Arizona republican., 1899-02-02
THE FUTURE OF CUBA
The Island Will Give This Country
 Much Trouble.

That Cuba will probably never be 1n-
 dependent of the United States, that
 the Cuban guerillas may have to be
 sequestered just as our Indians are,
 that Uncle Sam has a big job ahead in
 developing Cuba's resources, that Ja-
 maica does not take kindly to the idea
 of coming under the shadow of the stars and stripes, and that the interest
 ing tropical British island fears noth-
 ing from the industrial competition of
 Cuba-these are the principal things set forth today by the Hon. James Johnston, M. D., member Of the lesisla
 tive council of Jamaica
 Dr. Johnston is featuring in this country on his celebrated journey across Africa, which consumed two years and which was notable for the fact that none of his armed force died or took a life. He has been for twen- ty-four years a resident of Jamaica, and he never fails to put himself forth as a living proof of it's pre-eminence as a health resort. He weighs about 230. When he went to live in Jamaica he weighed only 138 pounds, and D.. Jonathan Hutchinson, one of the lead ing physicians of Great Britain, had told him that one lung was gone and that he had only few months to live.
 ''Oh, yes. I know the Cubans inti- mately,'' said Dr. Johnston today when he was interviewed at No. 565 East One Hundred and Fifty-eighth street, where he is temporarily staying. ''I knew them in the Ten Years war and I have had an intimate acquain- tance with them in Kingston ever since. And I tell you this: For years to come Cuba will net be what you can call settled country and, in my opin- ion, settlers are likely to have as much trouble in that country from guerillas as they had in the west of your coun- try from the Indians, unless some paci- | flying measures be adopted, such a5 giving them work or lands on which they may settle by themselves just as your Indians have been put on ras3r- vations. It is not likely that they will ever have an independent government and rule their own country without l the aid of c foreign power
 Even in Jamaica the maroons had to be hunted down with bloodhounds. and up to this day they have a sort Of | independent government. If something in the way of pacifcatiOn is not done ! soon for the Cuban patriots you will | find that they will not work and will | regularly prey on the industrious set tiers. Above all things, the people Of the United States must get it out of their heads that they can pacify Cuba i by force Of arms. It can't be done Tha island IS eight hundred miles long and | aDoundS in caves and mountain fast nesses. The only hope is in concilia- ton, which may be accomplished through the representation Of the guer- illas
 They can get along cn lands which your settlers would not care for. and such tracts might well be set over for them. Some such thing as this hap pened in Jamaica and was ultimately for the islands benefit.
 Tn the first 200 years after British occupation Jamaica has put all her eggs in one basket, the sugar industry, or to be more explicit, sugar and rum. When slavery was abolished the for n4er slaves took up the land which would not proftably produce sugar and began to raise coffee, pimento and Ja- maica ginger. Coolies were imported . to furnish the labor, for it was hard to get labOrers at from 25 to 30 cents a day for men and 15 to 20 cents a day for women, the rates to this day, by the way; but even at that in the last few years it scarcely paid to take off the crop.
 Conditions are now improving, and ft is largely through American enter prise that this is so. The eyes of the planters have been opened to the pos- abilities which the island possesses in other directions than that pointed cut by sugar alone. Twelve or fourteen years ago Captain D. L. Baker, com Inanding a slOOp sailing from Balti- more, began to run down to Port An tonic and to take up a few punches Of bananas and dispose of them as a sort of experiment. Through this a new industry commenced.
 f'While the island of Cuba IS being ,o1onfzed and held by American troops it must be remembered that Americans canot live there on the coast. When Jamaica passed into British hands it had good roads at least but in Cuba to- day. except in the case of one or two cites. there are no more roads than in