899-01-03
CUBA WOULD BENEFIT
II Conditions in Jamaica Were An
- piled to the Island.
GOOD EFFECT OF STABLE GOVERNMENT
Result Of ONersification of In
dustries.
B UILDING OF ROADS

Robert p. Porter. the special commission
er or the Treasury Department. has mado
report 10 Secretary Gage on the economic
ana business conditions In the Island Of
Jamaica and their application TO the Island
NJ Cuba.
In comparing British administration in
Jamaica with any possible operations OF
the United States government In Cuba -
says Mr.. Porter. the fact OF the great dif-
Terence in the population must be consid-
ered. In Jamaica not over l5oo0 Of the
100000 population are white When Eng
land began to treat this island as a trust.
and not as a possession-say about 1884
the population was made up Of 3iI I07o
slaves. 1900 whites, 40ep colored or
brown people. as they are cal ed in Jamaica
and 800 free blacks. In Cuba a majority OF
the people are white. The census OF 1857
showed l,lo2S2 white and 52s. 797 colored
In all provinces Matanzas with 45 per cent
coiored. and Santiago, with ~ per cent
colored. representing the strongest culorcd
| sections or the island. That half a century
OF British rule in Jamaica has improved tba
people, nearly all of whom were slaves
when the work was begun is self-eyldent
enoueh II is equally true that similar gov
ernment in Cuba would have resulted nv
reason or the preponderance of white popu-
iauon, IN more far-reaching results
tuba Under Good Government
cuba under such a government as Eng
land has given Jamaica. in all reasonable
PROBABILITY would have numbered at this
time a population OF from four TO five mil
lions, greatly increased commerce. diver
sihed Industries. magnificent main ana
parochial roads, an adequate railway sys-
tenn ana a degree of prosperity and ciyiljza-
Stn,d Son lar IN IN excess of that which the United
states officials found confronting them
when they took possession of the is,oD5
10 De sure. England has not made Anglia
oaAohS or these people but il has made
peaeeiui' pc iaw-abiding and. in the main
SeiI-respectlhg citizens of them. The num-
per OF real estate holdings in the island O.
929ta. of which Sl,924 are under len acras
each In 1882 there were only - 6,s hold
nss ss' Vi "nch $1,000 were under ten acres
eacn. IN the last ten years the number Of
savings bank accounts of the amount "a
30 and under has nearly doubled and dur
ing the ten years, 1881 10 1891 there has
been an increase of 30 per cent I'm the
number of persons able to read and write
The acreage of grounds for growing pro
visions has increased more than 30 ner
cent IN ten years. The area of coffee
usually in small lots, increa sell from IL oao
TO 23,pOo acres. More than 6,N-l small st,-
gar mills are owned by the peasantry The
number of enrolled scholars WAS over loo
600 IN 1886, as against 1900 in 1881, while
the actual average daily attendance at
schools had increased from 26,60e to 80 6t,O
Value of Diversified Industries.
The royal commission appointed 10 in
vestigate and report upon the agricultural.
commercial and industrial conditions of the
West Indies came to the conclusion that
the depression in Jamaica was the result
of the island depending almost entirely on
a single industry, that of sugar. The spe-
cial remedies recommended We're as fol-
lows:
Il. The settlement of the laboring popu-
lation on small plots of land as peasant
prOprietors.
-. The establishment of minor agricul-
tural Industries. and the Improvement OF
the system of cultivation.
% The improvement of the means OF
communication between the different is
lands.
II. The encouragement of a trade in fruit
with New York, and at a future time with
London.
-. The grant of loan from the i'm
perial exchequer for the establishment OF
central factories in Barbados.
The subject of immigration from the dis
tressed districts also requires careful at
tention."
Great Progress Made.
Mr. Porter says that following out these
suggestions OF the royal commission great
progress has been made in all directions.
Last year one company alone shipped from
Jamaica 100000 punches OF bananas TO
New York, and there are now over loo,ep0
freshly planted orange trees on the island,
which in a few years will add to the pros
perity of the country. With the Ameri-
can fruit market inadequately supplied and
the English market practically untouched.
Mr.. Porter thinks that there is hope both
in Jamaica and Cuba, especially Santiago
province, for diversified industries created
by rapid transportation. The recent es-
tablshment of fleets of fast steamships be-
tween the principal ports of the United
States and Jamaica and the probability OF
similar lines to Cuban ports are all factors
of promise for the industrial future of both
the Anglo-Saxon and the American West
Indies.
In the financial administration of the is
land Of Jamaica, one of the principal items
of expenditure is the maintenance of pub
lie roads. England has discovered that
good roads are not only important factors
in keeping order, but also the basis of in
dustrial development and prosperity Dur
ing the last fourteen years England has
expended for main and parochial roads,
sS,321, ,205, an average of nearly S6D0000 a
year.
Mr.. Porter says that here may be found
a good illustration of England's policy in
contrast with that of Spain in Cuba where
no money was spent on roads. and all OF
which are IN a deplorabe condition.