The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1899-08-29
INFLUX OF CUBAN NEGROES
HOW TaE SOUTH WOULD SUFFER- by
ANNEXATION.
a Cuban Po.icy OF Annexation which Finds
Supporters In this Country-An Inva-
zion OF Millions OF Malays would
Make Labor Conditions Hero as
Bad AS those In Cuba.
(New Orleans Times Democrat. }

| o AoAo"iS PhosuSo from Ino
Suffragio Universal, Of Havana, which
contains reasoning guod enough for
Il casuist, represents Cuban policy
of annexation of tho most advanced
type: "Whon tho United States Gov
ernment," says this organ of absorp.
ton, "makes Cuba a State of tho
American Union, then will o fulfill.
cd the solemn promise that the Gu
ban people ought to be free and in
| dependent. This would be in ac
cordance with the American Const
tuition, under which each State Of the
Union is, with respect to it's own
affairs. independent Of the others"
1t would hardly bo necessary to
waste time in showing that when the
United States registered ga solemn
promise" that it would grant inde-
pendence to Cuba, it did not mean
the kind of independence which
each State of the Union has in man.
aging it's own domestic affairs; it
meant total and complete political
| separation Of Cuba from the United
States, Cuba managing her own af-
fairs, domestic and foreign, just as
the United States manages it's own
affairs, domestic and foreign.
But, from the passage quoted, it
will be seen that the annexationist is
at work, as we'll in Cuba as in tho
United States; and that he is, there
as here, not very particular as to the
nature and character of the argument
which he uses with view to furth.
ering the absorption Of the island by
the United States.
Labor throughout the United
States, and more, especially here in
the South, will oppose annexation by
all means in its power; for everybody
will see that, if ever Cuba be annex.
ed to the United States, then Cubans
will become American citizens and
will be free to come and go as they
please. The great labor market of
this country will be far moro invit-
ing field to the Cuban workers than
their own island will be; and what
we are sure to find, as a sequel to an
nexation, is that there will be a near
ly general exodus of the inferior
grades of Cuban labor into this coun-
try. On the supposition that the
population Of Cuba amounts to f.
100000, and that one half of these
are negroes, there will be, almost
certainly, an influx of 100000 or
100000 negroes from Cuba into this
country. IT is equally certain that
they will locate in greater numbers
here in the South; for it is in the
South that they will most probably
set foot on American soil, in tho
South they will strike the semi trop-
ical climate to which they have been
accustomed, and in tho South they
will meet with people of thoir own
race, with whom they will ready frat
ernize.
The labor market of the United
States is already overstacked; and it
would be to undersoll or to take the
bread out Of tho mouths of our own
laborers to allow the importation OF
several hundreds of thousands of
laborers from the nearby island.
The South has an especial reason Of
it's own for opposing such an i'm
portation. We have moro of the in
ferior race now on our hands than
we know what to do with; and it
would be oppression on tho part of
| tho Government to saddle us with
nearly half million more of the same
race-to please the annexationist
crowd who merely want to carpetbag
and otherwise exploit the island for
their own advantage.
An article in the current number
of Harper's Weekly, written appar-
emily with President McKinley's
sanction, let's us into tho secret
which had not previously been dis
closed--that the President is strong
ly in favor of retaining tho Philip
pines. "Tho President" says the
article, "believes that we should keep
the islands. This to him is inevitable.
He does nor want us to leave the
islands. He thinks that we should